Doctoral Dissertation Research: Understanding the Dynamics of State Power and Militant Nationalism

The study of socialist state power is one of the interdisciplinary studies which humanities and social sciences have explored. I believe that my project will be of significant general interest to political sociologists and social scientists who specialize in state power. Sociologically, my research on North Korean militant nationalism through in-depth interviews and ethnographic observation with North Korean refugees can: (1) enable us to delve into North Korean society, which has been regarded as unapproachable, through the qualitative research method; (2) help us understand how the socialist state exerted its power and how the citizens reacted to state power theoretically in terms of the relationship between the state and civil society; (3) help us understand an alternative perspective of socialist state power that is differentiated from the traditional approach of totalitarianism.

The intellectual merits of this study are its contribution to theories of state power and socio-cultural transformation through a study of the bottom-up politics of Stalinist state socialism. A unique contribution is to explore citizens' everyday politics which is represented by the state's militant nationalism. This study is important for placing individuals' lives at the center of the analysis, and highlighting the way in which their everyday practices are shaped and reshaped within nationalist politics. The larger theoretical contribution of this research is to suggest a new understanding of state power in terms of the relationship between the state and society. This will allow us to consider a new mechanism of state power in Stalinist state socialism.

This study also has several broader impacts. The findings of this study will be disseminated not only in the academic community but also among individuals and social organizations in and beyond the U.S. This study will be of significant interest to individuals and social organizations which engage in transitional socialist states and their social changes. These findings may suggest a better understanding of the relationship between the state and civil society in transitional socialist societies and provide insights for their peaceful social changes. Therefore, this study may contribute to providing insights for peaceful international politics.