@article {Mahdavi:2020:0010-4159:221,
title = "Dynamics of the Inner Elite in Dictatorships: Evidence from North Korea",
journal = "Comparative Politics",
parent_itemid = "infobike://cuny/cp",
publishercode ="cuny",
year = "2020",
volume = "52",
number = "2",
publication date ="2020-01-01T00:00:00",
pages = "221-249",
itemtype = "ARTICLE",
issn = "0010-4159",
eissn = "2151-6227",
url = "https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cuny/cp/2020/00000052/00000002/art00004",
doi = "doi:10.5129/001041520X15652680065751",
author = "Mahdavi, Paasha and Ishiyama, John",
abstract = "How does the circle of inner elites evolve over time in dictatorships? We draw on theories of authoritarian power-sharing to shed light on the evolution of politics in North Korea. Given challenges in collecting individual-level data in this context, we employ web-scraping techniques
that capture inspection visits by the dictator as reported by state-run media to assemble network data on elite public co-occurrences. We test the durability of this network since Kim Jong-un's rise to power in December 2011 to find suggestive evidence of elite purging. Our findings contribute
to the broader literature on authoritarian elite dynamics and to subnational studies on power-sharing in communist states. Importantly, our approach helps bring the study of North Korean politics more firmly in the mainstream of political science inquiry.",
}