How a new breed of dictators holds power by manipulating
information and faking democracy Hitler, Stalin, and Mao ruled
through violence, fear, and ideology. But in recent decades a new
breed of media-savvy strongmen has been redesigning authoritarian
rule for a more sophisticated, globally connected world. In place
of overt, mass repression, rulers such as Vladimir Putin, Recep
Tayyip Erdogan, and Viktor Orban control their citizens by
distorting information and simulating democratic procedures. Like
spin doctors in democracies, they spin the news to engineer
support. Uncovering this new brand of authoritarianism, Sergei
Guriev and Daniel Treisman explain the rise of such "spin
dictators," describing how they emerge and operate, the new threats
they pose, and how democracies should respond. Spin Dictators
traces how leaders such as Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew and Peru's
Alberto Fujimori pioneered less violent, more covert, and more
effective methods of monopolizing power. They cultivated an image
of competence, concealed censorship, and used democratic
institutions to undermine democracy, all while increasing
international engagement for financial and reputational benefits.
The book reveals why most of today's authoritarians are spin
dictators-and how they differ from the remaining "fear dictators"
such as Kim Jong-un and Bashar al-Assad, as well as from masters of
high-tech repression like Xi Jinping. Offering incisive portraits
of today's authoritarian leaders, Spin Dictators explains some of
the great political puzzles of our time-from how dictators can
survive in an age of growing modernity to the disturbing
convergence and mutual sympathy between dictators and populists
like Donald Trump.
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