Writing from Kaohsiong, Mycal Ford examines the complications and lessons of Taiwan-mainland ties for Korean reunification.
Inter-Korean Relations
Charismatic Politics of Another Sort: Personality Politics in South Korea
In unconsolidated democracies with weak party institutions, charismatic political figures have a disproportionately higher level of influence compared to consolidated democracies. Ahn Cheol-soo is one such figure. Steven Denney explains.
The Loved Republic: South Koreans and the Trusted State
Steven Denney returns with a blog about one Korean nation with two Korean states, and responds to a disputed question: which state is the most loved?
The Art of Narrative Propulsion: North Korea’s “State of War,” and Conjuring Chinese Troops on the North Korean Frontier
Adam Cathcart takes apart North Korea’s March 30 “war declaration” and rumors of Chinese troop movements near the DPRK.
A False Dichotomy: Professor Andrei Lankov on a Popular Revolution Imposed from Without
In the first of his exclusive occasional posts for SinoNK, Professor Andrei Lankov of Kookmin University in Seoul explains how the North Korean revolution was both imposed by the USSR and supported by a substantial proportion of the North Korean people.
Red Box, Blue Box, Green Box: Arguing against Institutional Pluralism
Christopher Green examines the durability, and the deficiencies, of the “post-totalitarian” thesis for the DPRK, and furthers the quest for a developmental understanding of North Korea.
Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3 and Beyond – Narrative and Legitimative Power of the DPRK in the Space Race
If you had just put a satellite into space, what would you do with it? Channeling Sputnik and ignoring the geopolitical furore completely, Robert Winstanley-Chesters contemplates.