Alex Franquelli

Alex Franquelli is a freelance journalist and writer. He focuses on Mongolia and North-East Asian politics and ethnomusicology. Find him on twitter @alexfranquelli

Prominent Uyghur academic Ilham Tohti jailed for life

With its shocking outcome, this trial might result in an increase in violence in the Xinjiang region, where protests for the mistreatment of a moderate voice could motivate the more radical factions.

By Alex Franquelli

/ 10 Oct 2014

North Korea: totalitarianism in transition?

Periodically wracked by famine and lambasted in a UN human-rights inquiry, North Korea remains a state without parallel. What lies behind the regime’s latest purge?

By Alex Franquelli

/ 20 Feb 2014

A tipping point for Mongolia's democracy?

Sandwiched between the giants of Russia and China, Mongolia is looking to develop its vast mineral wealth. How will this affect one of the most stable democracies in the region, and what will happen to the benefits of development?

By Alex Franquelli and Luigi Creazzo

/ 9 Oct 2013

Mongolia: is stability the new challenge?

Countries like Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, which, following a brief stint of democracy in the early 1990s, have returned to a state of authoritarianism, serve as a warning to a country that is yet to find a balance between poverty and potentially immense wealth.

By Alex Franquelli

/ 10 Jul 2013