Autocracy, Inc.: The Dictators Who Want to Run the World

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One of the world's most celebrated historians and journalists uncovers the networks aiming to undermine democracy. The traditional image of an autocratic state, with a single tyrant at the helm, is outdated. In the 21st century, autocracies function through sophisticated networks of kleptocratic financial systems, security services, and professional propagandists. These members are interconnected not just within their own countries but across borders. Corrupt, state-controlled companies collaborate internationally, while police forces in one nation can train and equip those in another. Propagandists share resources; troll farms promoting one dictator's agenda can easily support another's, emphasizing the same anti-democratic messages. Unlike historical military or political alliances, this network operates more like a conglomerate: Autocracy, Inc. Their interactions are transactional, transcending ideological, geographical, and cultural divides. Their sole commonality is a shared disdain for the democratic world and a desire to undermine its systems and values. This book explores the origins, persistence, and mechanics of this autocratic coalition, as well as how the democratic world has inadvertently bolstered it and what can be done to dismantle it.