As a practical matter, however, we mustn’t assume that economic interdependence precludes the possibility of old-fashioned violence. On the positive side, China is urging North Korea to re-engage with the six-party talks and denuclearize the Korean Peninsula -- a sign that the government in Beijing realizes that its unruly ally could do significant damage to regional stability. On the negative side, North Korea seems perfectly content to ignore its mentor’s directives. As we learned during the Cold War, proxies don’t always behave the way their would-be masters want them to. It is far from clear that the Americans and the Soviets wanted their allies in the Middle East to go to war in 1967, 1973 or 1981.
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