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Symbolic Practices of Legitimation: Exploring Domestic Motives of North Korea's Space Programme
Abstract
Despite international sanctions and a strained economy, North Korea continues to spend scarce resources on a costly space programme. Hitherto, research has usually explained this continuity in terms of international security and/or international reputation. Accordingly, Pyongyang uses its space-related efforts as a pretext to develop intercontinental ballistic missiles and to enhance its international reputation. This article argues that these explanations do not suffice, and thus adds domestic motives for consideration. By engaging recent North Korea studies, which emphasise the importance of performance and symbol for the politics of the Kim regime, this article explores recurring actions and routinised behaviour by the leadership as symbolic practices that reinforce domestic legitimacy. The goal is to provide a conceptual avenue through which to better understand North Korean affairs. Taking into account domestic factors also has, as will be shown, practical policy implications for those negotiating with the regime over its space programme.
... Particularly notable is that the majority of works focused on different legitimation strategies (Wurster and Kailitz 2017;Mazepus et al. 2016). Derived from various sources (Bußhoff 1996: 28f.), they can be material in nature (Zhu 2011;Schmidt 2016;Roller 2015;Le Hiep 2012) or more symbolic/rhetorical (Omelicheva 2016;Pickel 2013;Olbrich and Shim 2017;Edel and Josua 2018;Schlipphak et al. 2017). ...
... Both tactics may have a great impact in shaping the public sphere and, ultimately, the perception about the regime (Abulof 2017;Dukalskis 2017). Notably, not only key elites applying these tools but also the statecontrolled or -affiliated media, possess a high degree of discursive power (Göbel 2013;Olbrich and Shim 2017). ...
... Additionally, policy making on the internal and external level can be reinforcing. For instance, foreign policy goals are transferred to bolster national legitimacy (Grauvogel and Soest 2017: 158;Kneuer 2013;Olbrich and Shim 2017). In short, ...
Within a few years, hydrocarbon-wealthy Arab Gulf states have managed to build up a green reputation despite their high ecological footprints and environmentally unsustainable development models. Particularly, the launch and promotion of grandiose clean projects such as the creation of the first zero-carbon city (‘Masdar’) in Abu Dhabi, Qatar’s promise to carry out a carbon-neutral Soccer World Cup in 2022 and, more recently, Saudi Arabia’s announcement of its futuristic megacity NEOM as the world’s largest city to be entirely powered by renewable energy gained great attention worldwide and illustrate an ‘ecological catch-up process’. Going beyond ‘post-oil’ discussion, this qualitative study looks at the recent sustainable transformation and analyse its broader implications on regime legitimacy. It argues that sustainable policy making constitutes a suitable vehicle to garner legitimacy at home and abroad. The Gulf monarchies, often perceived as old-fashioned and less adaptive to change, have realized this and have adjusted their policy making accordingly. Inspired by different avenues of political sciences such as policy analysis, political ecology, comparative autocracy research, as well as Gulf area studies, the study seeks to uncover their policy behaviour and observe how the implementation of a ‘new’ policy field affects a regime’s legitimation base. Thus, the study focusses on the process of environmental policy making and on the regime as an object of legitimacy. A holistic conceptual framework, called eco regime resilience, is established to explain how leaderships exhibit legitimacy from environmental policy making. The empirical part of the study follows a comparative analysis, which discusses the motivation and the policy processes in three similar cases, namely Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The study finds that all cases share similar political motives in terms of advocating environmental policy making with little attention to environmental consciousness and governance. Concretely, leaderships in the Gulf make use of environmental sustainability by increasing the regime’s popularity inside and outside as well as binding strategic elites closer to the regime. However, they all differ considerably in the implementation and the process of policy making. Broadly speaking, Kuwait focuses on accountability (input), Saudi Arabia relies on public service management (throughput), and Qatar on sustainable performance delivery (output). Additionally, the contextual factors (i.e. ‘trigger’) that evoked a stronger focus on environmental sustainability varied between the cases. In core, Qatar’s sustainable transformation was mainly triggered by external pressure, Saudi Arabia’s green turn came from within (though it needed external assistance), whereas regional developments had the greatest impact on a policy reconfiguration in Kuwait. The key findings of the study are threefold: First, by relying on the approach of political ecology, it provides the first comprehensive empirical study and novel approach to explain the green transformation in the Gulf states. Second, the study delivers a holistic conceptual model on policy making and its legitimation effects. Third, it reveals the interdependency of legitimacy and environmental sustainability showing that the advocation of environmental policy making has also clear and strategic political motives and incentives.
... For instance, the US moon landings of the 1960s and 1970s can be considered a prime example to showcase the superiority of the US political and economic system to the world (Musgrave and Nexon, 2018). Simultaneously, achieving sophisticated space technologies can also target domestic audiences (Launius, 2019;Olbrich and Shim, 2019). ...
Lately, commentators on spaceflight raise concerns over rising militarization, possible weaponization, and space becoming a theater of war. Some see arms control regimes as the solution, while others point to the complexity of space technologies and the impossibility to create a functioning arms control regime. These concerns are usually discussed within their separate disciplinary logic in physics and engineering, in international law, and in political science. We argue that combining these perspectives enables us to see the unique opportunities of outer space that allow the creation of a functional arms control regime. We recall major debates in technology, international law, and political science and show how distinct aspects in each discipline not only constrain, but also facilitate space arms control. We employ these findings in discussion of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM) of 1972.\\
KommentatorInnen zur Raumfahrt warnen seit Jahren zusehends vor einer zunehmenden Militarisierung des Weltraums, einer möglichen Bewaffnung des Weltraums und der Gefahr, dass der Weltraum zu einem Schlachtfeld werden könnte. Rüstungskontrollregime werden dabei teils als Lösung des Problems betrachtet, während andere die Komplexitäten von Weltraumtechnologien als zu große Hürde für funktionierende Rüstungskontrolle ansehen. Diese Perspektiven folgen ihrer jeweiligen disziplinären Logik in Physik und Ingenieurswissenschaften, internationalem Recht und der Politikwissenschaft. Unser Argument ist, dass sich nur durch eine Zusammenschau der involvierten Disziplinen diejenigen Faktoren herausarbeiten lassen, die für funktionierende Rüstungskontrolle im Weltraum von Bedeutung sind. Berücksichtigt man diese und die besonderen Begebenheiten des Weltraums, ist Rüstungskontrolle keineswegs unmöglich. Die Untersuchung arbeitet innerhalb der Disziplinen und disziplinübergreifend hinderliche und begünstigende Elemente für Rüstungskontrolle im Weltraum heraus und wendet sie anhand des Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Vertrags (1972) an.
... 3 E.g. on the conjunction of climate change and satellite imagery seeRothe (2015) 4 Cf. Security Dialogue Vol 49, Issue 1-2 (2018) on Militarism and security: Dialogue, possibilities and limits 5 E.g.(Olbrich & Shim, 2017) and(Launius, 2019) and(Sage, 2008) trace domestic audiences for national space programs. 6 Small arms oddities in space: between 1967 and 2007 cosmonauts carried the TP-82 pistol to fight predators and firing distress signals after landing. ...
A common trope about outer space is that it gets increasingly militarized and that a shift from war involving space to war in space is in progress. While it is true that space is seen through lenses of military security, such debates are hardly new. In fact, while the militarization of space is a gradual process, it stands out by the symbolic value of acting parties being considered a “space club” who advance in space technology such as launching capabilities and space weap-ons. The chapter reviews the key problems, the gradual shift in militarization on nation-state level and regulatory and policy approaches to contain a further militarization since the early 2000s. It concludes with a review of recent developments and sheds some light on a potential way forward.
... LVs have been longstanding subjects of tension due to their dual-use potential; other than the direction they face, and the logo painted on their side, there is little differentiating an LV from an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Indeed, both the US and Russia regularly repurpose retired ICBMs for space launches, and responses to North Korea's domestic space program have been inextricably linked to arms-control concerns [12]- [14]. ...
... However, there is much research showing that political actors attach a multitude of meanings to space technologies, e.g. their effects on local economies and employment (the 'space industry' argument), or use them to suppress internal discord (Olbrich & Shim, 2017). For ASAT, we argue that states are not only motivated by security fears but also emphasize the symbolic and ideological value of ASAT capabilities. ...
Fears about the militarization of space are widespread. For example, the recent development of Anti-Satellite (ASAT) capabilities by rising powers like China and India is often described as a technologically driven arms race. This article takes a social constructivist approach to deconstruct the dynamics of this supposed arms race. Using a case study of Mission Shakti, the 2019 Indian ASAT test, the conclusion is that the ASAT arms race is more complex than it seems at first glance. Most importantly, states seem less motivated by security gains but frequently make status-seeking arguments. This offers possibilities for de-securitizing outer space again.
... However, there is much research showing that political actors attach a multitude of meanings to space technologies, e.g. their effects on local economies and employment (the 'space industry' argument), or use them to suppress internal discord (Olbrich & Shim, 2017). For ASAT, we argue that states are not only motivated by security fears but also emphasize the symbolic and ideological value of ASAT capabilities. ...
A growing body of research shows that the pariah regime of North Korea—as other countries too—cares about how it is perceived internationally. However, so far, we know very little about how effective North Korea’s strategic efforts are in improving its image among foreign audiences. As a first step toward addressing this gap, we employ a rigorous survey experiment among a representative sample of US adults (N = 800) to demonstrate that propaganda photographs of Kim Jong-un—produced and distributed by the regime’s official mouthpiece, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA)—succeed in improving perceptions of North Korea, albeit only among audiences with limited political knowledge. By providing evidence that news photographs are effective strategic communication instruments, our paper also makes an original and significant contribution to general scholarship on mediated public diplomacy, which has until now paid little attention to visual media as a tool of image management.
The paper evaluates the effects of domestic and external actions on the probability of reform in North Korea. It applies the theory of Janos Kornai on socialist systems, in particular the main line of causation, as well as elements of rational choice theory. The CRE model provides a
tool for systematically processing information on North Korea that is typically incomplete. The effects of 23 actions that have taken place since 2012 in the fields of ideology, property rights, coordination, military affairs and external influence are discussed. The combined outcome is mixed and corresponds with reality, where neither a retreat to pre-1990 socialism nor a full-fledged reform could be observed. However, new insights are found on single effects and their interplay. This provides a practical tool for scholars who aim for a systematic understanding of the past, and for politicians who need to conduct an advance impact analysis of future policies.
Jina Kim investigates how North Korea rationalized its pursuit of nuclear weapons programs for more than two decades, by exploring the dialectical development of the nuclear crisis and the obstacles generated by complex internal Korean dynamics and conflicting interests amongst the major players concerned.
When World War II came to a close, the United States and the Soviet Union made the decision to divide Korea following Japan’s surrender.1 This decision to separate the peninsula physically severed the common identity held by the Korean people for over 1,200 years. Since that time, the North and South have headed in different directions. While retaining some elements of a common historical and cultural identity, they have pursued radically different political and economic paths.
This original, pathbreaking study of North Korea’s political history and culture sheds invaluable light on a country long cloaked in impenetrable mystery for the West. Leading scholars Heonik Kwon and Byung-Ho Chung begin by tracing Kim Il Sung’s rise to power during the Cold War. They show how his successor sponsored the production of revolutionary art to unleash a public political culture that would consolidate Kim’s charismatic power and his own hereditary authority. The result was a legacy of performative politics and symbolic power that sustains North Korean leaders’ sovereignty to this day. In defiance of the instability to which so many revolutionary states eventually succumb, the durability of charismatic politics in North Korea defines its exceptional place in modern history.
Kwon and Chung make an innovative contribution to comparative socialism and postsocialism as well as to the anthropology of the state. Their unique work is essential for all readers interested in understanding North Korea and East Asia writ large, the role of art in society, and the possibilities of political culture.
In the context of the Self/Other nexus in critical International Relations (IR) studies, this article aims to interrogate Pyongyang's ways of constructing (North) Korean nationalism which is integral to its regime security and state policy in the 2000s. Toward this end, focusing on Pyongyang's ardent "National Cooperation (Minjok Gongjo) Discourse" toward South Korea, this article reveals North Korea's state identity concealed in the Discourse and then problematizes the Discourse's modes of securing that state identity in pursuit of Pyongyang's regime legitimacy in the Korean Peninsula. In so doing, this article addresses the question of how, through the rendering of South Korea vis-a-vis North Korea, the National Cooperation Discourse as one of North Korea's state policies has helped produce, reproduce, and police North Korea's state identity which is supposedly behind its behavior toward itself, South Korea, and the outside world.