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"A Nation's Vibrant and Triumphant Incarnation in a Man": Personality Cults and Isolation in North Korea and Cuba

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Date Issued:
2015
Summary:
This paper argues that Kim Il-Sung of North Korea and Fidel Castro of Cuba established personality cults of differing degrees of intensity due to the relative degrees of historical and political isolation present in each state. Although both states followed a similar pattern of dominance, resentment, nationalism, and socialism in their recent histories, their differing overall histories dictated the intensity of their leaders' personality cults. Korea's long history of self-imposed isolationism in combination with xenophobia was continued in Kim's self-reliance ideology and allowed for a fanatical personality cult to develop. Cuba's only experience with isolation was that imposed by the United States through its embargoes, and the resulting hostility between Cuba and the United States actually helped legitimize Castro's regime and personality cult.
Title: "A Nation's Vibrant and Triumphant Incarnation in a Man": Personality Cults and Isolation in North Korea and Cuba.
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Name(s): Trifoi, Bianca
Steigenga, Timothy J.
Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Thesis
Date Created: Spring 2015
Date Issued: 2015
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Florida
Physical Form: pdf
Extent: 65 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: This paper argues that Kim Il-Sung of North Korea and Fidel Castro of Cuba established personality cults of differing degrees of intensity due to the relative degrees of historical and political isolation present in each state. Although both states followed a similar pattern of dominance, resentment, nationalism, and socialism in their recent histories, their differing overall histories dictated the intensity of their leaders' personality cults. Korea's long history of self-imposed isolationism in combination with xenophobia was continued in Kim's self-reliance ideology and allowed for a fanatical personality cult to develop. Cuba's only experience with isolation was that imposed by the United States through its embargoes, and the resulting hostility between Cuba and the United States actually helped legitimize Castro's regime and personality cult.
Identifier: FA00003658 (IID)
Note(s): Includes bibliography.
Thesis (B.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, 2016.
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Sublocation: Digital Library
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00003658
Restrictions on Access: All rights reserved by the source institution
Restrictions on Access: Copyright © is held by the author, with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Host Institution: FAU

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