Andrei Lankov has gone where few outsiders have ever been. A native of the former Soviet Union, he lived as an exchange student in North Korea in the 1980s. He has studied it for his entire career, using his fluency in Korean and personal contacts to build a rich, nuanced understanding.
In The Real North Korea, Lankov substitutes cold, clear analysis for the overheated rhetoric surrounding this opaque police state. After providing an accessible history of the nation, he turns his focus to what North Korea is, what its leadership thinks, and how its people cope with living in such an oppressive and poor place. He argues that North Korea is not irrational, and nothing shows this better than its continuing survival against all odds. A living political fossil, it clings to existence in the face of limited resources and a zombie economy, manipulating great powers despite its weakness. Its leaders are not ideological zealots or madmen, but perhaps the best practitioners of Machiavellian politics that can be found in the modern world. Even though they preside over a failed state, they have successfully used diplomacy-including nuclear threats-to extract support from other nations. But while the people in charge have been ruthless and successful in holding on to power, Lankov goes on to argue that this cannot continue forever, since the old system is slowly falling apart. In the long run, with or without reform, the regime is unsustainable. Lankov contends that reforms, if attempted, will trigger a dramatic implosion of the regime. They will not prolong its existence.
Based on vast expertise, this book reveals how average North Koreans live, how their leaders rule, and how both survive.
0 有用 陈德柱 2017-02-26 09:03:48
好看
0 有用 Kimh 2015-04-09 12:58:34
之前添加这个条目失败了...
0 有用 Ruihan睿涵 2024-02-25 07:54:51 英国
好书
0 有用 火車大巴扎 2022-05-11 15:52:58
@2019-09-13 13:30:21
4 有用 Alan 2020-07-22 11:41:10
回顾了朝鲜的历史并展望可能的前景。作者认为半岛问题的特殊性在于:(1)朝鲜目前政权因其政治经济模式而内在地不可持续,但它用以维持自身存续的地缘政治策略(比如主动升级事态进行威胁诈取主动权和对手让步)仍是理性有效的;(2)朝韩经济实际差距已经大到超出一般朝鲜人想象,朝鲜的统治精英主动逐渐开放(“中国模式”)的时机已过;否则人民在开放过程中了解外界所产生的幻灭将使他们彻底丢失合法性。朝鲜政权的变动几乎... 回顾了朝鲜的历史并展望可能的前景。作者认为半岛问题的特殊性在于:(1)朝鲜目前政权因其政治经济模式而内在地不可持续,但它用以维持自身存续的地缘政治策略(比如主动升级事态进行威胁诈取主动权和对手让步)仍是理性有效的;(2)朝韩经济实际差距已经大到超出一般朝鲜人想象,朝鲜的统治精英主动逐渐开放(“中国模式”)的时机已过;否则人民在开放过程中了解外界所产生的幻灭将使他们彻底丢失合法性。朝鲜政权的变动几乎不可避免地要以比较动荡的方式来发生。为此作者推演了几种可能,提出了尽可能减缓动荡的建议;(3)还是基于朝韩的巨大差距,作者思考了可能的“统一”进程将产生的巨大挑战和社会代价(以东欧和东德作为参考例子) (展开)
0 有用 白菜爱好者 2024-05-13 01:36:06 上海
把朝鲜视为弱国家,改革或开放不会带来解决而是风险
0 有用 vale 2024-03-02 01:58:31 上海
thanks the book,i get a lot information about how people live in a country so similar to mine. the leniency wish in the end is so optimistic
0 有用 Ruihan睿涵 2024-02-25 07:54:51 英国
好书
0 有用 Bruce 2023-11-11 22:06:57 日本
2023年第79本,李钟元的reading,看了日语版,大変勉強になりました。应该是了解朝鲜的必读书物了。
0 有用 チリ大統領 2022-10-05 06:16:19 北京
不错的入门书