The real North Korea
Subtitle: life and politics in the failed Stalinist utopia
By: Andrei Lankov
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2013
Place of publication: Oxford; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 283
ISBN-13: 9780199964291
Subjects: Politics and government; Foreign relations
Description: "In The Real North Korea, Lankov substitutes cold, clear analysis for the overheated rhetoric surrounding this opaque state. After providing an accessible history of the nation, he turns his focus to what North Korea is, what its leadership thinks, and how its people cope with living in such an oppressive and impoverished place. He argues that North Korea is not irrational, and nothing shows this better than its continuing survival against all odds. A living political fossil, it clings to existence in the face of limited resources and a zombie economy, manipulating great powers despite its weakness. Its leaders are not ideological zealots or madmen, but perhaps the best practitioners of Machiavellian politics that can be found in the modern world. Even though they preside over a failed state, they have successfully used diplomacy - including nuclear threats - to extract support from other nations. But while the people in charge have been ruthless and successful in holding on to power, Lankov contends that this cannot continue forever. The old system is slowly falling apart, and in the long run the regime is unsustainable - with or without reform. Indeed, reforms, if attempted, will most likely trigger a dramatic implosion of the regime. They will not prolong its existence."--Book jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: The society Kim Il Sung built and how he did it. Captain Kim returns home; title: Way to war; title: Between Moscow and Beijing : the foreign policy of Kim Il Sung's North Korea; title: Dealing with the South; title: The command society; title: A country of camps; title: The world according to Kim Il Sung; title: The silver lining in a social disaster; title: The birth of Juche, the rise of the son, and the slow-motion demise of a hyper-Stalinist economy; title: Two decades of crisis. And then the world changed; title: Capitalism reborn; title: The state withers away; title: Taking the exit option: not an exodus yet, but ...; title: Arrival in paradise, aka capitalist hell; title: Changing worldviews; title: The logic of survival (domestically). Reform as collective political suicide; title: Putting the genie back in the bottle : (not-so-successful) crackdowns on market activity; title: A disaster that almost happened : the currency reform of 2009; title: The belated rise of a "new star general"; title: The sudden beginning of a new era; title: Survival diplomacy. Playing the nuclear card; title: Aid-maximizing diplomacy; title: Meanwhile, in South Korea ... (the rise of 386ers and its consequences); title: A decade of sunshine; title: The sun sets; title: The entry of China; title: Interlude : The contours of a future : what might happen to North Korea in the next two decades. Why North Korea is likely to continue for a while (but not forever); title: Contours of a coming crisis; title: Stability will return, but how?; title: What to do about the North? Why the sticks are not big enough; title: Why the carrots are not sweet enough (and why "strategic patience" is not a great idea, either); title: Thinking long term; title: The hidden benefits of engagement; title: Reaching the people; title: Why they matter : working with the refugees in South Korea; title: Being ready for what we wish for. A perfect storm; title: A provisional confederation as the least unacceptable solution; title: Something about painkillers....