Book description
Corruption, fake news, and the "informational autocracy" sustaining Putin in power
After fading into the background for many years following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia suddenly has emerged as a new threat-at least in the minds of many Westerners. But Western assumptions about Russia, and in particular aboutâŚ
Why read it?
1 author picked The New Autocracy as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
How is it that political strongmenâfrom Putin in Russia to Hungary, Venezuela, Peru, and beyondâare able to impose their authoritarian control without the mass bloodshed of dictatorships past? UCLA Political Science Professor Daniel Treismanâalong with Russian economist Sergei Guriev (Sciences Po)âhave developed a New Autocracy model suggesting that individuals are less concerned with democracy per se, and more with competent government. Leaders, accordingly, use mechanisms of media manipulation and selective suppression to build the image of government competence. In this edited volume, Treisman and his co-authors demonstrate convincingly that this framework better explains political outcomesâincluding the annexation of Crimeaâthan alternativeâŚ
From Mark's list on The best books for understanding Putinism.
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Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa storiesâall reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!
On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argueâŚ
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