The North and South Korean political systems

Unlike the situation in other countries, dichotomies between the two Koreas arise not from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds but from their diametrically opposed political and economic systems, offering an unmatched real-world case for comparative study. In this comprehensive volume, the author utilizes systematic and comparative perspectives to analyze North and South Korean political and economic institutions and processes and to examine their evolution since 1945. The book opens with a description of the political heritage that led to the emergence of the two separate regimes. The author considers the development of opposing totalitarian and democratizing political orders. He then surveys the differences between the economic systems, strategies, and policies of North and South Korea, evaluating their performance for the last five decades. The author also consider's such long-standing problems as leadership succession, democratization, and liberalization; nuclear weapons and the continuing arms race; and contending approaches to education and reunification.