During the course of writing this book over the last few years, we benefited greatly from many thoughtful academics, policy analysts, journalists, friends, and colleagues who generously shared their thoughts, encouragement, and constructive criticism. There are simply too many to list to fully capture our intellectual debt of gratitude. However, we would be remiss if we did not thank Mark Gasiorowski for initially discussing this idea with us many years ago. An Iran scholar and comparativist, Mark challenged us to think like a social scientist and provided many early insights for us on Iran and the Middle East when at least one of the authors had previously been focused more exclusively on North Korea and East Asia. The Asan Institute’s convening conference panels on the North Korea–Iran comparison let us hear directly from many important voices on this topic and helped us define our own unique views and thoughts. Our endnotes are the most comprehensive listing of those we owe for their thoughts; we appreciated the opportunity to not only read these scholars’ work, but they often generously made themselves available to discuss further.
At the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, we want to thank Marrie Schaefer who graciously took on the task of reading through the entire manuscript to grant the State Department’s approval of our pre-publication review request. Of course, this book is written in our personal capacity – views expressed are our own and are not necessarily those of the Department of State or the U.S. government.
At Routledge, Andrew Humphrys was an impeccable guide on substance and process. His constructive advice and direction at every turn genuinely improved the manuscript. Likewise, we appreciate the thoughtful comments and critiques by two anonymous reviewers that improved the theoretical argument, conclusions, and the book’s overall organization. Hannah Ferguson at Routledge is the model of a senior editorial assistant and has very ably helped move the manuscript through the production process.
Last but not least, we want to acknowledge the support and sacrifice from our son, Timmy. His understanding as one or the other parent was barricaded at the neighborhood coffee shop on the weekends and evenings after work and his continual bright smile and good cheer helped us complete this book in due course. For his critical contribution, we dedicate this book to him.