As an undergrad, I had the honor of studying with a student of Robert Keohane, one half of the team that wrote Power and Interdependence: World Politics in Transition and founder of the complex interdependence “school”. Now, Charles Kupchan claims he has proven that regime is irrelevant to diplomacy, and that geopolitics trumps economic interdependence. Although Eli Lake highlights the relevance of Kupchan’s work to Iran and Israel, I immediately thought of the DPRK. Kupchan’s theory helps those opposing economic engagement with Pyongyang.

Filed under: Academia, bhtv, Books, Business/Economy, Iran, Korea, LF-Recommended, Politics, Russia, Social Science Tagged: charles kupchan, complex interdependence, eli lake, geopolitics, realism