An authoritative and intelligent portrait of the global spread of authoritarianism and its dangers.
A distinguished fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace sounds an alarm about the worldwide rise of authoritarian leaders.
After arguing in The End of Power that global institutions are finding it harder to win respect, Naím, the former editor-in-chief of Foreign Policy, makes a good case that leaders who gain power increasingly use autocratic strategies he calls the 3Ps: “populism, polarization, and post-truth.” His thesis isn’t new, but what sets his work apart from books like Timothy Snyder’s On Tyranny and Michiko Kakutani’s The Death of Truth is its unusually comprehensive armada of facts about the international drift over the past two decades toward authoritarian leaders, whether old-style dictators like Kim Jong Un or nominally elected presidents like Vladimir Putin. The pandemic has posed unprecedented openings for power grabs: Xi Jinping cracked down on ethnic Uyghurs in China, Viktor Orbán shut down Parliament in Hungary, Rodrigo Duterte was granted near-unlimited emergency powers in the Philippines, and other countries have seen similarly repressive moves. In one of many startling but well-documented examples, Naím notes that a European Union report found that Russia used social media bots “to try to worsen the crisis the pandemic would generate for its adversaries in Europe,” typically by undermining confidence in democracies’ emergency response. Other tactics used for years by Russia—along with North Korea, Venezuela, and Saudi Arabia—include the creation of GONGOs, government-operated fake NGOs, to thwart the work of democracies. Naím’s solutions to the new authoritarianism tend toward blue-sky visions, and his repeated use of the term “3P autocrats” is perhaps too clever for his urgent message (as in the Disney-fied chapter title “The 3P Autocrats Go Global”). But his book offers a chilling confirmation of a trend many readers will have sensed instinctively: A growing number of countries have achieved or are moving toward “outright kakistocracy: rule by the very worst a society has to offer.”
An authoritative and intelligent portrait of the global spread of authoritarianism and its dangers.Pub Date: Feb. 22, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-27920-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An engrossing and ominous chronicle, told by a master of the form.
Documenting perilous times.
In his most recent behind-the-scenes account of political power and how it is wielded, Woodward synthesizes several narrative strands, from the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel to the 2024 presidential campaign. Woodward’s clear, gripping storytelling benefits from his legendary access to prominent figures and a structure of propulsive chapters. The run-up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is tense (if occasionally repetitive), as a cast of geopolitical insiders try to divine Vladimir Putin’s intent: “Doubt among allies, the public and among Ukrainians meant valuable time and space for Putin to maneuver.” Against this backdrop, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham implores Donald Trump to run again, notwithstanding the former president’s denial of his 2020 defeat. This provides unwelcome distraction for President Biden, portrayed as a thoughtful, compassionate lifetime politico who could not outrace time, as demonstrated in the June 2024 debate. Throughout, Trump’s prevarications and his supporters’ cynicism provide an unsettling counterpoint to warnings provided by everyone from former Joint Chief of Staff Mark Milley to Vice President Kamala Harris, who calls a second Trump term a likely “death knell for American democracy.” The author’s ambitious scope shows him at the top of his capabilities. He concludes with these unsettling words: “Based on my reporting, Trump’s language and conduct has at times presented risks to national security—both during his presidency and afterward.”
An engrossing and ominous chronicle, told by a master of the form.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2024
ISBN: 9781668052273
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 15, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2024
IN THE NEWS
PERSPECTIVES
A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change.
Artist and activist Vaid-Menon demonstrates how the normativity of the gender binary represses creativity and inflicts physical and emotional violence.
The author, whose parents emigrated from India, writes about how enforcement of the gender binary begins before birth and affects people in all stages of life, with people of color being especially vulnerable due to Western conceptions of gender as binary. Gender assignments create a narrative for how a person should behave, what they are allowed to like or wear, and how they express themself. Punishment of nonconformity leads to an inseparable link between gender and shame. Vaid-Menon challenges familiar arguments against gender nonconformity, breaking them down into four categories—dismissal, inconvenience, biology, and the slippery slope (fear of the consequences of acceptance). Headers in bold font create an accessible navigation experience from one analysis to the next. The prose maintains a conversational tone that feels as intimate and vulnerable as talking with a best friend. At the same time, the author's turns of phrase in moments of deep insight ring with precision and poetry. In one reflection, they write, “the most lethal part of the human body is not the fist; it is the eye. What people see and how people see it has everything to do with power.” While this short essay speaks honestly of pain and injustice, it concludes with encouragement and an invitation into a future that celebrates transformation.
A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change. (writing prompt) (Nonfiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09465-5
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
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