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Tag Archives: development
Mongolia: Gauging Inner Asian Tensions over Railways
Broad gauge or standard gauge railway? This domestic Mongolian debate reflects Inner Asian ambivalence toward economic opportunities through engagement with China, as well as broader geopolitical and economic competition between Russia and China. After he was fired from the post of Director of the Mongolian Railway on January 10, former Prime Minister M. Enkhsaikhan criticized the government’s plan to extend the domestic broad (Russian) gauge railroad network. Instead, he argued for a 267 km standard (Chinese) gauge railroad from Tavan Tolgoi, a coal mining deposit, to Gashuun Sukhait, a Sino-Mongolian border post. With this argument Mr. Enkhsaikhan triggered another round of the debate over narrow vs. broad gauge. Continue reading
Posted in Mongolia
Tagged development, economic development, infrastructure, natural resources, railways, transport
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Why Technology Needs People: Gold, Phones, and Bicycles
Memo # 177 – “We treated our precinct captains like gold,” wrote David Plouffe, an architect of President Obama’s 2008 US election campaign. “The challenge” lay in “marrying digital technology and strategy with a strong grassroots campaign.”
Plouffe’s insights had been anticipated a year earlier in an election in Uttar Pradesh, India’s largest state, where a party led by a Dalit (former untouchable) woman won unexpectedly. And the story about the centrality of technology and people came full circle early in 2012 when Uttar Pradesh voted to throw out the incumbent government. Continue reading
Posted in India
Tagged communications, development, economics, election, history, mobile, mobile phone, politics, telecom, voting
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China Crucial to India’s Mobile Revolution
Memo #172 – India entered the elite global club of $1 trillion-plus (USD) economies in the last decade accompanied by explosive growth in domestic mobile phone users. India had the second largest population of mobile phone users as of 2010, an astounding leap from their modest rank of 34th ten years earlier. Continue reading
Posted in China, India
Tagged development, economics, mobile, mobile phone, telecom, trade
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Managing South Asia’s Himalayan Rivers: A Human Development Framework
Memo #164 – What would an ideal regulatory system to manage an international river look like? Some have called for an innovatively designed regulatory authority for international rivers, such as the Ganga-Brahmaputra river system in the Himalayan region. Existing models are not compatible with the geopolitical conditions in South Asia. Rather than furthering traditional nationalist approaches, the new design must take into account the people living in the region. Continue reading
Posted in China, India, Tibet
Tagged corruption, development, human development, transboundary water, water
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Community Natural Resource Management in India: Does it Reduce Poverty?
Memo #156 – A series of new programs in India for community natural resource management (CNRM) is decentralizing control over local resources of water, forests, and inland fishing from government departments to end-users such as farmers, forest dwellers, and fishers.
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Posted in India
Tagged community natural resource management, development, Millenial Development Goals, natural resources
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G20 and the Five Asian Powers
Memo #115 – In the midst of the great uncertainties of the Euro crisis and great volatility in global financial markets, the G20 Summit in Cannes, happening from November 3 to 4, 2011, is taking place at a critical time. Markets expect more coordination and more governance, although there are large gaps between US and EU interests. Strikingly, Asia owns five of the 20 seats in the G20 (China, India, Japan, Korea, and Indonesia) and is in a pivotal position. But will the five Asian powers coordinate their positions? Continue reading
Posted in Asia, China, Europe, Global, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, United States
Tagged Asian G20 countries, development, G20, global financial markets, international organizations, regulation, trade
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Why No Anti-Mining Party in Mongolia? Why No Pro-Mining Movement?
Memo #106 – Next week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is scheduled to address the Mongolian parliament. Her visit will come during a tumultuous period as Mongolian politicians prepare for parliamentary elections in summer 2012. Recently, 20 MPs petitioned the government to revisit the 2009 Investment Agreement signed with Ivanhoe Mines and Rio Tinto for the giant Oyu Tolgoi (OT) gold and copper project. The petition sent shares and Mongolia’s credibility as a natural resource investment destination momentarily tumbling. No enduring anti-mining coalition is behind this petition, nor has a pro-mining, single-issue party emerged. Continue reading
Posted in Mongolia
Tagged development, mining, natural resources, political parties, sociology
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Dr. Andrew M. Fischer Discusses Development Issues in China and Tibet
Memo #17 – In a 5-part interview, Dr. Andrew M. Fischer talks about the significance of the International Association for Tibetan Studies (IATS). He underlines that the IATS creates a unique setting where Tibetans from China, India, and abroad can meet for academic and professional discussions. When discussing the Western Development Project and Tibet-related development, he emphasizes that China has been replicating the growth model of its coastal areas in its western areas. This model of focusing on growth poles resulted in phenomenal growth in the western areas, although a result may be intensified inequalities for those who live near the poles. Tibetans are fundamentally disadvantaged by economic developments that are centred in urban areas, as those areas are controlled by outside governments, companies, and investors. Fluent Chinese speakers with outside connections benefit most from the economic conditions. Continue reading
Posted in China, Tibet
Tagged development, IATS, International Association for Tibetan Studies, modernization, Tibet development, Western Development Project
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