This new edition is fully up to date to give a comprehensive look at Korea from 1876 to the present day Provides a comparative look at both North and South Korea Fares well against competitors due to its length (comparatively short), writing style (suitable for undergrads) and coverage (covers modern period of both North and South Korea)

With its focus on internal North Korean affairs rather than international relations, the book constitutes a broad and useful addition to Northeast Asia area studies. The book provides detailed coverage of such key issues as North Korea's nuclear weapons program and its economic reforms Many of the contributors belong to a younger cadre of North Korean specialist scholars and bring new perspectives to this field

This new edition is fully up to date to give a comprehensive look at Korea from 1876 to the present day Provides a comparative look at both North and South Korea Fares well against competitors due to its length (comparatively short), writing style (suitable for undergrads) and coverage (covers modern period of both North and South Korea)

The Routledge Handbook of Contemporary North Korea presents a comprehensive picture of contemporary North Korea, placed in historical context and set against the overlapping fields of politics, economy, culture, society and foreign relations. Spanning a period of significant transition for North Korea, this volume provides accurate analysis and applications of both historical and institutional perspectives. The volume's chapters are representative of the growth in North Korean studies that has occurred since the 1990s, in parallel with the growing maturity of the field in South Korea, as well as with far greater levels of access to North Korean sources. The volume is divided into five Parts, each reflecting an emergent area of debate and research: The political perspective The North Korean economy Foreign relations Society Culture This is the first anthology of North Korean studies to demonstrate a clear understanding of North Korea as North Korea, as opposed to a dimly perceived and threatening rogue state. It features both Korean and non-Korean contributors, many working from primary source material. As such, this handbook will prove a valuable resource to students and scholars of Northeast Asian studies, modern Korean history and politics, and comparative politics more broadly.

Throughout the 1990s, North Korea has operated under a skeptical international eye, due largely to the country's rigorous self-imposed isolation, its on-going confrontation with South Korea, a controversial nuclear arms program, and the near-total collapse of its economy. North Korea's leaders have chosen to face the world with its Stalinist politi

Politics and Leadership in North Korea, now fully updated in this second edition, presents an accessible and comprehensive account of North Korea's political, economic and foreign policies since its creation in 1945. Moving away from media representations of North Korea as dangerously erratic and dysfunctional, Adrian Buzo provides a thorough analysis of Kim Il Sung's vision for the DPRK and demonstrates the consistency of the successive leaderships' approach to politics, economics and international affairs. This second edition has been fully revised and takes into account all the important events of the last fifteen years in North Korea, such as: * endemic food shortages; * the steady growth of military emphasis in both politics and ideology; * the acquisition and continued development of nuclear capabilities; * the implementation and eventual failure of South Korea's 'sunshine policy'; * the growth of private enterprise and a consumer economy. As such, it will continue to be an essential resource for students of North Korea, East Asian Politics and International Politics.

Throughout the 1990s, North Korea has operated under a skeptical international eye, due largely to the country's rigorous self-imposed isolation, its on-going confrontation with South Korea, a controversial nuclear arms program, and the near-total collapse of its economy. North Korea's leaders have chosen to face the world with its Stalinist political culture and ideological framework intact, for better or worse--and by most reports, almost exclusively for the worst. How did this situation come to be, and what are its consequences? In "The Guerilla Dynasty," Adrian Buzo gives us an accessible, up-to-date, and rigorously researched account of the political, economic, and foreign policy developments in North Korea since 1945.