From Monolithic Totalitarian to Collective Authoritarian Leadership? Performance-Based Legitimacy and Power Transfer in North Korea

We discuss the systemic options for the succession of power in North Korea based on the understanding of the system as totalitarian rather than as a monarchy. We argue that its legitimacy was and is performance based, although the emphasis has shifted from economic to ideological performance. Kim Jong-il was instrumental in this process. We argue that the power transfer from Kim Il-sung to his son was unique and cannot easily be duplicated. The system's perpetuation necessitates a separation of legitimacy and actual rule. This and the likeliness of a return to economically determined performance as the base for legitimacy suggest the installation of some form of collective leadership.