Rogue Allies

In Rogue Allies: The Strategic Partnership between Iran and North Korea, Bruce E. Bechtol Jr. and Anthony N. Celso examine the influence of these two rogue states whose rebellion against the United States and US-backed countries has serious consequences for international relations. Iran and North Korea have profited from illegal activities, such as the arming of terrorist organizations, in attempts to disrupt peace efforts in the Middle East and East Asia and to destabilize the rules-based order of the world. Bechtol and Celso uncover the origins of this decades-long alliance, consider elements that these two nation-states have in common, and explain how their relationship undermines neighboring regions. The authors draw from revealing interviews with Iranian and North Korean defectors as well as firsthand accounts from other sources, providing crucial additions to this body of research. While some scholars have compared and contrasted Iran and North Korea, few have delved into how this partnership works to achieve its far-reaching impact. By assessing key aspects of the Iran-North Korea nexus-including military, ideological, economic, and environmental forces-Rogue Allies investigates the link between two volatile states and the ensuing implications for global security. AUTHORS: Bruce E. Bechtol Jr., professor of political science at Angelo State University, is a retired Marine and has also served as an intelligence officer for the Defense Intelligence Agency. He is the author of North Korean Military Proliferation in the Middle East and Africa: Enabling Violence and Instability, North Korea and Regional Security in the Kim Jong-un Era: A New International Security Dilemma, and The Last Days of Kim Jong-il: The North Korean Threat in a Changing Era. Anthony N. Celso is professor of security studies at Angelo State University and a specialist in Islamic terrorism and Mediterranean and Middle Eastern politics. His scholarly articles have appeared in numerous journals, and he is the coeditor of The African Failed State and the author of Al Qaeda's Post 9/11 Devolution: The Failed Jihadist War against the Near and Far Enemy and The Islamic State: A Comparative History of Jihadist Warfare. 7 b/w tables