On the Korean peninsula one of the greatest success stories of the postwar era confronts a famine-ridden--and possibly nuclear-armed--totalitarian state. The stakes are extraordinarily high for both North and South Korea and for countries such as the United States that have a direct stake in these affairs. This study, the most comprehensive volume to date on the subject, examines the current situation in the two Koreas in terms of three major crises: the nuclear confrontation between the United States and North Korea, the North Korean famine, and the South Korean financial crisis. The future...

Compared to other regions of the world, the Middle East was once unique in its combination of authoritarianism and stultifying stability: No longer. Beginning in Tunisia, a wave of political upheaval has rolled across the region, reaching Egypt, Bahrain, Libya, and other countries caught between rising expectations and their antediluvian political systems, abetted by pan-Arab news channels and social networking media. This book examines the economics of the Middle East, with the aim of identifying changes to economic policy that could address at least the economic component of the challenges...