Kirjahaku

For a state that has gained a global reputation as a violator of international norms, not least through its unwavering pursuit of nuclear weapons, North Korea's determination to become a nuclear-armed state is puzzling. If nuclear weapons beget security, insecurity, and other costs for the state, how might we understand this pursuit, and the delinquent behaviour that has arisen from it? In North Korea and the Global Nuclear Order, Edward Howell offers an answer to this question, focusing on North Korea's quest for status in the international system and developing the theoretical framework of 'strategic delinquency'. Featuring previously unpublished and new interviews with international negotiators with North Korea, and drawing upon new academic literature, Howell proffers an original theoretical framework to apply to the North Korean case. Covering a time period from the 1990s to the present-day, and using unprecedentedly rich empirical evidence, he makes the overarching argument that North Korea has strategically deployed behaviour that breaks international norms in order to reap benefits. In so doing, this book posits how over time, North Korea has learnt that despite the low status and opprobrium that might ensue, bad behaviour can pay.

With an expanded introduction by Viktoras Kulvinskas, this new, enlarged edition of the classic book contains over 400 references to scientific literature that contributed to the formulation of Dr. Howell's revolutionary "food enzyme concept." The second edition incorporated an interview of the author by Viktoras Kulvinskas. There is also an extensive new foreword by Viktoras Kulvinskas that has been added to this revised 3rd edition, as well as a new research appendix at the end. The foreword adds a very substantial body of recent and updated research to support the food enzyme concept of Dr. Howell and underline the importance of food enzymes.

A selection of poems by Edward Howell, founder and editor of the Mexico Quarterly Review.

What does this burgeoning anti-Western alliance mean for global security in an increasingly erratic world? When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, few expected North Korea to rush to Putin’s aid. Several years later, however, North Korea and Russia praise their ‘invincible alliance’. Pyongyang has supplied Moscow with millions of rounds of artillery and thousands of troops in exchange for financial, food and technological assistance. Moscow has also procured invaluable dual-use technologies from Beijing and drones from Tehran. Edward Howell asks whether the rapprochement between North Korea, Russia, China and Iran represents a new authoritarian alliance or is merely a marriage of convenience. Taking North Korea’s perspective as its starting point and drawing upon new evidence—including interviews with government officials—A New Axis of Upheaval argues that while these states have distinct interests, their shared opposition to the post-war international order cannot be ignored. This compelling and timely account also explores the implications of these relations for the military-political hotspot of East Asia, particularly South Korea and its neighbours. With North Korea likely to maintain its ties with Russia in a post–Ukraine War world, and China continuing to coerce the US and its allies, the West must prepare for the unsettling prospect that the axis of upheaval will persist longer than many hoped.