How do dictators stay in power? When, and how, do they use repression to do so? Dictators and their Secret Police explores the role of the coercive apparatus under authoritarian rule in Asia - how these secret organizations originated, how they operated, and how their violence affected ordinary citizens. Greitens argues that autocrats face a coercive dilemma: whether to create internal security forces designed to manage popular mobilization, or defend against potential coup. Violence against civilians, she suggests, is a byproduct of their attempt to resolve this dilemma. Drawing on a wealth of new historical evidence, this book challenges conventional wisdom on dictatorship: what autocrats are threatened by, how they respond, and how this affects the lives and security of the millions under their rule. It offers an unprecedented view into the use of surveillance, coercion, and violence, and sheds new light on the institutional and social foundations of authoritarian power.

This edited volume brings together a set of essays exploring the global dimensions of Korea's recent history and politics by a group of the most talented young scholars. Essays in the volume seek to answer two interrelated questions: How have international developments impacted Korea? And how has Korea in turn influenced world events and trends? The volume demonstrates that the most important issues in Korea's post World War II history-division, war, economic development, and inter-Korean rivalry-cannot be understood without reference to the country's global interactions. Essays in the volume cover a range of topics including: U.S.-South Korean relations, North Korean foreign policy, immigration, and democratization. The essays included in the volume push the boundaries of several different subfields. Historical essays break new ground by introducing new archival materials and revealing important details about the past diplomacy of the two Korea's. Others consider aspects of American influence on Korea that have previously been ignored such as the U.S. impact on urban development and food consumption. Essays on contemporary Korean politics and society make sense of most recent developments in North and South Korea while presenting intriguing new interpretive frameworks. By bringing new voices in Korean Studies to the forefront, this volume changes how we understand and reconceptualize Korea's role in the world.

This edited volume brings together a set of essays exploring the global dimensions of Korea's recent history and politics by a group of the most talented young scholars. Essays in the volume seek to answer two interrelated questions: How have international developments impacted Korea? And how has Korea in turn influenced world events and trends? The volume demonstrates that the most important issues in Korea's post World War II history-division, war, economic development, and inter-Korean rivalry-cannot be understood without reference to the country's global interactions. Essays in the volume cover a range of topics including: U.S.-South Korean relations, North Korean foreign policy, immigration, and democratization. The essays included in the volume push the boundaries of several different subfields. Historical essays break new ground by introducing new archival materials and revealing important details about the past diplomacy of the two Korea's. Others consider aspects of American influence on Korea that have previously been ignored such as the U.S. impact on urban development and food consumption. Essays on contemporary Korean politics and society make sense of most recent developments in North and South Korea while presenting intriguing new interpretive frameworks. By bringing new voices in Korean Studies to the forefront, this volume changes how we understand and reconceptualize Korea's role in the world.

How do dictators stay in power? When, and how, do they use repression to do so? Dictators and their Secret Police explores the role of the coercive apparatus under authoritarian rule in Asia - how these secret organizations originated, how they operated, and how their violence affected ordinary citizens. Greitens argues that autocrats face a coercive dilemma: whether to create internal security forces designed to manage popular mobilization, or defend against potential coup. Violence against civilians, she suggests, is a byproduct of their attempt to resolve this dilemma. Drawing on a wealth of new historical evidence, this book challenges conventional wisdom on dictatorship: what autocrats are threatened by, how they respond, and how this affects the lives and security of the millions under their rule. It offers an unprecedented view into the use of surveillance, coercion, and violence, and sheds new light on the institutional and social foundations of authoritarian power.