The Evolution of a Dictator: Co-optation, Dividing, and Fake Democracy (New Edition)

The Dictator's Learning Curve: Inside the Global Battle for Democracy

Democracy, freedom, and human rights have come to represent a certain special definition to people around the world.
We must not allow any nation to change these words to become synonymous with oppression and dictatorship.
——Eleanor Roosevelt, drafter of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights

In the first decade of the 21st century, amidst the war between dictators and democracies, the Arab Spring was a resounding success. Tyrants in Egypt, Tunisia, and Yemen were ousted. But the Arab world was only the first front. From Venezuela to China, from the Soviet Union to Malaysia, from Myanmar to Iran, authoritarian regimes in countless countries are struggling to consolidate their power and confront their most unpredictable and greatest threat: their people.

Today's authoritarian leaders are different from 20th-century dictators. Unlike North Korea, which remains frozen in time, they continue to use forced labor camps, violence, and brainwashing to control their people. Emerging authoritarian states like China, Russia, Venezuela, and Iran are not becoming police states. Instead, they offer their people many superficial and procedural freedoms and permeate these freedoms. Economically, the new dictators are more astute, no longer closed off from poverty and severing ties with the world. They understand how to draw resources from the global system without losing their power. While dictators are becoming more flexible, those who resist them are also becoming more sophisticated. Dictators now have a wider range of stakeholders to contend with: philanthropists, academics, bloggers, NGOs, and student groups. These people now have the ability to spread information through the Internet in an instant. For example, Iran's Green Revolution was even called the "Twitter Revolution."

Across the world, the war between dictators and rebels is about to begin. It's a cat-and-mouse clash, with both sides displaying fierce fighting spirit and honing their skills. With his insightful reporting and brilliant analysis, Dobson reveals the inner workings of today's authoritarian systems and takes us to the front lines of freedom's struggle.

This is the second decade of the 21st century, and the subsequent evolution of authoritarian systems and dictators, to name just a few:
Of the countries where the Arab Spring took place, with the exception of Tunisia, which successfully established a constitutional democracy, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Libya, and Yemen were all plunged into military coups or civil wars.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez died of cancer, and Vice President Nicolas Maduro took over and has ruled by executive decree ever since.

Russian President Putin and his deputy, Dmitry Medvedev, continue to play the game of transitioning from president to prime minister, while also reaching out to neighboring Ukraine.

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad teamed up with his former political rival Anwar Ibrahim to oust incumbent Prime Minister Najib Razak. He said before the election that he would hand over power to Anwar, but now he has reneged on his promise after the election.

The military government lost the general election in Myanmar, and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi came to power. However, she actively faced the issue of ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya minority.

Chinese President Xi Jinping heads various Party, government, and military factions, and can be re-elected indefinitely through constitutional amendment. In 2019, the Hong Kong SAR government, at Beijing's behest, pushed for the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance, sparking the anti-extradition movement. In December 2019, the novel coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan was concealed from the world by the Beijing government.

After a brief setback in the first decade of the 21st century, authoritarian regimes have resurfaced, becoming more savvy, more skilled, and more adept at exploiting the very social media platforms that people once used for resistance. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Line have become infiltrating tools for dictators to spread disinformation, sow hatred, discredit activists, and rally their own forces. In this cat-and-mouse game, just as those fighting for freedom and democracy seemed poised to lose, 2019 ushered in the six-month-long anti-extradition movement, which continues to this day. The author of the book says, "The scale of these protests in Hong Kong has astonished the world. What is even more surprising is their strategic team discipline, which has helped the movement attract a steady stream of support and made this wave of civil resistance successful." This lesson from Hong Kong may foreshadow the direction of future resistance.

Celebrity recommendations

Professor He Mingxiu of the Department of Sociology at National Taiwan University, author of "Why Occupy the Streets"; veteran media personality Zhang Tiezhi, author of "The Revolution of Imagination"

Good reviews and recommendations

◎ This book, published in 2012, details the latest battles between authoritarianism and anti-authoritarianism. Eight years later, the author's findings still hold up. For Taiwanese readers, the more familiar "Evolution of a Dictator" is probably how the Hong Kong and Chinese governments responded to the challenges posed by the anti-extradition movement. -- He Mingxiu, author of "Why Occupy the Streets"

◎This book is not only about the expansion of ruling power, but also about the courage and ability of protesters to "evolve." In the second half of 2019, we witnessed how Hong Kong people's "Liberate Hong Kong Era Revolution" shocked the world. -- Zhang Tiezhi, author of "Revolution of Imagination"

◎This book gives people hope, but it is not overly optimistic. --The Atlantic's annual book selection

◎Analyzing the nature of modern totalitarianism. —Anne Applebaum, author of "Gulag"

◎ Combining the judgment of a historian with the meticulous observation of a journalist, it points out directions that are often overlooked. --Fareed Zakaria, author of "The Post-American World"

This book clearly points out that challenging dictatorships has become a transnational movement, but each region has its own unique approach. --James Fallows, correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly

The author offers new perspectives and vocabulary to help us understand modern totalitarianism. This book is indispensable for understanding this wave of global revolution. —Anne-Marie Slaughter, Professor at Princeton University.

2020-03-04

左岸文化

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