About the Book
Following the death of Kim Jong Il, North Korea has entered a period of profound transformation laden with uncertainty. This authoritative book brings together the world’s leading North Korea experts to analyze both the challenges and prospects the country is facing. Drawing on the contributors’ expertise across a range of disciplines, the book examines North Korea’s political, economic, social, and foreign policy concerns. Considering the implications for Pyongyang’s transition, it focuses especially on the transformation of ideology, the Worker’s Party of Korea, the military, effects of the Arab Spring, the emerging merchant class, cultural infiltration from the South, Western aid, and global economic integration. The contributors also assess the impact of North Korea’s new policies on China, South Korea, the United States, and the rest of the world. Comprehensive and deeply knowledgeable, their analysis is especially crucial given the power consolidation efforts of the new leadership underway in Pyongyang and the implications for both domestic and international politics.
Contributions by: Nicholas Anderson, Charles Armstrong, Bradley Babson, Victor Cha, Bruce Cumings, Nicholas Eberstadt, Ken Gause, David Kang, Andrei Lankov, Woo Young Lee, Liu Ming, Haksoon Paik, Kyung-Ae Park, Terence Roehrig, Jungmin Seo, and Scott Snyder.
Table of Contents:
Part I: North Korea’s Political System in the Transition Era
Chapter 1: The Role and Influence of Ideology
Charles Armstrong
Chapter 2: The Role and Influence of the Party Apparatus
Ken Gause
Chapter 3: The Role and Influence of the North Korean Military
Terence Roehrig
Chapter 4: The Kims’ Three Bodies: Toward Understanding Dynastic Succession in North Korea
Bruce Cumings
Chapter 5: North Korea after Kim Jong Il
Victor Cha and Nicholas Anderson
Part II: Prospects for the North Korean Economy
Chapter 6: Western Aid: The Missing Link for North Korea’s Economic Revival?
Nicholas Eberstadt
Chapter 7: Future Strategies for Global Economic Integration
Bradley Babson
Part III: North Korean Society and Culture in Transition
Chapter 8: Low-Profile Capitalism: The Emergence of the New Merchant/Entrepreneurial Class in Post-Famine North Korea
Andrei Lankov
Chapter 9: “Cultural Pollution” From the South?
Woo Young Lee and Jungmin Seo
Part IV: Foreign Relations in the Transition Era
Chapter 10: Changes and Continuities in Pyongyang’s China Policy
Liu Ming
Chapter 11: Changes and Continuities in Inter-Korean Relations
Haksoon Paik
Chapter 12: North Korea’s Relations with the United States and the Rest of the World
David Kang
Part V: Conclusion
Chapter 13: North Korea in Transition: Evolution or Revolution?
Scott Snyder and Kyung-Ae Park
About the Author :
Kyung-Ae Park holds the Korea Foundation Chair at the Institute of Asian Research of the University of British Columbia. Scott Snyder is Senior Fellow for Korea Studies and Director of the Program on U.S.-Korea Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations.
Review :
Readers . . . will find rich food for thought on the dynamics between political stability and socioeconomic changes in the country.
This useful book is a state-of-the-art treatment of North Korea for non-academics and is likely to be read widely in think-tank and policy circles. Its authors include some of the finest analysts of North Korea in English. Laymen will find the book appealing, because the essays, while well-informed, do not overwhelm with jargon. . . . The book also ranges widely, covering issues like ideology, economic (mal)adaptation, the monarchy, and foreign relations. All these traits make it a solid introduction to the North Korea tangle. ...The essays are rich, and scholars will also find new ideas and themes that merit sustained social scientific analysis.
[T]hese authors encourage readers to see and be prepared to deal with the regime in Pyongyang as it is and as it is becoming instead of dismissing it as a crazy, ruthless, helpless and isolated government. The uncomfortable reality, as either explicitly or implicitly acknowledged by these authors, is that the North Korean regime is unlikely to voluntarily make any dramatic changes in the foreseeable future or 'wither away' without having any grave internal and external repercussions. Their converging and underlying message, therefore, is that one needs to take North Korea seriously so as to better understand both the challenges and opportunities facing the country. . . . Released in the critical new era, defined by Pyongyang’s third generation of hereditary power succession laden with greater uncertainty amidst the inevitable shifts in North Korea’s politics, economy, foreign relations, and even society and culture, [this volume] presents cogent and authoritative analyses, through which any sensible reader could develop a valuable guideline to understanding North Korea’s past and present more comprehensively as well as to better preparing for the unknown future.
This book meets a pressing need for wide-ranging, timely coverage of North Korea. It offers diverse, sometimes clashing views, especially over the future of the regime. Many chapters cover areas neglected elsewhere, deepening the debate. Others offer strong opinions, trying to steer the debate. Sensibly, the concluding chapter by the two editors draws the arguments together, leaving the reader with a clear sense of the options that lie ahead.
An important work on the future of North Korea by an outstanding array of practitioners and academic experts. As the Pyongyang regime attempts to consolidate rule under the newest ‘Dear Leader,’ it will continue to defy simplistic analysis. This book is a great advance to understanding the enigma that is North Korea.
