A Roundtable Review of Dictators and their Secret Police: Coercive Institutions and State Violence
Sheena Greitens examines the ways coercion is employed in authoritarian regimes in her new book, adding theoretical and empirical insights to the literature on authoritarian regime durability. Sino-NK reviews her contribution.
The Rise of the Anonymous Writer: A Review of Kim Yu-kyung’s “Place of Human Desecration”
Where Deborah Smith’s translation of “The Accusation” opened up Bandi’s short stories for the English-speaking world, there are several novels by defector writers that are only in Korean. “Place of Human Desecration” is one. Robert Lauler reviews it.
The Short Arm of the Law: Sanctions and North Korean Laborers in Russia
Anthony Rinna examines the stark reality that it is not clear who is available to replace exports of North Korean labor in Russia, making it hard to imagine the Russian government weaning itself off them.
Right of Reply: Kim Jong-un’s Rejoinder to American Threats at the UN General Assembly
Pushing back against an over-reliance on personalist explanations for international conflict, Adam Cathcart retreats into history and some speculation.
Chinese Discourse on the New North Korea Sanctions
How have Chinese officials and periodicals been discussing trade with and sanctions on North Korea? Adam Cathcart investigates.
Korean People’s Army Contacts with the Chinese Military
The perception that China and North Korea no longer have the extensive bilateral contacts that they once did may be broadly speaking correct, but it is by no means the whole story. Here, Adam Cathcart brings to our attention an official event from July 25, 2017.
Lumps of Coal: How China’s Demand for Russia’s Natural Resources Affects North Korea Sanctions Enforcement
Anthony Rinna investigates the Russian role in the DPRK sanctions system, focusing on the country’s potential to export high-quality coal to China as a replacement for the DPRK.
Trade Wars and Hot Wars: #Shigak no. 51
This installment of #Shigak explores the two most popular political stories from the conservative and progressive Twittersphere between July 28 and August 4. For the right, that means the reappointment of a former trade minister to his old post, while the left homes in on some comments about the possibility of war on the Korean peninsula.
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From New York to Dandong: Maximum Pressure
Adam Cathcart | July 23, 2018 -
North Korean Human Rights in the State of the Union
Leif-Eric Easley | January 31, 2018 -
What Inspired DPRK Invective against China?
Adam Cathcart | December 19, 2017
