- The Iranian parliament decides that it has too much power.
- The elections in Sudan: fraudulent but hopeful? And why did Mr. Bashir need to rig them, anyway?
- More on the plight of Somali radio journalists.
- The complex ways in which China censors the internet.
- The far right gains in Hungary: should anybody worry?
- Thai protests escalate: a distributive conflict a la Boix or Acemoglu and Robinson?
- Does it make sense to speak of the loss of a specifically Thai "culture of restraint"? More Thailand links here - we might talk about this situation as well in the coming weeks.
- The difficulties of providing public goods in India.
- Violent insurgency in India: a failure of democracy?
- Weak states and drugs.
- Qaddafi: 40 years in power, lots of oil, and nothing much to show for it.
- How North Korean ideological control works, and why nobody understands Juche thought.
As if you didn't have enough to read!
I found the interview with Myers about North Korea especially interesting. One aspect which got me thinking was the rigid process he mentions propaganda goes through before it reaches the public. I was wondering whether those who create propaganda and ideology agree with the ideas they convey or whether they support the regime in order to protect themselves. Can we assume that those in the governing parties or powerful institutions of totalitarian states such as North Korea are subject to the same self regulation as the rest of society –such as that which was mentioned in the lecture on Tuesday? Is there a point where one is above the control of the state, or must the upholders, or even creators of the state ideology also conform to it in order to protect themselves? In the absence of any strong opposition, can a regime be self perpetuating by the ideology it is based on or is it dependent on a leader or elite group who are focused on indoctrinating the populace to stay in power?
ReplyDeleteTamsin, Vaclav Havel thought the system could be self-perpetuating even if nobody believes in it! (There are theoretical models that have this result as well). But if nobody believes in it, the system is fragile - relatively small disturbances can make it fall down like a house of cards (as happened in Eastern Europe in 1989).
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