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Inside the Global Battle for Democracy
by William J. Dobson
We are witnessing an incredible moment in the war between dictators and democracy - waves of protests are sweeping Syria and Yemen, and despots have fallen in Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya. But the Arab Spring is only the latest front in a worldwide battle between freedom and repression, a battle that also rages in a dozen other countries from Venezuela to China, Russia to Malaysia. It is a struggle that, until recently, dictators have been winning hands-down.
The reason is that today's authoritarian regimes are nothing like the frozen-in-time government of North Korea. They are ever-morphing, technologically savvy, and internationally connected, and they have replaced more brutal forms of intimidation with seemingly "free" elections and talk of human rights. Facing off against modern dictators is an unlikely army of democracy advocates - students, bloggers, environmentalists, lawyers, activists, and millionaires - who are growing increasingly savvy themselves.
The result is a global game of cat-and-mouse, where the future of freedom hangs in the balance. Dobson takes us behind the scenes in both camps, and reveals how each side is honing its strategies for the war that will define our age.
"Starred Review. [A] deft, incisive book....The mix of perspectives results in an impressive overview of the global struggle between authoritarian power and determined advocates of political freedom." - Publishers Weekly
"After a remarkable year in which citizens of a dozen countries have challenged their authoritarian governments, readers will welcome veteran journalist Dobson's overview of the complicated dance of adaptation by the world's dictators and those who resist their oppressive power....A timely, valuable contribution to readers’ understanding of global unrest." - Booklist
"A pertinent work of journalistic research that will gain fresh meaning as authoritarian regimes both evolve and fall." - Kirkus Reviews
"A brilliant and original analysis of the nature of modern authoritarianism." - Anne Applebaum, author of Gulag, winner of the Pulitzer Prize
"William Dobson is that rare thinker who combines a gift for storytelling with an understanding of how the world works. Marrying a historian's judgment with a journalist's eye for detail, he spots the emerging trends that others miss. The Dictator's Learning Curve offers an essential perspective on a crucial struggle." - Fareed Zakaria, author of The Future of Freedom and The Post-American World
This information about The Dictator's Learning Curve was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
William J. Dobson is politics and foreign affairs editor for Slate. He has been an editor at Foreign Affairs, Newsweek International, and Foreign Policy. During his tenure at Foreign Policy, the magazine was nominated for the coveted National Magazine Award for General Excellence each year and won top honors in 2007 and 2009. His articles and essays have appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal, and he has provided analysis for ABC, CNN, CBS, MSNBC, and NPR. He lives in Washington, DC.
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