INKTOBER DAY 18: SADDLE

18. Oktober 2023  •  1 Minuten

For a modern autocrat, lying is more useful than killing. He appears to allow political competition while making it nearly impossible in practice.

The goal of a spin dictator is to appear to allow political competition while making it nearly impossible in practice. Rather than criminalising dissent, he imprisons his opponents for non-political crimes, such as fraud or rape, of which they are innocent. Sometimes he locks them up for short periods, so they do not become martyrs, and often, so their work is constantly disrupted. Rather than banning opposition parties, he tangles them in red tape or bankrupts them with fines and lawsuits. For extra deniability, the task of making dissidents’ lives hell can be outsourced to a youth militia or army of online trolls, who may rough them up, publish their addresses or leak embarrassing photos.

— Sergei Guriev and Daniel Treisman, Spin Dictators

(→ Inktober drawing challenge 2023)