ABSTRACT
North Korea and Iran are both highly centralized, authoritarian states with a powerful chief executive at the top. Both Iran and North Korea have overarching ideologies as a basis of legitimacy and long-held nuclear ambitions that transcend leadership and, in the Iranian case, regimes. Iran's revolutionary theocracy is built upon an idea of rule by virtuous scholars. The ideology of North Korea's revolutionary polity lacks the theoretical and theological foundation of a world religion on which to stand. The chapter argues that one of the most critical economic distinctions between Iran and North Korea is Iran remains a trading state, whereas North Korea largely is not. Iran remains considerably more integrated into the global economy than North Korea. International politics and disputes over North Korean behaviour have affected North Korean trade tremendously. Iran faced substantial inflation problems as well, but they pale in comparison to North Korea's.
