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This book examines how North Korea has managed to weather an uncertain political future and catastrophic economic system since the end of the Cold War. Emerging as a state that has successfully developed and tested missiles and nuclear weapons, North Korea has consolidated the Kim family dynasty through the appointment of Kim Jong Un as Pyongyang’s latest strongman. The author provides an empirically rich account of new diplomatic recognitions, military partnerships, knowledge trade, coping mechanisms to offset international sanctions, import and export partners, foreign investment practices and engagement within the Global South. The resulting picture is that of a state that is, against all odds, mainstreaming, and becoming a more complex and relevant actor in the 21st century diplomatic world.
List of contents
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION: WHY THE NEED TO RE-EVALUATE NORTH KOREA?
A STRENGTHENING STATE? REVISITING THE PAST
1950s-1970s: The Construction of a New System
1970s-1980s: Defiant Politics
1990s: Transition and Famine
2000s: Nuclear Weapons Crisis and Bargaining
2010s: Kim Jong Un's North Korea
NORTH KOREA'S FOREIGN RELATIONS: NEW TRAJECTORIES
CHAPTER 2. FRIENDS AND FOES: AN ORTHODOX STORY
ANTAGONISM: A CLASH OF IDEOLOGY AND POWER
Japan
The United States
CLOSENESS: A COMMUNIST WORLD
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
The People's Republic of China
Satellites and Proxies
SIGNIFICANT OTHER: SOUTH KOREA AS A BROTHER IN ARMS
FAMINE, DROUGHT, AID AND THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY
CHAPTER 3. NOTHING BUT WORDS? RHETORIC AND BEYOND
PROPAGANDA AS AN ANALYICAL TOOL
A Rhetorical World: From Indifference to Hope for Change
DPRK Meets World: From Delegations to Protocols and Agreements
WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT NORTH KOREAN DIPLOMACY?
Post-Cold War Environment: New Patterns of Interaction
Managing and Maintaining Traditional Ties
F
Track-Two: NGOs and Learning about the World
From Track-Two to Multi-Track
CHAPTER 4. SECURING FREEDOM
SMALL, ROGUE, AND ISOLATED? FRAMING THE DPRK'S SECURITY EVOLUTION
TRADING CONVENTIONAL SECURITY
The Early Years: DPRK as a Military Recipient
The Latest Years: The DPRK as a Weapons Supplier
NUCLEAR COOPERATION
North Korea's Cold War Nuclear Program
Finding North Korea's Nuclear Mentor
CHAPTER 5. NAVIGATING INTERDEPENDENCE
THE REALITY OF DEVELOPING AS A SANCTIONED COUNTRY
A Web of Sanctions
Sanctions: How to Make Them Work
Profit-Making Goods Smuggling
Sanctioned Goods and Collateral Damages
EXPORTING TO IMPORT
DPRK Workers Abroad
Mansudae Arts and Statues
CHAPTER 6. THE DPRK AND THE POLITICS OF MAINSTREAMING
PARTICIPATING IN GLOBAL GOVERNANCE
Global Governance as a Pathway to Anti-Hegemonic Agendas
BECOMING PART OF THE GLOBAL FINANCIAL SYSTEM
Production and Investment
DPRK as a Connected State
BEYOND COLLAPSE THEORY: A FUTURE FOR THE DPRK?
Securing Modernity
Partnerships for Long-Term Change
CHAPTER 7. CONCLUSION: FOSTERING COOPERATION IN A MULTIPOLAR WORLD
BROKERS AND FRIENDS
Brokering Re-Engagement
Nuclear Talks
Sustaining a Relationship with the DPRK: Uncertainties and Difficulties
NORTH KOREA'S NEXT GAME
Peripheral Politics
Finding New Ties and New Opportunities
Optimism and the Politics of Disappointment
About the author
Virginie Grzelczyk is Lecturer in International Relations at Aston University, UK. Her research focuses on security relationships over the Korean Peninsula, with publications spanning the Six-Party Talks process, North Korea’s energy security dilemma, Korean identity in the context of reunification and the concept of crisis in Northeast Asia.
Summary
This book examines how North Korea has managed to weather an uncertain political future and catastrophic economic system since the end of the Cold War. Emerging as a state that has successfully developed and tested missiles and nuclear weapons, North Korea has consolidated the Kim family dynasty through the appointment of Kim Jong Un as Pyongyang’s latest strongman. The author provides an empirically rich account of new diplomatic recognitions, military partnerships, knowledge trade, coping mechanisms to offset international sanctions, import and export partners, foreign investment practices and engagement within the Global South. The resulting picture is that of a state that is, against all odds, mainstreaming, and becoming a more complex and relevant actor in the 21st century diplomatic world.
