1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910791536903321

Autore

McEachern Patrick <1980->

Titolo

Inside the red box [[electronic resource] ] : North Korea's post-totalitarian politics / / Patrick McEachern

Pubbl/distr/stampa

New York, : Columbia University Press, c2010

ISBN

1-282-91931-8

9786612919312

0-231-52680-6

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (559 p.)

Collana

Contemporary Asia in the world

Disciplina

951.9305/1

Soggetti

HISTORY / Asia / General

Korea (North) Politics and government 1994-

Korea (North) Foreign relations

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Front matter -- Contents -- Figures and Tables -- Acknowledgments -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Post-totalitarian Institutionalism -- 3. Historical Context -- 4. North Korea's Political Institutions -- 5. Institutional Jostling for Agenda Control, 1998-2001 -- 6. Segmenting Policy and Issue Linkages, 2001-2006 -- 7. Policy Reversals, 2006-2008 -- 8. Conclusion -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

North Korea's institutional politics defy traditional political models, making the country's actions seem surprising or confusing when, in fact, they often conform to the regime's own logic. Drawing on recent materials, such as North Korean speeches, commentaries, and articles, Patrick McEachern, a specialist on North Korean affairs, reveals how the state's political institutions debate policy and inform and execute strategic-level decisions. Many scholars dismiss Kim Jong-Il's regime as a "one-man dictatorship," calling him the "last totalitarian leader," but McEachern identifies three major institutions that help maintain regime continuity: the cabinet, the military, and the party. These groups hold different institutional policy platforms and debate high-level policy options both before and after Kim and his senior leadership make their final call. This method of rule may challenge expectations, but North



Korea does not follow a classically totalitarian, personalistic, or corporatist model. Rather than being monolithic, McEachern argues, the regime, emerging from the crises of the 1990's, rules differently today than it did under Kim's father, Kim Il Sung. The son is less powerful and pits institutions against one another in a strategy of divide and rule. His leadership is fundamentally different: it is "post-totalitarian." Authority may be centralized, but power remains diffuse. McEachern maps this process in great detail, supplying vital perspective on North Korea's reactive policy choices, which continue to bewilder the West.