Famine and Regime Response in Post-Cold War Communist States: Political Commitment, Food Distribution, and International Aid in Cuba and North Korea

Abstract:This article examines governments' responses to food crises and famines in the nondemocratic world. After the sudden collapse of the Soviet Union, many of the remaining communist countries encountered an unprecedented level of food shortage and economic hardship, which, in turn, expedited or led to regime collapse. However, Cuba and North Korea are striking cases that have managed to survive the extreme situations from the 1990s onward. In this comparative-historical research, I argue that although the two countries implemented different coping strategies in light of domestic food distribution and international aid inducement, similar outcomes are observed in terms of regime survival. Despite the varied strategies, the state-mandated food politics were commonly mobilized through public rationing in these countries during the Cold War. This pre-crisis statecraft effectively disempowered the people, leaving them with a strong dependency on the state food systems and a weak voice of complaint against their governments.