By Linus B. Höller. MA Candidate in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey and the Moscow State Institute of International Relations. This paper was produced as part of the “Strategic Export Controls” class taught by Prof. Robert Shaw at MIIS. Introduction North Korea, officially the Democratic People’s Republic…
Category: North Korea
For the first time in 42 years, a U.S. nuclear-armed submarine has arrived in South Korea. Pyongyang has fired missiles in anger but more importantly, the South has backed down from developing its own nukes – for now.
By Linus Hoeller, Northwestern University Few political words raise such intense emotions as “communism” and “socialism.” A common buzzword in elections in the U.S. and around the world alike, they are also really existing and nuanced ideologies. Because of the politicization of the mere terms, some clarity has been lost about where – if anywhere…
Photography by Tianxiao Xu Presentation and writing by Linus Hoeller North Korea is closed off from the outside world like no other country. It consistently ranks at the very bottom of freedom indices – no free press, no free elections, no freedom of movement, assembly, speech. For three generations, the Kim dynasty has ruled the…
When thinking about repressive regimes where people “disappear”, that work their own people to death and have some seemingly absurd policies, North Korea usually comes to mind first. Much less known is its close runner-up and African counterpart: Eritrea. Eritrea is a relatively small and very poor nation located at the eastern coast of…
The early 21st century has seen a resurgence in dictatorships and authoritarian governments throughout the world, including regions like Europe previously thought to now be stable democracies. However, models like the Soviet-inspired communist state or “traditional” dictatorships are outdated and will not survive through the 21st century. Instead, a new form of authoritarian regime is…
Here’s a topic, for a change, that isn’t really new at all but all the more puzzling – Number Stations. Spy stations, or (admittedly less catchy) number stations, are shortwave radio stations operated by intelligence agencies, embassies and militaries around the world, broadcasting strings of seemingly random numbers, at seemingly random times, on seemingly random…
The fall of the Berlin Wall following the mass demonstrations on November 9th, 1989 was one of the largest geopolitical events in recent history, which ultimately led to the reunification of Germany and the peaceful transition of power of the “communist” regimes in eastern Europe, which ultimately led to the fall of the Soviet Union…
The world is becoming increasingly globalized. For countries, it is not only important to have good relations with their direct neighbors, it is essential to have powerful allies even on the other side of the world, and every country strives for the largest possible sphere of influence. Although of course it is beneficial for a…
Recent reports suggest that Kim Jong Un, who is the third generation leader of North Korea (formally the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, DPRK) may slowly be losing his grip on power over the country and party – or at least think that he is. A recently released South Korean report on the North’s dictator…