CHANGES IN THE COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURES OF THE NORTH KOREAN POLITICAL ELITE
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It is contended that the structure of the Soviet and Chinese political elites underwent evolutionary changes under state socialism, becoming larger, widely differentiated, functionally specialised, and socially heterogeneous. This trend was particularly conspicuous in the 1980s. This paper examines changes in the North Korean political elite between 1980 and 2000, and investigates whether its composition and structure have diversified as in the case of the Soviet and Chinese political elites. An in-depth study of the Korean Worker’s Party Central Committee pinpoints relative personnel stability and continuity in the North Korean political elite structure with regards to members’ social attributes. Some signs of widening differentiation in the political elite were detected in the 1980s, where its size grew and the representation of the state elite consisting of technocrats and managerial personnel increased. Facing internal and external crises in the 1990s, however, it showed a reverse pattern. The North Korean political elite became smaller in size, closed, and homogeneously centralised, in which members were interconnected by similar demographic, education and career backgrounds. A narrowing differentiation of the political elite, featuring decreasing representation of state elites and the rapidly increasing numbers of Party and military elites, also marked a distinctive characteristic of the 1990s. In contrast to the Soviet and Chinese political elites which have experienced a radical turnover following leadership change, the North Korean political elite under Kim Jong-il has developed into a compact cohesive elite without any abrupt personnel change.
Abstract
It is contended that the structure of the Soviet and Chinese political elites underwent evolutionary changes under state socialism, becoming larger, widely differentiated, functionally specialised, and socially heterogeneous. This trend was particularly conspicuous in the 1980s. This paper examines changes in the North Korean political elite between 1980 and 2000, and investigates whether its composition and structure have diversified as in the case of the Soviet and Chinese political elites. An in-depth study of the Korean Worker’s Party Central Committee pinpoints relative personnel stability and continuity in the North Korean political elite structure with regards to members’ social attributes. Some signs of widening differentiation in the political elite were detected in the 1980s, where its size grew and the representation of the state elite consisting of technocrats and managerial personnel increased. Facing internal and external crises in the 1990s, however, it showed a reverse pattern. The North Korean political elite became smaller in size, closed, and homogeneously centralised, in which members were interconnected by similar demographic, education and career backgrounds. A narrowing differentiation of the political elite, featuring decreasing representation of state elites and the rapidly increasing numbers of Party and military elites, also marked a distinctive characteristic of the 1990s. In contrast to the Soviet and Chinese political elites which have experienced a radical turnover following leadership change, the North Korean political elite under Kim Jong-il has developed into a compact cohesive elite without any abrupt personnel change.