Marxism-Leninism in the History of North Korean Ideology, 1945-1989

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Marxism-Leninism in the History of North Korean Ideology, 1945-1989 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles From Soviet Origins to Chuch’e: Marxism-Leninism in the History of North Korean Ideology, 1945-1989 A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Asian Languages and Cultures by Thomas Stock 2018 © Copyright by Thomas Stock 2018 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION From Soviet Origins to Chuch’e: Marxism-Leninism in the History of North Korean Ideology, 1945-1989 by Thomas Stock Doctor of Philosophy in Asian Languages and Cultures University of California, Los Angeles, 2018 Professor Namhee Lee, Chair Where lie the origins of North Korean ideology? When, why, and to what extent did North Korea eventually pursue a path of ideological independence from Soviet Marxism- Leninism? Scholars typically answer these interrelated questions by referencing Korea’s historical legacies, such as Chosŏn period Confucianism, colonial subjugation, and Kim Il Sung’s guerrilla experience. The result is a rather localized understanding of North Korean ideology and its development, according to which North Korean ideology was rooted in native soil and, on the basis of this indigenousness, inevitably developed in contradistinction to Marxism-Leninism. Drawing on Eastern European archival materials and North Korean theoretical journals, the present study challenges our conventional views about North Korean ideology. Throughout the Cold War, North Korea was possessed by a world spirit, a Marxist- Leninist world spirit. Marxism-Leninism was North Korean ideology’s Promethean clay. From ii adherence to Soviet ideological leadership in the 1940s and 50s, to declarations of ideological independence in the 1960s, to the emergence of chuch’e philosophy in the 1970s and 80s, North Korea never severed its ties with the Marxist-Leninist tradition. On the contrary, this tradition constituted the basic and most fundamental raw material from which North Korean ideology was shaped and developed. The evolution of North Korean ideology was not predetermined by Korea’s historical legacies. Rather, a convergence of historically immediate domestic and international factors led to the emergence of an independent ideology, an ideology that despite its independence from Soviet ideological suzerainty remained situated within a global Marxist- Leninist intellectual space. Though many scholars have argued otherwise, even chuch’e philosophy, the apex of North Korean ideological particularity during the Cold War, was hardly an idealism and instead quite reminiscent of a good old-fashioned Marxist-Leninist materialism. iii The dissertation of Thomas Stock is approved. John Duncan David Sabean Christopher P. Hanscom Namhee Lee, Committee Chair University of California, Los Angeles 2018 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION....................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS............................................................................................................ vii VITA.............................................................................................................................................. ix INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... 1 The State of the Literature: Indigenousness and Chuch’e-Centrism.................................. 3 De-Polarizing: The Problem of Marxism-Leninism......................................................... 11 Historical Immediacy, Rationality, and Sublation............................................................ 14 The Problem of Ideology.................................................................................................. 16 Comparative Perspectives and Source Material............................................................... 20 Chapter Overview............................................................................................................. 22 CHAPTER I – THE SOVIET ORIGINS OF NORTH KOREAN IDEOLOGY (1945-55) ...................................................................................................................................... 24 The Leninist Legacy......................................................................................................... 25 North Korean Ideology Under Stalin................................................................................ 32 1955: The Academic Debate Surrounding Kim Il Sung’s December Speech.................. 46 CHAPTER II – THE PROBLEM OF SOVIET IDEOLOGICAL LEADERSHIP (1956-61) ...................................................................................................................................... 64 The Impact of the 20th CPSU Congress........................................................................... 66 When and Why North Korea Finally Rejected Soviet Ideological Leadership................ 83 Conclusion...................................................................................................................... 110 v CHAPTER III – CONFLICTING UNIVERSALITIES: FRATERNAL CRITICISMS, NORTH KOREA’S CONTESTATION OF SOVIET IDEOLOGICAL LEADERSHIP, AND INSULATION (1962-67).................................................................................................. 112 Surveying Fraternal Criticisms....................................................................................... 113 Charyŏk kaengsaeng and the Issue of Nationalism........................................................ 116 The Personality Cult and Ideological Insulation............................................................. 129 The Chuch’e Problem..................................................................................................... 136 Beyond Heterodoxy: A Conclusion................................................................................ 155 CHAPTER IV – CHUCH’E SASANG AND THE MARXIST-LENINIST TRADITION: BEYOND THE MYTH OF NORTH KOREAN IDEALISM (1968-89) .................................. 160 Silencing Marx: North Korea’s Humanism.................................................................... 163 Materialism, Consciousness, and North Korean Ideology.............................................. 172 Marxist-Leninist Leadership Conception and North Korean Ideology.......................... 187 Conclusion...................................................................................................................... 193 FINAL THOUGHTS ................................................................................................................. 196 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................................... 204 vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My sincerest gratitude goes to my advisor, Namhee Lee. Without her unwavering professional and intellectual support, this dissertation would not have been possible. From acquiring research opportunities to navigating the academic landscape, she has always been there for me. I am also thankful to John Duncan for his many insights and career support. I especially owe my understanding of Marxism in colonial Korea to his guidance. David Sabean, too, played a vital role in the completion of this dissertation. I am particularly appreciative of his thorough editing assistance. Special thanks go to Christopher Hanscom for his feedback and support and John McCumber for having inspired my fascination with Hegel. Finally, I wish to express my indebtedness to Michael Robinson, my former advisor at Indiana University, Bloomington. I would never have made it to UCLA without his support and encouragement. In this light, I also owe thanks to Heon Joo Jung, who facilitated my research in South Korea and was always ready to help me. Without the generous financial support of UCLA’s Department of Asian Languages and Cultures and the Center for Korean Studies, I would not have been able to conduct graduate studies. In terms of research abroad, I am again thankful to UCLA’s Center for Korean Studies. I additionally received generous research funding from the Korea Foundation, the Association for Asian Studies, the Academy of Korean Studies, and the UCLA International Institute. Since this study uses a lot of East German and North Korean materials that I was only able to collect due to research stays in Germany and South Korea, I cannot stress enough the impact their support had on the quality of this dissertation. Thus I am also indebted to the supportive staff at the Federal Archives in Berlin and at the North Korea Information Center in Seoul. vii I am further obliged to many of my colleagues, who have supported or inspired me in one way or the other. Matthew Lauer’s company provided me with many intellectual challenges, Hyoungkun Kim helped me get settled in South Korea, and Elli S. Kim assisted me wherever she could. I thank all of them as well as whomever I failed to mention here. Most importantly, I am thankful to my family. Especially my mother helped me get through difficult financial times and personal crises. I hope that she can feel relief and pride in the completion of this dissertation. Finally, a warm thank you goes to Soyoung, who brought me light even in the darkest of times. viii VITA EDUCATION M.A. in East Asian Studies, Indiana University Bloomington, 2012 B.A. in History and German (summa cum laude), University of North Texas, 2010 FELLOWSHIPS AND GRANTS 2017 Academy of Korean Studies Pre-Doctoral Fellowship 2016 Korea Foundation Fellowship
Recommended publications
  • 501.Break.8.Spr.8
    mmcM, JOUWAL OF PMIRIE FIRE ORGANIZING COMMITTEE Vol. VNo.1 Spring 1981 $1.50 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. EDITORIAL SOLIDARITY WITH THE ELEVEN PUERTO RICAN PRISONERS OF WAR page 1 2. EDITORIAL REAGAN TAKES THE REINS: The Right and the Left page 7 3. ALL OUT TO EL PASO MAY 1ST & 2ND! Call for International Day of Solidarity with the Struggle of the Chicano Mexicano People —Movimiento de Liberacion Nacional page 11 4. ONE PEOPLE, ONE NATION! The Straggle for the Socialist Reunification of Mexico page 13 Speech and Interview with a Member of the Comite Contra la Represion de El Paso page 14 Interview with a Member of the Comite de Defensa Popular (Mexico) page 21 5. THE WILL TO WIN! by Don Juan Antonio Corretjer, Secretary General, Liga Socialista Puertorriquena Reprinted from El Nuevo Dia page 25 6. STATEMENT TO THE UN COMMITTEE ON DECOLONIZATION ON THE STRUGGLE FOR NEW AFRIKAN INDEPENDENCE by Ahmed Obafemi, Eastern Regional Vice President, Provisional Government, Republic of New Afrika page 26 7. VICTORY TO THE SALVADOREAN REVOLUTION! Photographs from El Salvador page 30 8. "GENTRIFICATION"—OR GENOCIDE? The Price of Urban Renaissance page 32 9. A TRIBUTE TO WALTER RODNEY Excerpts from "Guyana and the Caribbean" by the Editors of Soulbook page 43 Breakthrough, the political journal of Prairie Fire Organizing Committee, is published by the John Brown Book Club, P.O. Box 14422, San Francisco, CA 94114. We encourage our readers to write us with comments and criticisms. You can contact Prairie Fire Organizing Committee by writing: San Francisco: P.O.
    [Show full text]
  • Truman, Congress and the Struggle for War and Peace In
    TRUMAN, CONGRESS AND THE STRUGGLE FOR WAR AND PEACE IN KOREA A Dissertation by LARRY WAYNE BLOMSTEDT Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY May 2008 Major Subject: History TRUMAN, CONGRESS AND THE STRUGGLE FOR WAR AND PEACE IN KOREA A Dissertation by LARRY WAYNE BLOMSTEDT Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Approved by: Chair of Committee, Terry H. Anderson Committee Members, Jon R. Bond H. W. Brands John H. Lenihan David Vaught Head of Department, Walter L. Buenger May 2008 Major Subject: History iii ABSTRACT Truman, Congress and the Struggle for War and Peace in Korea. (May 2008) Larry Wayne Blomstedt, B.S., Texas State University; M.S., Texas A&M University-Kingsville Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Terry H. Anderson This dissertation analyzes the roles of the Harry Truman administration and Congress in directing American policy regarding the Korean conflict. Using evidence from primary sources such as Truman’s presidential papers, communications of White House staffers, and correspondence from State Department operatives and key congressional figures, this study suggests that the legislative branch had an important role in Korean policy. Congress sometimes affected the war by what it did and, at other times, by what it did not do. Several themes are addressed in this project. One is how Truman and the congressional Democrats failed each other during the war. The president did not dedicate adequate attention to congressional relations early in his term, and was slow to react to charges of corruption within his administration, weakening his party politically.
    [Show full text]
  • This Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation Has Been Downloaded from Explore Bristol Research
    This electronic thesis or dissertation has been downloaded from Explore Bristol Research, http://research-information.bristol.ac.uk Author: Mai, Thuy Title: The Politics of Nationalism in the Vietnamese Communist Discourse General rights Access to the thesis is subject to the Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International Public License. A copy of this may be found at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode This license sets out your rights and the restrictions that apply to your access to the thesis so it is important you read this before proceeding. Take down policy Some pages of this thesis may have been removed for copyright restrictions prior to having it been deposited in Explore Bristol Research. However, if you have discovered material within the thesis that you consider to be unlawful e.g. breaches of copyright (either yours or that of a third party) or any other law, including but not limited to those relating to patent, trademark, confidentiality, data protection, obscenity, defamation, libel, then please contact [email protected] and include the following information in your message: •Your contact details •Bibliographic details for the item, including a URL •An outline nature of the complaint Your claim will be investigated and, where appropriate, the item in question will be removed from public view as soon as possible. The Politics of Nationalism in the Vietnamese Communist Discourse Thuy Thu Mai A dissertation submitted to the University of Bristol in accordance with the requirement for award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Social Science and Law, School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies 30th January 2019 Word Count: 81,365 words Abstract The Vietnamese communists have always defined their revolution in national terms, telling the story of how the communists led the Vietnamese people to rescue and rebuild the nation from the plight of French colonisation and American aggression.
    [Show full text]
  • Marxism, Stalinism, and the Juche Speech of 1955: on the Theoretical De-Stalinization of North Korea
    Marxism, Stalinism, and the Juche Speech of 1955: On the Theoretical De-Stalinization of North Korea Alzo David-West This essay responds to the argument of Brian Myers that late North Korean leader Kim Il Sung’s Juche speech of 1955 is not nationalist (or Stalinist) in any meaningful sense of the term. The author examines the literary formalist method of interpretation that leads Myers to that conclusion, considers the pro- grammatic differences of orthodox Marxism and its development as “Marx- ism-Leninism” under Stalinism, and explains that the North Korean Juche speech is not only nationalist, but also grounded in the Stalinist political tradi- tion inaugurated in the Soviet Union in 1924. Keywords: Juche, Nationalism, North Korean Stalinism, Soviet Stalinism, Socialism in One Country Introduction Brian Myers, a specialist in North Korean literature and advocate of the view that North Korea is not a Stalinist state, has advanced the argument in his Acta Koreana essay, “The Watershed that Wasn’t” (2006), that late North Korean leader Kim Il Sung’s Juche speech of 1955, a landmark document of North Korean Stalinism authored two years after the Korean War, “is not nationalist in any meaningful sense of the term” (Myers 2006:89). That proposition has far- reaching historical and theoretical implications. North Korean studies scholars such as Charles K. Armstrong, Adrian Buzo, Seong-Chang Cheong, Andrei N. Lankov, Chong-Sik Lee, and Bala、zs Szalontai have explained that North Korea adhered to the tactically unreformed and unreconstructed model of nationalist The Review of Korean Studies Volume 10 Number 3 (September 2007) : 127-152 © 2007 by the Academy of Korean Studies.
    [Show full text]
  • Nationalism, Internationalism and Chinese Foreign Policy CHEN ZHIMIN*
    Journal of Contemporary China (2005), 14(42), February, 35–53 Nationalism, Internationalism and Chinese Foreign Policy CHEN ZHIMIN* This article examines the role of nationalism in shaping Chinese foreign policy in the history of contemporary China over the last 100 years. Nationalism is used here as an analytical term, rather than in the usual popular pejorative sense. By tracing the various expressions of contemporary Chinese nationalism, this article argues that nationalism is one of the key enduring driving forces which have shaped Chinese foreign policy over the period; as China increasingly integrates herself into this globalized and interdependent world and Chinese confidence grows, the current expression of Chinese nationalism is taking a more positive form, which incorporates an expanding component of internationalism. In recent years, nationalism has been one of the key focuses in the study of China’s foreign policy. In the 1990s, several Chinese writers started to invoke the concept of nationalism, both in their study of Chinese foreign policy and in their prescriptions for the Chinese foreign policy. Likewise, in English-language scholarship the study of Chinese nationalism largely sets the parameters of the debate about the future of Chinese foreign policy and the world’s response to a rising China. An overarching theme of this Western discourse is a gloomy concern with the worrisome nature of recent expressions of Chinese nationalism. Samuel P. Huntington was famously concerned about China’s intention ‘to bring to an end the
    [Show full text]
  • The Russian Revolutions: the Impact and Limitations of Western Influence
    Dickinson College Dickinson Scholar Faculty and Staff Publications By Year Faculty and Staff Publications 2003 The Russian Revolutions: The Impact and Limitations of Western Influence Karl D. Qualls Dickinson College Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.dickinson.edu/faculty_publications Part of the European History Commons Recommended Citation Qualls, Karl D., "The Russian Revolutions: The Impact and Limitations of Western Influence" (2003). Dickinson College Faculty Publications. Paper 8. https://scholar.dickinson.edu/faculty_publications/8 This article is brought to you for free and open access by Dickinson Scholar. It has been accepted for inclusion by an authorized administrator. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Karl D. Qualls The Russian Revolutions: The Impact and Limitations of Western Influence After the collapse of the Soviet Union, historians have again turned their attention to the birth of the first Communist state in hopes of understanding the place of the Soviet period in the longer sweep of Russian history. Was the USSR an aberration from or a consequence of Russian culture? Did the Soviet Union represent a retreat from westernizing trends in Russian history, or was the Bolshevik revolution a product of westernization? These are vexing questions that generate a great deal of debate. Some have argued that in the late nineteenth century Russia was developing a middle class, representative institutions, and an industrial economy that, while although not as advanced as those in Western Europe, were indications of potential movement in the direction of more open government, rule of law, free market capitalism. Only the Bolsheviks, influenced by an ideology imported, paradoxically, from the West, interrupted this path of Russian political and economic westernization.
    [Show full text]
  • Democratic Vanguardism
    Democratic Vanguardism Modernity, Intervention, and the making of the Bush Doctrine Michael Harland A Thesis Submitted in Fulfillment of The Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History Department of History University of Canterbury 2013 For Francine Contents Acknowledgements 1 Abstract 3 Introduction 4 1. America at the Vanguard: Democracy Promotion and the Bush Doctrine 16 2. Assessing History’s End: Thymos and the Post-Historic Life 37 3. The Exceptional Nation: Power, Principle and American Foreign Policy 55 4. The “Crisis” of Liberal Modernity: Neoconservatism, Relativism and Republican Virtue 84 5. An “Intoxicating Moment:” The Rise of Democratic Globalism 123 6. The Perfect Storm: September 11 and the coming of the Bush Doctrine 159 Conclusion 199 Bibliography 221 1 Acknowledgements Over the three years I spent researching and writing this thesis, I have received valuable advice and support from a number of individuals and organisations. My supervisors, Peter Field and Jeremy Moses, were exemplary. As my senior supervisor, Peter provided a model of a consummate historian – lively, probing, and passionate about the past. His detailed reading of my work helped to hone the thesis significantly. Peter also allowed me to use his office while he was on sabbatical in 2009. With a library of over six hundred books, the space proved of great use to an aspiring scholar. Jeremy Moses, meanwhile, served as the co-supervisor for this thesis. His research on the connections between liberal internationalist theory and armed intervention provided much stimulus for this study. Our discussions on the present trajectory of American foreign policy reminded me of the continuing pertinence of my dissertation topic.
    [Show full text]
  • The Communist Party of Great Britain Since 1920 Also by David Renton
    The Communist Party of Great Britain since 1920 Also by David Renton RED SHIRTS AND BLACK: Fascism and Anti-Fascism in Oxford in the ‘Thirties FASCISM: Theory and Practice FASCISM, ANTI-FASCISM AND BRITAIN IN THE 1940s THE TWENTIETH CENTURY: A Century of Wars and Revolutions? (with Keith Flett) SOCIALISM IN LIVERPOOL: Episodes in a History of Working-Class Struggle THIS ROUGH GAME: Fascism and Anti-Fascism in European History MARX ON GLOBALISATION CLASSICAL MARXISM: Socialist Theory and the Second International The Communist Party of Great Britain since 1920 James Eaden and David Renton © James Eaden and David Renton 2002 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2002 978-0-333-94968-9 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4LP. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The authors have asserted their rights to be identified as the authors of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2002 by PALGRAVE Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N. Y. 10010 Companies and representatives throughout the world PALGRAVE is the new global academic imprint of St.
    [Show full text]
  • "Mostly Propaganda in Nature": Kim Il Sung, the Juche Ideology, and The
    NORTH KOREA INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTATION PROJECT WORKING PAPER #3 THE NORTH KOREA INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTATION PROJECT WORKING PAPER SERIES Christian F. Ostermann and James F. Person, Series Editors This paper is one of a series of Working Papers published by the North Korea International Documentation Project of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. Established in 2006 by a grant from the Korea Foundation, and in cooperation with the University of North Korean Studies (Seoul), the North Korea International Documentation Project (NKIDP) addresses the scholarly and policymaking communities’ critical need for reliable information on the North Korean political system and foreign relations by widely disseminating newly declassified documents on the DPRK from the previously inaccessible archives of Pyongyang’s former communist allies. With no history of diplomatic relations with Pyongyang and severely limited access to the country’s elite, it is difficult to for Western policymakers, journalists, and academics to understand the forces and intentions behind North Korea’s actions. The diplomatic record of North Korea’s allies provides valuable context for understanding DPRK policy. Among the activities undertaken by the project to promote this aim are a section in the periodic Cold War International History Project BULLETIN to disseminate new findings, views, and activities pertaining to North Korea in the Cold War; a fellowship program for Korean scholars working on North Korea; international scholarly meetings, conferences, and seminars; and publications. The NKIDP Working Paper Series is designed to provide a speedy publications outlet for historians associated with the project who have gained access to newly- available archives and sources and would like to share their results.
    [Show full text]
  • Educational Concepts of Internationalism and Multiculturalism: Historical and Pedagogical Aspect
    SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL OF POLONIA UNIVERSITY 39 (2020) 2 EDUCATIONAL CONCEPTS OF INTERNATIONALISM AND MULTICULTURALISM: HISTORICAL AND PEDAGOGICAL ASPECT Lyudmyla Kruhlenko Senior Lector, Kryvyi Rih National University, Ukraine e-mail: [email protected], orcid.org/ 0000-0002-0596-6926 Summary The article is devoted to highlighting the origins of the idea of multiculturalism in the Ukrainian educational environment. The author states the relevance of the problem of multiculturalism for the Ukrainian education system, defines the range of the most discussed scientific problems and states the limited scope of work where the problem of multiculturalism was considered from a historical and pedagogical perspective. In paper the author states the presence of this educational trend in the middle of the twentieth century, which has created certain preconditions for the modern implementation of the concept of multicultural education. The article considers educational internationalism as a dual concept, which, on the one hand, promoted fraternity, commonwealth and mutual respect, and on the other hand, irreconcilability towards representatives of other (non-socialist) political views. Therefore, the author is convinced that it is impossible to identify the ideas of internationalism and multiculturalism in education. International education laid the foundations for the creation of a certain social community on the territory of the USSR, however, both external and internal problems associated with the existence of various nations/ethnic groups were solved exclusively on a class (and therefore irreconcilable) basis. On the other hand, the educational concept of multiculturalism deprives the educational discourse of any enmity, opposition of some groups to others, struggle with each other, instead of promoting the ideas of social tolerance, civic values, mutual respect and cooperation.
    [Show full text]
  • Winds of Change Are Normally Characterised by the Distinctive Features of a Geographical Area
    Department of Military History Rekkedal et al. Rekkedal The various forms of irregular war today, such as insurgency, counterinsurgency and guerrilla war, Winds of Change are normally characterised by the distinctive features of a geographical area. The so-called wars of national liberation between 1945 and the late On Irregular Warfare 1970s were disproportionately associated with terms like insurgency, guerrilla war and (internal) Nils Marius Rekkedal et al. terrorism. Use of such methods signals revolutionary Publication series 2 | N:o 18 intentions, but the number of local and regional conflict is still relatively high today, almost 40 years after the end of the so-called ‘Colonial period’. In this book, we provide some explanations for the ongoing conflicts. The book also deals, to a lesser extent, with causes that are of importance in many ongoing conflicts – such as ethnicity, religious beliefs, ideology and fighting for control over areas and resources. The book also contains historical examples and presents some of the common thoughts and theories concerning different forms of irregular warfare, insurgencies and terrorism. Included are also a number of presentations of today’s definitions of military terms for the different forms of conflict and the book offer some information on the international military-theoretical debate about military terms. Publication series 2 | N:o 18 ISBN 978 - 951 - 25 - 2271 - 2 Department of Military History ISSN 1456 - 4874 P.O. BOX 7, 00861 Helsinki Suomi – Finland WINDS OF CHANGE ON IRREGULAR WARFARE NILS MARIUS REKKEDAL ET AL. Rekkedal.indd 1 23.5.2012 9:50:13 National Defence University of Finland, Department of Military History 2012 Publication series 2 N:o 18 Cover: A Finnish patrol in Afghanistan.
    [Show full text]
  • Mainstreaming Radical Politics in Sri Lanka: the Case of JVP Post-1977
    Mainstreaming Radical Politics in Sri Lanka: The case of JVP post-1977 Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri Abstract This article provides a critical understanding of dynamics behind the roles of the People’s Liberation Front (JVP) in post-1977 Sri Lankan politics. Having suffered a severe setback in the early 1970s, the JVP transformed itself into a significant force in electoral politics that eventually brought the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) to power. This article explains the transformation by examining the radical political setting and mapping out the actors and various movements which allowed the JVP to emerge as a dominant player within the hegemonic political mainstream in Sri Lanka. Furthermore, it also highlights the structural changes in JVP politics and its challenges for future consolidation. Introduction The 1977 general election marked a major turning point in the history of post-colonial Sri Lanka. While the landslide victory of the United National Party (UNP) was the most important highlight of the election results, the shocking defeat for the old leftist parties was equally important. Both the victory of the UNP and the defeat of the left were symbolic. The left’s electoral defeat was soon followed by the introduction of new macro-economic policy framework under the UNP’s rule, which replaced protective economic policy framework that was endorsed by the Left.1 Ironically enough, as if to dig its own grave, the same UNP government helped People’s Liberation Front (JVP), which became a formidable threat to the smooth implementation of the new economic policies, to re-enter into the political mainstream by way of freeing its leadership from the prison.
    [Show full text]