Download or read book Economic Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy written by Daron Acemoglu and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2006 with total page 444 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book develops a framework for analyzing the creation and consolidation of democracy. Different social groups prefer different political institutions because of the way they allocate political power and resources. Thus democracy is preferred by the majority of citizens, but opposed by elites. Dictatorship nevertheless is not stable when citizens can threaten social disorder and revolution. In response, when the costs of repression are sufficiently high and promises of concessions are not credible, elites may be forced to create democracy. By democratizing, elites credibly transfer political power to the citizens, ensuring social stability. Democracy consolidates when elites do not have strong incentive to overthrow it. These processes depend on (1) the strength of civil society, (2) the structure of political institutions, (3) the nature of political and economic crises, (4) the level of economic inequality, (5) the structure of the economy, and (6) the form and extent of globalization.
Download or read book Technological Dictatorship written by Santos Costa and published by Santos Costa. This book was released on 2023-10-14 with total page 34 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In "Technological Dictatorship: Privacy, Surveillance, and Freedom in the Digital Age" we enter a world where technology giants wield unprecedented power over our lives. In this book, we explore the phenomenon of Technological Dictatorship and the impact of technology on social control in the 21st century. From increasingly monitoring our activities to manipulating the information we consume, we delve into fundamental questions about privacy, ethics, and individual freedom in the digital age. We analyze the rise of Technological Totalitarianism, where colossal corporations hold valuable information about our lives and decisions. Throughout these pages, we discuss the ethical and legal challenges brought by the Technological Dictatorship, and the need for responsible regulations that protect citizens without compromising innovation. We examine how algorithmic manipulation can affect our perspectives and opinions, as well as the role of these tech giants in influencing political and social decisions. However, we are not satisfied with just the diagnosis. We also explore Digital Resistance and Activism initiatives, which seek to raise awareness and protect individual rights. By presenting strategies to protect privacy and freedom, we empower readers to take control of their information and interactions online. "Technological Dictatorship" is a call to reflect on the future of the digital society and the search for a balance between technological advancement and the protection of democratic values. This book is for those who wish to better understand the challenges and opportunities brought by technology and who envision a future where technology serves the well-being of humanity while preserving our individual freedoms and core values. Whether you're a technology expert, digital activist, or an ordinary citizen concerned about the future, "Technological Dictatorship" promises to instigate your thinking and inspire action in pursuit of a fairer and more ethical digital world.
Download or read book The Rise of Digital Repression written by Steven Feldstein and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2021 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Book" -- dust jacket.
Download or read book The Digital Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy written by Philip N. Howard and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2010-09-21 with total page 301 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Around the developing world, political leaders face a dilemma: the very information and communication technologies that boost economic fortunes also undermine power structures. Globally, one in ten internet users is a Muslim living in a populous Muslim community. In these countries, young people are developing political identities online, and digital technologies are helping civil society build systems of political communication independent of the state and beyond easy manipulation by cultural or religious elites. With unique data on patterns of media ownership and technology use, The Digital Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy demonstrates how, since the mid-1990s, information technologies have had a role in political transformation. Democratic revolutions are not caused by new information technologies. But in the Muslim world, democratization is no longer possible without them.
Download or read book Constraining Dictatorship written by Anne Meng and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2020-08-20 with total page 277 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examining constitutional rules and power-sharing in Africa reveals how some dictatorships become institutionalized, rule-based systems.
Download or read book The Perfect Dictatorship written by Stein Ringen and published by Hong Kong University Press. This book was released on 2016-05-01 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Chinese system is like no other known to man, now or in history. This book explains how the system works and where it may be moving. Drawing on Chinese and international sources, on extensive collaboration with Chinese scholars, and on the political science of state analysis, the author concludes that under the new leadership of Xi Jinping, the system of government has been transformed into a new regime radically harder and more ideological than the legacy of Deng Xiaoping. China is less strong economically and more dictatorial politically than the world has wanted to believe. By analysing the leadership of Xi Jinping, the meaning of ‘socialist market economy’, corruption, the party-state apparatus, the reach of the party, the mechanisms of repression, taxation and public services, and state-society relations, the book broadens the field of China studies, as well as the fields of political economy, comparative politics, development, and welfare state studies. ‘A new interpretation of the Chinese party-state—shows the advantage that derives from a comparative theorist looking at the Chinese system.’ —Tony Saich, Harvard University ‘This is an excellent book which asks important questions about China’s future. In a lively and persuasive manner, the author vividly analyses key data in a comparative and theoretical manner. Far and away the best introduction to how the CCP dictatorship works.’ —Edward Friedman, University of Wisconsin-Madison ‘There is no lack of scholars and pundits abroad who tell us that dictatorship in China is for the greater good. In a timely and engagingly written book, Stein Ringen systematically demolishes all the components of this claim.’ —Frank Dikötter, University of Hong Kong ‘Stein Ringen shows how the Chinese state has used both fear and material inducements to build a “controlocracy” of a size and complexity unprecedented in world history. Perfect as a dictatorship, but brutal, destructive, and wasteful. The author’s encyclopedic understanding of his topic is based on a mastery of relevant scholarship and is delivered in clear, no-nonsense prose that bows to no one. Ideal as a textbook.’ —Perry Link, University of California, Riverside ‘China is a complex country, and there is a range of reasonable interpretations of its political system. Professor Ringen’s interpretation is different than my own, but China watchers need to engage with his thought-provoking and carefully argued assessment. If current trends of repression intensify, less pessimistic analysts will need to recognise that Ringen’s analysis may have been prescient.’ —Daniel A. Bell, Tsinghua University ‘Inspirational and trenchant. Stein Ringen’s book is a must-read to understand China’s politics, economy, ideology and social control, and its adaptability and challenges under the CCP’s rule, especially in the 21st century.’ —Teng Biao, Harvard Law School and New York University ‘Stein Ringen’s insights as a prominent political scientist enable a powerful examination of the Chinese state in a penetrating analysis that reaches strong conclusions which some will see as controversial. The book is scholarly, objective, and free from ideological partiality or insider bias. Whether one ultimately wishes to challenge or embrace his findings, the book should be read.’ —Lina Song, University of Nottingham Click on these links for more information: Blog: https://thechinesestate.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stein.ringen.7/about
Download or read book Dictatorship written by Carl Schmitt and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2015-01-28 with total page 287 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now available in English for the first time, Dictatorship is Carl Schmitt’s most scholarly book and arguably a paradigm for his entire work. Written shortly after the Russian Revolution and the First World War, Schmitt analyses the problem of the state of emergency and the power of the Reichspräsident in declaring it. Dictatorship, Schmitt argues, is a necessary legal institution in constitutional law and has been wrongly portrayed as just the arbitrary rule of a so-called dictator. Dictatorship is an essential book for understanding the work of Carl Schmitt and a major contribution to the modern theory of a democratic, constitutional state. And despite being written in the early part of the twentieth century, it speaks with remarkable prescience to our contemporary political concerns.
Download or read book Spin Dictators written by Daniel Treisman and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2023-04-04 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A New Yorker Best Book of the Year A Foreign Affairs Best Book of the Year An Atlantic Best Book of the Year A Financial Times Best Politics Book of the Year 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 Orbán 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.
Download or read book From Dictatorship to Democracy written by Gene Sharp and published by Albert Einstein Institution. This book was released on 2008 with total page 85 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A serious introduction to the use of nonviolent action to topple dictatorships. Based on the author's study, over a period of forty years, on non-violent methods of demonstration, it was originally published in 1993 in Thailand for distribution among Burmese dissidents.
Download or read book How to Be a Dictator written by Frank Dikötter and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2019-09-05 with total page 377 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Brilliant' NEW STATESMAN, BOOKS OF THE YEAR 'Enlightening and a good read' SPECTATOR 'Moving and perceptive' NEW STATESMAN Mussolini, Hitler, Stalin, Mao Zedong, Kim Il-sung, Ceausescu, Mengistu of Ethiopia and Duvalier of Haiti. No dictator can rule through fear and violence alone. Naked power can be grabbed and held temporarily, but it never suffices in the long term. A tyrant who can compel his own people to acclaim him will last longer. The paradox of the modern dictator is that he must create the illusion of popular support. Throughout the twentieth century, hundreds of millions of people were condemned to enthusiasm, obliged to hail their leaders even as they were herded down the road to serfdom. In How to Be a Dictator, Frank Dikötter returns to eight of the most chillingly effective personality cults of the twentieth century. From carefully choreographed parades to the deliberate cultivation of a shroud of mystery through iron censorship, these dictators ceaselessly worked on their own image and encouraged the population at large to glorify them. At a time when democracy is in retreat, are we seeing a revival of the same techniques among some of today's world leaders? This timely study, told with great narrative verve, examines how a cult takes hold, grows, and sustains itself. It places the cult of personality where it belongs, at the very heart of tyranny.
Download or read book The Dictator s Handbook written by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and published by Public Affairs. This book was released on 2011-09-27 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explains the theory of political survival, particularly in cases of dictators and despotic governments, arguing that political leaders seek to stay in power using any means necessary, most commonly by attending to the interests of certain coalitions.
Download or read book Science Policies and Twentieth Century Dictatorships written by Amparo Gómez and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-03-03 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Making a fresh contribution to the political history of science, this book explores the connections between the science policies of three countries that each experienced considerable political upheaval in the twentieth century: Spain, Italy and Argentina. By focussing on these three countries, the contributors are able to present case studies that highlight the characteristics and specificities of the democratic and dictatorial political processes involved in the production of science and technology. The focus on dictatorship presents the opportunity to expand our knowledge -beyond the more extensive literature about science in Nazi Germany and Stalinist USSR -about the level of political involvement of scientists in non-democratic contexts and to what extent they act as politicians in different contexts. Key topics covered include the new forms of organization and institutionalization of science in the twentieth century; the involvement of scientific communities in the governance of science and its institutions; the role of ideology in scientific development; the scientific practices adopted by scientific communities in different contexts; and the characteristics of science and technology produced in these contexts.
Download or read book Red Prometheus written by Dolores L. Augustine and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2007 with total page 413 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This analysis of the relationship between science and totalitarian rule in one of the most technically advanced countries in the East bloc examines professional autonomy under dictatorship and the place of technology in Communist ideology. In Cold War-era East Germany, the German tradition of science-based technology merged with a socialist system that made technological progress central to its ideology. Technology became an important part of East German socialist identity--crucial to how Communists saw their system and how citizens saw their state. In Red Prometheus, Dolores Augustine examines the relationship between a dictatorial system and the scientific and engineering communities in East Germany from the end of the Second World War through the 1980s. Drawing on newly opened archives and extensive interviews, Augustine looks in detail at individual scientists' interactions with the East German system, examining the effectiveness of their resistance against the party's totalitarian impulses. She explains why many German scientists and engineers who were deported to the Soviet Union after World War II returned to East Germany rather than defecting to the capitalist West, traces scientists' attempts to hold on to some aspects of professional autonomy, and describes challenges to their professional identity on the factory floor. Augustine examines the quality of science and technology produced under Communist rule, looking at failed research projects and clashing cultures of innovation. She looks at technological myth-building in science fiction and propaganda. She explores individual career strategies, including the role played by gender in high-tech professions, and the ways that both enterprises and individuals responded to increasing state and party control of research during the 1980s. We cannot understand the economic choices made by East Germany, Augustine argues, unless we understand the cultural values reflected in the East German belief in technology as indispensable to progress and industrial development.
Download or read book The Specter of Dictatorship written by David M. Driesen and published by Stanford University Press. This book was released on 2021-07-20 with total page 323 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reveals how the U.S. Supreme Court's presidentialism threatens our democracy and what to do about it. Donald Trump's presidency made many Americans wonder whether our system of checks and balances would prove robust enough to withstand an onslaught from a despotic chief executive. In The Specter of Dictatorship, David Driesen analyzes the chief executive's role in the democratic decline of Hungary, Poland, and Turkey and argues that an insufficiently constrained presidency is one of the most important systemic threats to democracy. Driesen urges the U.S. to learn from the mistakes of these failing democracies. Their experiences suggest, Driesen shows, that the Court must eschew its reliance on and expansion of the "unitary executive theory" recently endorsed by the Court and apply a less deferential approach to presidential authority, invoked to protect national security and combat emergencies, than it has in recent years. Ultimately, Driesen argues that concern about loss of democracy should play a major role in the Court's jurisprudence, because loss of democracy can prove irreversible. As autocracy spreads throughout the world, maintaining our democracy has become an urgent matter.
Download or read book The Narrow Corridor written by Daron Acemoglu and published by Penguin Books. This book was released on 2019 with total page 594 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How does history end? -- The Red Queen -- Will to power -- Economics outside the corridor -- Allegory of good government -- The European scissors -- Mandate of Heaven -- Broken Red Queen -- Devil in the details -- What's the matter with Ferguson? -- The paper leviathan -- Wahhab's children -- Red Queen out of control -- Into the corridor -- Living with the leviathan.
Download or read book Dictator s Dreamscape written by Joseph R. Hartman and published by University of Pittsburgh Press. This book was released on 2019-04-23 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Joseph Hartman focuses on the public works campaign of Cuban president, and later dictator, Gerardo Machado. Political histories often condemn Machado as a US-puppet dictator, overthrown in a labor revolt and popular revolution in 1933. Architectural histories tend to catalogue his regime’s public works as derivatives of US and European models. Dictator’s Dreamscape reassesses the regime’s public works program as a highly nuanced visual project embedded in centuries-old representations of Cuba alongside wider debates on the nature of art and architecture in general, especially in regards to globalization and the spread of US-style consumerism. The cultural production overseen by Machado gives a fresh and greatly broadened perspective on his regime’s accomplishments, failures, and crimes. The book addresses the regime’s architectural program as a visual and architectonic response to debates over Cuban national identity, US imperialism, and Machado’s own cult of personality.
Download or read book Marketing Dictatorship written by Anne-Marie Brady and published by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. This book was released on 2009-11-16 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Click here to hear Anne-Marie Brady's BBC World Service radio documentary titled "The Message from China" China's government is no longer a Stalinist-Maoist dictatorship, yet it does not seem to be moving significantly closer to democracy as it is understood in Western terms. After a period of self-imposed exclusion, Chinese society is in the process of a massive transformation in the name of economic progress and integration into the world economy. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is seeking to maintain its rule over China indefinitely, creating yet another "new" China. Propaganda and thought work play a key role in this strategy. In this important book, noted China scholar Anne-Marie Brady answers some intriguing questions about China's contemporary propaganda system. Why have propaganda and thought work strengthened their hold in China in recent years? How has the CCP government strengthened its power since 1989 when so many analysts predicted otherwise? How does the CCP maintain its monopoly on political power while dismantling the socialist system? How can the government maintain popular support in China when the uniting force of Marxist-Leninist-Maoist ideology is spent and discredited? What has taken the place of communist ideology? Examining propaganda and thought work in the current period offers readers a unique understanding of how the CCP will address real and perceived threats to stability and its continued hold on power. This innovative book is a must-read for everyone interested in China's growing role in the world community.
