Category Archives: Research on Mongolia

The ONE Challenge

By Julian Dierkes Because few other people focus much of their attention on Mongolia, I often get asked questions that are more fundamental then I might be on other topics. In a conversation recently, sparked by the state visit of … Continue reading

Posted in Corruption, Countryside, Democracy, Demography, Development, Diversification, Economics, Environment, Foreign Policy, Ikh Khural 2024, JD Mining Governance, Mining, Mining Governance, Policy, Politics, Public Policy, Reflection, Social Issues | Tagged | Leave a comment

Party Strategies under a Mixed Electoral System in 2024

By Julian Dierkes Recent constitutional amendments will have a profound impact on the 2024 parliamentary election especially as they will change candidates’ calculus about their nomination. Individuals seeking office or re-election will have the option of attempting to win one … Continue reading

Posted in Democratic Party, Ikh Khural 2024, JD Democratization, Mongolian People's Party, National Labor Party, Party Politics, Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

Friendship Medal

By Julian Dierkes I was awarded a Friendship Medal by Foreign Minister B Battsetseg at a reception commemorating the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Canada and Mongolia, and also the announcement of an upgrade of the bilateral relationship to … Continue reading

Posted in Canada, Reflection, Research on Mongolia | Leave a comment

Mongolian Studies vs Research on Mongolia: XII Congress of Mongolists

By Julian Dierkes The International Association of Mongol Studies meets every five years. Actually pretty cool that the association based in Mongolia exists and has a regular, if rare meeting. I previously wrote about the 2011 Xth Congress, some indication … Continue reading

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Party Landscape and Constitutional Amendments in Summer 2023

By Julian Dierkes and Marissa J. Smith While the MPP has now had a supermajority in parliament since 2016, the 2024 election is beginning to loom and the newly adopted constitutional amendment and amended Law on Elections with their shift to a … Continue reading

Posted in Constitution, Democracy, Democratic Party, Elections, Ikh Khural 2024, JD Democratization, Mongolian People's Party, National Labor Party, Party Politics, Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

New Constitutional Amendments Toward Expansion of Parliament and Proportional Representation in Parliamentary Elections

By Julian Dierkes In mid-May it is looking like the constitution will be amended. D Amarbayasgalan has been very involved in process of proposing amendments as General Secretary of the MPP (more information about Amarbayasgalan) Үндсэн Хуулийн өөрчлөлтийн төслийг өргөн … Continue reading

Posted in Constitution, Democracy, Elections, Ikh Khural 2024, JD Democratization, Party Politics, Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Canada and Mongolia – The Enhanced Development Partnership that Never Was

By Stephen Brown In the early 2010s, the Canadian government, under Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper, developed a special interest in Mongolia. In 2014, after a flurry of diplomatic visits, Canada designated Mongolia a “country of focus” for its development … Continue reading

Posted in Bilateral Aid, Canada, CIRDI, Development, International Relations, Mining, Mining, Mining Governance, Public Policy, Research on Mongolia, Stephen Brown | 3 Comments

Political Predictions and Why I Struggle with Making Them

By Julian Dierkes People expect political predictions from me as a longtime Mongolia observer and country specialist. Even when I feel relatively certain of some predictions I would make, there is always that nagging doubt that strange things might happen … Continue reading

Posted in Constitution, Democracy, Ikh Khural 2024, Law, Politics, Reflection, Research on Mongolia | Tagged | Leave a comment

Aspirational Statements as Legislation

By Julian Dierkes With the “Protecting Human Rights on Social Media Law” we have seen another round of what seems like fairly misguided legislation. Tegshbayar has already questioned the need for an expedited process and other aspects for this law. … Continue reading

Posted in Democracy, Governance, JD Democratization, Judiciary, Law, Media and Press, Politics, Protest, Social Media | Tagged | Leave a comment

Summer 2023 Mongolia Field School

Interested in educational travel to Mongolia this summer? Join our informational webinar about the ACMS Mongolia Field School 2023, with the International and Mongolian instructors who will be teaching the courses in summer 2023. We will hold the webinar January … Continue reading

Posted in American Center for Mongolian Studies, Research on Mongolia | Leave a comment

December 2022 Protests

By Julian Dierkes Once again, following protests in April 2022, primarily younger Mongolians took to Sukhbaatar Square in protest in early December. I initially wrote about these protests for The Diplomat, pointing out the simmering corruption worries connected to state-owned … Continue reading

Posted in China, Corruption, Erdenes Mongol, JD Democratization, Mining, Mining Governance, Politics, Protest, Protest, Tavan Tolgoi, Younger Mongolians | Tagged | Leave a comment

State-Socialist Legacies and Selective Perception of Propaganda

By Julian Dierkes Every so often, my conversations, especially on visits to Mongolia which are so valuable for my thinking, touch on bigger issues that are challenging to frame as a blog post. This is one of those attempts to … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Dissertation Ideas, Gender, History, JD Democratization, Policy, Politics, Protest, Protest, Reflection, Social Issues, Social Movements, Society and Culture | Tagged | Leave a comment

Challenging Supermajority

By Julian Dierkes Following the 2020 parliamentary and 2021 presidential election, there were some fears that the MPP’s electoral wins and occupation of all three highest offices would lead to some kind of one-party domination. Most readers will recall then-Pres … Continue reading

Posted in Constitution, Democracy, Democratic Party, JD Democratization, Mongolian People's Party, National Labor Party, Party Politics, Politics | Tagged | Leave a comment

Constitutional Amendments, Again?

By Julian Dierkes It appears that constitutional amendments are in the air again and some claim that these are likely to be addressed in a special parliamentary session in August or early on in the Fall session. These amendments would … Continue reading

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Considerations on Planning Travel from the US to Mongolia in February 2022

By Marissa J. Smith This past week I have spoken with several people, and participated in several conversations on social media, where an announcement by Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene has been quoted as “borders are open.” I am sharing here a … Continue reading

Posted in Reflection, Research on Mongolia, Tourism | Tagged | Leave a comment