An edition of The real North Korea (2013)

The real North Korea

life and politics in the failed Stalinist utopia

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Last edited by ImportBot
August 3, 2020 | History
An edition of The real North Korea (2013)

The real North Korea

life and politics in the failed Stalinist utopia

  • 5.00 ·
  • 1 Rating
  • 7 Want to read
  • 0 Currently reading
  • 1 Have read

"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.

Publish Date
Language
English
Pages
283

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Previews available in: English

Book Details


Table of Contents

The society Kim Il Sung built and how he did it. Captain Kim returns home
Way to war
Between Moscow and Beijing : the foreign policy of Kim Il Sung's North Korea
Dealing with the South
The command society
A country of camps
The world according to Kim Il Sung
The silver lining in a social disaster
The birth of Juche, the rise of the son, and the slow-motion demise of a hyper-Stalinist economy
Two decades of crisis. And then the world changed
Capitalism reborn
The state withers away
Taking the exit option: not an exodus yet, but ...
Arrival in paradise, aka capitalist hell
Changing worldviews
The logic of survival (domestically). Reform as collective political suicide
Putting the genie back in the bottle : (not-so-successful) crackdowns on market activity
A disaster that almost happened : the currency reform of 2009
The belated rise of a "new star general"
The sudden beginning of a new era
Survival diplomacy. Playing the nuclear card
Aid-maximizing diplomacy
Meanwhile, in South Korea ... (the rise of 386ers and its consequences)
A decade of sunshine
The sun sets
The entry of China
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)
Contours of a coming crisis
Stability will return, but how?
What to do about the North? Why the sticks are not big enough
Why the carrots are not sweet enough (and why "strategic patience" is not a great idea, either)
Thinking long term
The hidden benefits of engagement
Reaching the people
Why they matter : working with the refugees in South Korea
Being ready for what we wish for. A perfect storm
A provisional confederation as the least unacceptable solution
Something about painkillers....

Edition Notes

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Published in
Oxford, New York

Classifications

Dewey Decimal Class
951.9304
Library of Congress
DS935.774 .L36 2013, DS935.774.L36 2013

The Physical Object

Pagination
xv, 283 p., [16] p. of plates :
Number of pages
283

ID Numbers

Open Library
OL26249518M
Internet Archive
isbn_9780199964291
ISBN 10
0199964297
ISBN 13
9780199964291
LCCN
2012046992
OCLC/WorldCat
813930740
Amazon ID (ASIN)

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History

Download catalog record: RDF / JSON
August 3, 2020 Edited by ImportBot import existing book
May 14, 2019 Edited by MARC Bot import existing book
April 28, 2017 Created by ImportBot import new book