If Asia takes a cue from the Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street, the world’s governments might face the haunting specter of working people of all countries uniting.
Asia Stands Poised to Join 2011’s Global Revolution
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North Korea
Architects of Change
More than a decade ago, I sat down with the head of the academy of architecture in Pyongyang. The school was housed in a large, drafty building in the center of North Korea’s capital. Students were building models out of cardboard and wood. A few were in front of state-of-the-art desktops using the computer-aided design software that had become indispensible to modern architects. But there was one element missing from the architecture program. North Korean builders paid virtually no attention to energy efficiency.
“Great Successor” Kim Jong-un Needs Unalloyed Support of Military
The test of Kim Jong-un’s leadership will be to convince the military to throw its support behind him.
The Kims: Like Grandfather, Like Son?
Don’t look for reform in North Korea in the foreseeable future.
Two Leaders, Two Deaths
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and Czech leader Vaclav Havel occupied the opposite ends of the political continuum. One fought against the corrupt communist powers; the other consolidated communist rule. One tried to inject morality into the practice of politics while the other pursued political ends with little or no reference to morality. Having made their marks first in the artistic sphere, they were both in some sense reluctant politicians. Once in power, they managed to stabilize their respective countries during difficult times. But they failed in their efforts at more dramatic transformation.
Succession Questions Persist in Wake of Kim Jong-il’s Death
Kim Jong-il reportedly kept his son Kim Jong-un on the sidelines for fear of a challenge to his authority.
Showing Juntas Some Love
North Korea and Burma have been the beneficiary of foreign policy initiatives by China and the United States respectively.
Should We Engage North Korea?
The recent two-day talks between the United States and North Korea were a good start, but it also shows that a diplomacy contingent upon denuclearization will not likely break the deadlock. Perhaps the pending leadership succession from Kim Jong-il to his heir apparent Kim Jong-eun provides a window of opportunity for the United States to effectively engage the North through a different strategy, and denuclearization can happen from there.
Playing With Fire on the Korean Peninsula
The six-party talks may or may not resolve the nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula, but they are the only game in town.
Does Kim Need to Keep His Nukes to Avoid Gaddafi’s Fate?
A massive army, as North Korea possesses, may have the same deterrent effect as nuclear arms.