Robert Winstanley- Chesters’ Environment, Politics, and Ideology in North Korea is an ambitious work. Far from being an unpredictable country that merely muddles through, Winstanley- Chesters presents a North Korea that was able to turn its pursuit of survival into a cohesive ideology and utilize it as justification for its developmental policies. Given the scholarship conducted on North Korean ideologies like juche and songun, it is surprising that it wasn’t until Environment, Politics, and Ideology in North Korea that an in- depth look at the role of ideology was conducted. Usually studied separately, Winstanley- Chesters’ work opens the floodgates to future research on the topic on the influence that ideology has on policy. Because of his sharp analysis on the topic and its role as a predecessor for future studies on the role of ideology in policy, I highly recommend Environment, Politics, and Ideology in North Korea.