Italy & North Korea The European country of Italy and the Asian country of North Korea are utterly different in terms of their history, government, and economy. Italys government is the form of a republic, a unitary parliamentary constitutional republic to be exact, and North Korea’s political thesis is that of Juche, their version of a unitary single- party state system. Given these different political organizations, the way their systems and legislatures are organized and set up are evidently dissimilar.
Italy is set up to have a bicameral legislature with a parliamentary system while North Korea stablished a unicameral parliament in which they call the Supreme People’s Assembly. North Korea and Italy both have a median landmass with a median population compared to the rest of the world, although the population in Italy is almost 3 times that of North Korea. Italys economy is far surpassed North Korea’s in several ways. Not only does North Korea operate a highly centralized command economy, but they also have an isolation policy in place that places severe restrictions on international trade.
Italy operates as a free market economy and has the eighth largest economy in the world and fourth largest in Europe to show for it. The militaries are structured differently in each country, as well. According to the U. S. Department of State, North Korea has the largest total military in the world while Italy came in at the 27th spot under the same conditions. Immigrants, both legal and illegal, concur big problems in both countries. Italy’s lengthy coast and highly developed economy attracts hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants from southeastern Europe and northern Africa.
North Korea, on the other hand, has its citizens trying to escape, rather than a flood of immigrants trying to enter. Tens of housands of North Koreans attempt to cross the border into China in efforts to be free from the famine, economic misery, and political tyranny. There are several other factors that have impacted the development and lack of development in these two nation states. The history of Italy is a fascinating adventure as it starts during the Roman Kingdom ages around 753 B. C. when Rome, Italy was founded. Approximately 509 B. C. the monarchy is overthrown and Rome becomes a republic.
Historic fgure Julius Caesar is the dictator during 46 to 44 B. C. The Italian Renaissance began in Tuscany n 1301 while peaking in the late 15th century as foreign invasions plunged the region into turmoil. Following the Renaissance were the Italian Wars that ranged from 1494 to 1 559 was foreign domination by Spain (1559-1713) and Austria (1713-1796). When Napoleon ruled France, Italy became a client state of the French Republic (1796-1814), but luckily Italy unified in 181 5 when the Napoleon rule ended. In 1861, King Victor Emmanuel II united the states of the Italian Peninsula and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies into one nation-state.
In 191 5, Italy entered into WWI when it declared war on Austria-Hungary. Although Italy was sided with Germany at the time, Italy Joined forces with the members of the Triple Entente. The victory helped to cease the existence of the German, Russian, Austro-Hungarian, and and created a Fascist government that led to an alliance with Germany and Japan. Mussolini was among the founders of Italian fascism, which included elements of autonomy, corporatism, national syndicalism, imperialism, social progress and anti- communism in combination with censorship of subversives and state propaganda.
Similarly to WWI, Italy remained neutral at the start of the Second World War in 1939, ut following suit again it entered into WWII in 1940. Because of his decision to enter the war for the wrong reasons, Mussolini was thrown out of rule in 1943 as Pietro Badoglio and King Victor Emmanuel Ill took over the new government. In 1946, Italy again became a republic with a new constitution written for the new republic in 1948.
Since then, there hasn’t been much reform to the government other than major democratic changes in 1992 as voters who were upset over past political paralysis, massive government debt, and extensive corruption demanded political, social, and economical reform. North Korea is extremely distinct compared to any country in the world, especially Italy, in every way, shape, and form imaginable. The history of North Korea gives a deep understanding when analyzing the division of Korea into the North and South. At one point in time, approximately 6,000 B. C. , humans inhabited what we refer to now as the Korean Peninsula.
These early inhabitants were merely hunters and gatherers; it wasn’t until 1,200 B. C. when society became increasingly stratified. Many aspects of the Chinese culture migrated into the Korean culture as its people starting to voyage to the peninsula. With the decline and fall of the Han dynasty in China around year 200, the Chinese command posts were gradually abandoned and three major kingdoms emerged on the peninsula. These three rival kingdoms were the Koguryo, Paekche, and Shilla. Each kingdom had a system in which there was one family in rule and rule was to be passed down from father to son.
All of the kingdoms were heavily influenced by their founding Chinese culture. Although Koguryo was the most powerful of the Three Kingdoms, by the seventh century it was suffering from a decline in leadership and was weakened by wars with the two rival kingdoms and the Chinese homeland. Shilla, through alliances and wars, eventually took over much of the Korean peninsula. Korea got its name from Koryo, a dynasty that defeated the Shilla Kingdom in 936. The Choson Dynasty was the final dynasty to habituate the Korean peninsula from 1392-1910. A strong central bureaucracy was established, building on the Koryo model during this time.
King SeJong, the fourth Choson monarch, was the inventor of the Hangul syllabary, Korea’s writing. Choson was invaded by Japan from 1592-1598 and by the Chinese in 1627 and 1636. Choson failed to truly recover from these attacks and by 1910; Japan had taken Korea as a colony of its own. During the time of 1910-1945 when Japan was first in complete control of Korea, Korea had its language, natural resources, media, and customs suppressed during the Japanese empire. Soon after the end of the Japanese empire in the summer of 1945, Korea’s destiny was decided at a meeting in the eastern United States in which no Koreans were in attendance.
Korea was officially split in 1948. The line that divides the north and south were the spheres of influence of the American led Allied forces and the forces of the Soviet Union. As relations between the former allies deteriorated, governments in the communist north and the ntimonarchist south failed to reach agreements over single rule. In 1950 North diplomatic reconsolidation for the two countries. In 1953, a truce was called between the two countries and remains in place today. As time passed, the economy of North Korea improved fairly rapidly under Kim II-sungs “self-reliance”.
Economic hardship descended on the country with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989 as withdrawal of the economic support they had blossomed on that country after the Korean War. Kim II-sung died in 1994, leaving Kim Jung-il in command. After Jung-II’s death in 011, his son Kim Jong-un took office as the supreme leader. Italy is currently a parliamentary government with a proportional voting system. The parliament is divided into two houses: the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Republic, both of which share equal power in the legislative branch.
The Prime Minister is the head of the government in Italy and is appointed into power by the President of the Republic in the executive branch. The Prime Minister, also referred to as President of the Council of Ministers, is the commander in chief, president of the Judiciary branch, and the appointer of the executive. Italy has an election for the President every seven years. Both houses of Italian Parliament may serve a maximum of five years, but the President, upon his discretion, may dissolve both houses.
This was the case in 2008 when a snap election was held after President Giorgio Napolitano dissolved parliament succeeding his opponent Prime Minister Romano Prodi. Italys four major political parties, the People of Freedom, the Democratic Party, the Northern League, and the Italy of Values, make up the majority of the seats available in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. During the 2008 election, these our parties won 590 out of the available 630 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 308 out of 318 seats available in the Senate of the Republic. The People of Freedom and the Democratic Party are the biggest parties in Italy as of now.
Italy currently recognizes five Senators for Life, in which the President elects “for outstanding patriotic merits in the social, scientific, artistic or literary field. ” Italy was one of the founding members of the European Union (ELI), formerly the European Community, as well as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Italy was admitted to the EIJ in 1955 and NATO in 1949. Italy has strong foreign relations with the United States, Russia, northern African countries, as well as countries belonging to NATO. Italy is divided into 20 sub regions, five of which have special power that gives them legislative duties for local matters.
The special statues are listed under Article 116 of the Italian Constitution. One can compare that to the power the states have in the United States. These regions include well-known names such as Sicily, Tuscany, and Lombardy. Each region has an elected parliament called the Regional Council or the Regional Assembly headed by the regional President. The citizens of each region elect the regional President, honoring its status as a parliamentary republic system of government. According to the Constitution of North Korea, the executive branch of the state makes up its government.
The National Defence Commission of North Korea is where the power lies and leader Kim Jong-un makes all major decisions. North Korea functions as a single-party state under a totalitarian, family dictatorship starting with Kim II-sung and his heirs. The Constitution mentions freedoms and protection of human rights, but expression of the people to the outside world is extremely forbidden. The only legally permitted political party in North Korea is are held, but only in single-candidate races in which the candidate has been previously selected by the WPK, most likely in the bloodline of Kim Jong-un.
North Korea has developed a political thesis called Juche in which is the idea of self- reliance. The core concept of Juche is to Justify the central authorities’ notions that the people should act independently without regard to outside interference, meaning everything Korean comes first and foremost. The Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA) is the unicameral parliament of North Korea made up of 687 deputies whom are lected to five-year terms. The North Korean policy of Songun is one in which the military is prioritized in the affairs of state and allocates national resources to the army first.
This “Military First” policy puts the Korean People’s Army as a guideline for political and economical life. The National Defence Commission is the highest military leadership body of the state, which manages all military functions and matters. Having the fourth largest army in the world, military spending is estimated at as much as a quarter of GNP, with up to of men ages 17-54 in the regular armed forces. North Korea boasts about its weapons of mass destruction as it has the third largest chemical weapons stockpile in the world and uses this as threats and to gain power.
The economy of Italy is truly significant as it boasts the fourth largest economy in Europe in terms of nominal GDP. After WWII, Italy rapidly transitioned from an agriculturally based economy to a highly industrialized economy in order to keep up with other developing countries. Italy is a leading country in world trade and exports as it praises itself on its well known industries such as its prominent and inventive usiness economic district, an industrious and aggressive agricultural sector, and for its innovative automobile, industrial, appliance and fashion design abilities.
Italy has numerous small businesses that propel its economy, rather than global corporations that fuel globalization. Given that fact, Italy was the seventh largest exporter in 2009, trading mostly with other countries in the EIJ such as Germany, France, and Spain. Tourism is also a big money maker for Italy as it is the fifth most visited country and highest tourism earner in the world. Even after a strong backbone of business and rade, Italy is currently suffering from major economic problems.
The debt Italy is in resulting from massive government spending in the 1980’s onward is astronomical ranking in second behind Greece. The Italian economy is weakened by the lack of infrastructure development, market reforms and research investment, and high public deficit. The EIJ has had to assist Italy numerous times to help its development and growth out of the debt they are in. The economy of North Korea is the complete opposite to that of Italy. North Korea is industrialized, but it operates autarkical and is a highly centralized, command conomy. International trade and foreign relations are extremely restricted.
Food rations, housing, healthcare, and education are offered from the state for free, but wages from legal work from the men is close to $2 a month. Illegal business is conducted among the people in terms of trading, farming, and handicrafts, which brings the average salary closer to $15 a month. Estimations have projected that in the early 2000s, the average family received about 80% of its income from small businesses that are legal in market economies, but illegal in North Korea’s command the world. North Korea’s main moneymakers are 43. % in industry, 33. 6% in services, and 23. % in agriculture and fisheries. In conclusion, given Italys free market economy and North Korea’s centralized command economy, comparisons can already be made as to how these countries operate. Italy has a unitary parliamentary government system, meaning no clear-cut separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches, while North Korea is a single-party state with a totalitarian dictatorship style system. The military in North Korea is made to be the most important sector in its society while Italy tends to focus on its democratic and free market values.
The history of events and leaders that each country entailed have managed to change the way their political, economical, and social principles are viewed and portrayed. Works Cited Arcatnt, G. B. “The History of Italy. ” Arcatnt. N. p. , 8 oct. 2010. web. 8 Dec. 2012. Bender, Mark. Korean History. Timeline of East Asian History. The Ohio State University, n. d. Web. 1 Dec. 2012. Butler, Rhett A. “North Korea – Government. ” Country Studies. Mongabay, n. d. Web. 8 Dec. 2012. “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. ” U. S. Department of State. Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, 4 Apr. 2012. Web. 11 Dec. 12. Fameli, Elio, and Fiorenza Socci. “Italian Legal System. ” Guide to Italian Legal Research and Resources on the Web. GlobaLex, Mar. 2005. Web. 8 Dec. 2012. “GDP. ” World Development Indicators Database. World Bank, 1 July 2011. Web. 15 Dec. 2012. “Italy. ” The World Factbook 2009. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2009. Web. 1 Dec. 2012. “Italy Economy: Facts, Data, & Analysis on Economic Freedom. ” Italy. Ed. Anthony Kim. The Heritage Foundation, n. d. Web. 1 Dec. 2012. “North Korea. ” The World Factbook 2009. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, university, Apr. 2012. web. 1 Dec. 2012.
