Anne Applebaum, “How Dictators Keep Each Other in Power”

review

American historian Anne Applebaum comes out with an explosive book: In “The Axis of Dictators,” she shows how Putin and his associates rose to power over each other and became a deadly threat to democracy.

Julian Shute/ch media

It was no coincidence that Roger Koppel warned against her: she was a “very dangerous” writer who wrote only in black and white and was a “champion of modernity”. He was referring to American historian and journalist Anne Applebaum, who had just won the German Book Trade Peace Prize.

In her new book, The Dictator Axis (see source) In turn, she warns the new dictators and the network of people who understand them, including the Koppels of this world.

Preliminary situation

Unlike the Cold War, there are no longer any rigid blocs

Modern authoritarian states are not led by a single villain, Applebaum said, but by “a complex network of kleptocratic structures, complex security composed of military, paramilitary and police forces, and technologists responsible for surveillance, propaganda and disinformation.” controlled by the organization”. “.

Celebrating their unity: Autocrats Xi Jinping, Putin and Modi (from right) at the BRICS summit.Image: trapezoid

As is now being celebrated again at the BRICS summit, authoritarian regimes are linking up with each other in an effort to create a new world order. But there are no longer rigid blocs with clearly defined fronts like they were during the Cold War.

Autocracies cooperate like greedy corporations

There are significant differences between the communism of the most powerful authoritarian state, China, the imperialist nationalism of Russia, the Bolivarian socialism of Venezuela, or the theocracy of Iran. According to Applebaum, cooperation between authoritarian regimes is like “cooperation between corporations,” which are concerned with maintaining their positions of power and unscrupulously pursuing their own interests.

Most autocrats now “don't care if their countries are criticized.” The Chinese government boasts of its crackdown on Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement and mass arrests of Muslim Uyghurs. The Zimbabwean regime openly harassed opposition politicians in sham elections. Myanmar's military junta massacred hundreds of demonstrators on the streets of Yangon.

No matter how bloody a rogue regime’s rule, they can still rely on the support of other rogue states. China and Russia are helping the internationally sanctioned government of dictator Lukashenko, who is hated even in Belarus. In return, Russia was allowed to station troops and weapons in the country. Putin's military could also use North Korean soldiers and Iranian drones in the war in Ukraine.

Why the war in Ukraine matters

Russia – a mix of kleptocracy, mafia state and dictatorship

For Applebaum, Russia's war in Ukraine is “the first military battle in the conflict between the axis of authoritarianism and the democratic world.” Russia is the perfect combination of kleptocracy, mafia state, and dictatorship.

Modern dictators no longer want their citizens to believe that they live in the best possible society. Instead, they teach them to “adopt a cynical and negative attitude because there is no better world worth building. They want people to retreat into the private sphere, stay away from politics, and abandon any hope of a democratic alternative.”

As with money laundering, there are also information laundering schemes

Putin prefers to portray Russia as a coalition of tradition-minded countries versus weak, chaotic Western democracies. China and Russia have long established sophisticated information laundering systems aimed at disseminating propaganda material produced by Russia Today or Russia News. Xinhua News Agency covers the world as much as possible.

As a drastic example, Applebaum mentioned that on February 24, 2022, the day of the Russian attack, the Russian Defense and Foreign Ministries spread lies that a U.S.-funded Ukrainian biological laboratory had conducted research on bat viruses. experiment.

This fairy tale is not only popular in Russia or China. Fox News also covered the story as serious news, with Tucker Carlson calling on the Biden administration: “Stop lying and tell us what happened.” One in four Americans end up believing propaganda, a survey shows The story is true.

The turbulent west

Fake news campaigns aim to deepen existing rifts

Although Anne Applebaum's book is dedicated to all optimists, she paints a bleak picture of the machinations of modern authoritarian regimes. They supported each other in propaganda campaigns targeting the United States and Western Europe. Fake news campaigns aim to deepen existing rifts and stoke anger.

Rogue regimes help each other circumvent Western economic sanctions and foment Islamic uprisings and other unrest. They also aid the drug trade and expand their power in the international real estate market or gold smuggling. Applebaum wrote:

Authoritarian regimes can rely on the “double standards” of Western democracies, on twisted politicians and entrepreneurs who promote liberal values ​​at home but help build illiberal systems abroad. This applies to assistance services in the financial, real estate or promotional sectors.

There are also an alarming number of spokesmen and supporters of Russian influence operations and Chinese economic interests in the United States and Europe. If Trump is reelected, the authoritarian axis may gain an important new partner. The coalition of true democracies will be significantly weakened.

what should we do

A healing wake-up call against false tolerance

The author advocates “fighting authoritarian behavior wherever it occurs, whether in Russia, China, Europe or the United States.”

To do this, we must become more consistent in blocking the legitimate activities of Western middlemen, whether they are lawyers, bankers, entrepreneurs or real estate agents.

Applebaum ends her book emphatically: “Democrats, unite!” More than ever, open and free societies must defend and protect themselves, including from those who benefit from democratic conditions but advocate or Violations from people lobbying rogue states.

Sometimes we need a book to serve as a wake-up call to pull us out of our lethargic understanding of the world and reorient us. In our false tolerance, we too happily believe that if we let authoritarian regimes like China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, or Iran live too, they will let them live too.

But with rich facts and admirable clarity, Anne Applebaum shows how powerful authoritarian regimes systematically seek to destroy our freedoms and democracies. This is why you can't hope for enough readers for your book.

source

(aargauerzeitung.ch)