Jung H. Pak – författare

An in-depth exploration of the strategic dynamics shaping East Asia's future on the world stage

East Asia is the epicenter of twenty-first-century geopolitics, where military, economic, and diplomatic strategies intersect in complex and often unpredictable ways. As the region becomes increasingly central to global power dynamics, understanding the strategies that drive the actions of powers there is more critical than ever.

East Asia's Grand Strategies offers the first comparative analysis of the grand strategies of twelve East Asian powers and reveals how they shape their foreign policies, balancing external pressures with domestic political realities. In this edited volume, experts from the region provide non-Western perspectives and fresh insights into the unique factors influencing each case's grand strategy. The chapters illuminate patterns that are critical for understanding East Asia's role in global politics today.

Scholars, students, and policymakers interested in East Asia's international relations and the evolving dynamics of its grand strategy will be interested in this timely analysis of the strategic forces shaping the region and, by extension, the future of global power.

When Kim Jong Un became the leader of North Korea following his father's death in 2011, predictions about his imminent fall were rife. North Korea was isolated, poor, unable to feed its people, and clinging to its nuclear program for legitimacy. Surely this twentysomething with a bizarre haircut and no leadership experience would soon be usurped by his elders. Instead, the opposite happened. Now in his midthirties, Kim Jong Un has solidified his grip on his country and brought the United States and the region to the brink of war. Still, we know so little about him-or how he rules. Enter former CIA analyst Jung Pak, whose brilliant Brookings Institution essay "The Education of Kim Jong Un" cemented her status as the go-to authority on the calculating young leader. From the beginning of Kim's reign, Pak has been at the forefront of shaping U.S. policy on North Korea and providing strategic assessments for leadership at the highest levels in the government. Now, in this masterly book, she traces and explains Kim's ascent on the world stage, from his brutal power-consolidating purges to his abrupt pivot toward diplomatic engagement that led to his historic-and still poorly understood-summits with President Trump. She also sheds light on how a top intelligence analyst assesses thorny national security problems: avoiding biases, questioning assumptions, and identifying risks as well as opportunities. In piecing together Kim's wholly unique life, Pak argues that his personality, perceptions, and preferences are underestimated by Washington policy wonks, who assume he sees the world as they do. As the North Korean nuclear threat grows, Becoming Kim Jong Un gives readers the first authoritative, behind-the-scenes look at Kim's character and motivations, creating an insightful biography of the enigmatic man who could rule the hermit kingdom for decades-and has already left an indelible imprint on world history.