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Dictators (Collins Gem)
by Sean CalleryRevolutionaries, despots and tyrants – over 40 of the most totalitarian leaders in the world. This ebook has been made from the 2007 edition.
The Dictators: 64 Dictators, 64 Authors, 64 Warnings from History
by Iain Dale**IAIN DALE'S LATEST COLLECTION OF ESSAYS: AVAILABLE TO BUY NOW** Praise for Iain Dale:'Riveting and enlightening. A history lesson via a novel route. ' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'Really enjoying reading this book. It is easy to dip in and out and each chapter is well written.' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'Illuminating yet balanced' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Were the signs that Putin is a ruthless dictator there all along? How should we deal with President Xi of China? Given the world seems to be moving more and more towards authoritarian rule, this is the right moment to seek warnings, and lessons, from history.In The Dictators, Iain Dale brings together 64 essays by historians, academics, journalists and politicians about elected and unelected dictators, wartime and peacetime dictators, those driven by ideology and those with a reputation for sheer brutality. How did these tyrants, autocrats and despots seize power - and how did they exercise it? And how did they lose it? Very few dictators die peacefully in their own beds, after all.Only by examining these figures from the 6th century BC to the present, from ancient Greece to present day Saudi Arabia, do patterns start to emerge. We can see the shared character traits, the common conditions, the patterns of behaviour that have enabled dictators to seize power - time and time again.The Dictators is acutely relevant to world politics today: it is indeed a warning from history. Will we take heed? Or will history, in fact, teach us that history teaches us nothing?
Dictators: The Cult of Personality in the Twentieth Century
by Frank DikötterA New Statesman, Financial Times and Economist Book of the Year 'Brilliant' NEW STATESMAN, BOOKS OF THE YEAR'Enlightening and a good read' SPECTATOR'Moving and perceptive' NEW STATESMANMussolini, 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.
The Dictators: Hitler's Germany and Stalin's Russia
by Richard OveryHalf a century after their deaths, the dictatorships of Stalin and Hitler still cast a long and terrible shadow over the modern world. They were the most destructive and lethal regimes in history, murdering millions. They fought the largest and costliest war in all history. Yet millions of Germans and Russians enthusiastically supported them and the values they stood for. In this first major study of the two dictatorships side-by-side Richard Overy sets out to answer the question: How was dictatorship possible? How did they function? What was the bond that tied dictator and people so powerfully together? He paints a remarkable and vivid account of the different ways in which Stalin and Hitler rose to power, and abused and dominated their people. It is a chilling analysis of powerful ideals corrupted by the vanity of ambitious and unscrupulous men.
Dictators and Democrats: Masses, Elites, and Regime Change
by Stephan Haggard Robert R. KaufmanFrom the 1980s through the first decade of the twenty-first century, the spread of democracy across the developing and post-Communist worlds transformed the global political landscape. What drove these changes and what determined whether the emerging democracies would stabilize or revert to authoritarian rule? Dictators and Democrats takes a comprehensive look at the transitions to and from democracy in recent decades. Deploying both statistical and qualitative analysis, Stephen Haggard and Robert Kaufman engage with theories of democratic change and advocate approaches that emphasize political and institutional factors. While inequality has been a prominent explanation for democratic transitions, the authors argue that its role has been limited, and elites as well as masses can drive regime change.Examining seventy-eight cases of democratic transition and twenty-five reversions since 1980, Haggard and Kaufman show how differences in authoritarian regimes and organizational capabilities shape popular protest and elite initiatives in transitions to democracy, and how institutional weaknesses cause some democracies to fail. The determinants of democracy lie in the strength of existing institutions and the public's capacity to engage in collective action. There are multiple routes to democracy, but those growing out of mass mobilization may provide more checks on incumbents than those emerging from intra-elite bargains.Moving beyond well-known beliefs regarding regime changes, Dictators and Democrats explores the conditions under which transitions to democracy are likely to arise.
Dictators and Democrats: Masses, Elites, and Regime Change (PDF)
by Stephan Haggard Robert R. KaufmanFrom the 1980s through the first decade of the twenty-first century, the spread of democracy across the developing and post-Communist worlds transformed the global political landscape. What drove these changes and what determined whether the emerging democracies would stabilize or revert to authoritarian rule? Dictators and Democrats takes a comprehensive look at the transitions to and from democracy in recent decades. Deploying both statistical and qualitative analysis, Stephen Haggard and Robert Kaufman engage with theories of democratic change and advocate approaches that emphasize political and institutional factors. While inequality has been a prominent explanation for democratic transitions, the authors argue that its role has been limited, and elites as well as masses can drive regime change.Examining seventy-eight cases of democratic transition and twenty-five reversions since 1980, Haggard and Kaufman show how differences in authoritarian regimes and organizational capabilities shape popular protest and elite initiatives in transitions to democracy, and how institutional weaknesses cause some democracies to fail. The determinants of democracy lie in the strength of existing institutions and the public's capacity to engage in collective action. There are multiple routes to democracy, but those growing out of mass mobilization may provide more checks on incumbents than those emerging from intra-elite bargains.Moving beyond well-known beliefs regarding regime changes, Dictators and Democrats explores the conditions under which transitions to democracy are likely to arise.
Dictators and Dictatorships: Understanding Authoritarian Regimes and Their Leaders
by Erica Frantz Natasha M. EzrowDictators and Dictatorships is a qualitative enquiry into the politics of authoritarian regimes. It argues that political outcomes in dictatorships are largely a product of leader-elite relations. Differences in the internal structure of dictatorships affect the dynamics of this relationship. This book shows how dictatorships differ from one another and the implications of these differences for political outcomes. In particular, it examines political processes in personalist, military, single-party, monarchic, and hybrid regimes.The aim of the book is to provide a clear definition of what dictatorship means, how authoritarian politics works, and what the political consequences of dictatorship are. It discusses how authoritarianism influences a range of political outcomes, such as economic performance, international conflict, and leader and regime durability.Numerous case studies from around the world support the theory and research presented to foster a better understanding of the inner workings of authoritarian regimes. By combining theory with concrete political situations, the book will appeal to undergraduate students in comparative politics, international relations, authoritarian politics, and democratization.
Dictators and Dictatorships: Understanding Authoritarian Regimes and Their Leaders
by Erica Frantz Natasha M. EzrowDictators and Dictatorships is a qualitative enquiry into the politics of authoritarian regimes. It argues that political outcomes in dictatorships are largely a product of leader-elite relations. Differences in the internal structure of dictatorships affect the dynamics of this relationship. This book shows how dictatorships differ from one another and the implications of these differences for political outcomes. In particular, it examines political processes in personalist, military, single-party, monarchic, and hybrid regimes.The aim of the book is to provide a clear definition of what dictatorship means, how authoritarian politics works, and what the political consequences of dictatorship are. It discusses how authoritarianism influences a range of political outcomes, such as economic performance, international conflict, and leader and regime durability.Numerous case studies from around the world support the theory and research presented to foster a better understanding of the inner workings of authoritarian regimes. By combining theory with concrete political situations, the book will appeal to undergraduate students in comparative politics, international relations, authoritarian politics, and democratization.
Dictators And Their Secret Police: Coercive Institutions And State Violence (PDF)
by Sheena Chestnut GreitensHow do dictators stay in power? When, and how, do they use repression to do so? Dictators and their Secret Police explores the role of the coercive apparatus under authoritarian rule in Asia - how these secret organizations originated, how they operated, and how their violence affected ordinary citizens. Greitens argues that autocrats face a coercive dilemma: whether to create internal security forces designed to manage popular mobilization, or defend against potential coup. Violence against civilians, she suggests, is a byproduct of their attempt to resolve this dilemma. Drawing on a wealth of new historical evidence, this book challenges conventional wisdom on dictatorship: what autocrats are threatened by, how they respond, and how this affects the lives and security of the millions under their rule. It offers an unprecedented view into the use of surveillance, coercion, and violence, and sheds new light on the institutional and social foundations of authoritarian power.
Dictators, Democrats, and Development in Southeast Asia: Implications for the Rest
by Michael T. RockGetting growth going has been rare in the developing world-since 1960 only nine developing countries have succeeded in sustaining high growth. The aim of Dictators, Democrats and Development in Southeast Asia is to examine how dictators and democrats in three of the nine fast growers -Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, hereafter IMT-built and sustained pro-growth political coalitions that enabled them to adopt policies that ushered in sustained high growth. The focus is on IMT because circa 1960 few thought the three were candidates for high growth and because the three have factor endowments, ethnic heterogeneity, and forms of governance that resemble the Rest. These similarities suggest the Rest may have much to learn from IMT. The focus is unabashedly on the politics of development in IMT because dictators and democrats in IMT built and sustained pro-growth political coalitions that enabled them to link their long term political survival with delivering development. How and why they did so should be of keen interest to the Rest. Because dictators and democrats in IMT were committed to capitalist, industrial and open economy development strategies but deeply suspicious of a laissez faire approach to development, none of the three ever adopted a Washington Consensus style growth strategy. While all three toyed with a Northeast style capitalist developmental state approach to growth, because governments in IMT lacked the political requisites to make this strategy work, none really stuck to this approach to growth either. Instead dictators and democrats in IMT implemented highly pragmatic growth and development strategies. When markets worked, governments used them. When interventions worked governments relied on them. When either failed to deliver expected results, governments weeded out bad investments to sustain high growth. Such a pragmatic, trial and error approach to development should also be of keen interest to the Rest.
Dictators, Democrats, and Development in Southeast Asia: Implications for the Rest
by Michael T. RockGetting growth going has been rare in the developing world-since 1960 only nine developing countries have succeeded in sustaining high growth. The aim of Dictators, Democrats and Development in Southeast Asia is to examine how dictators and democrats in three of the nine fast growers -Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, hereafter IMT-built and sustained pro-growth political coalitions that enabled them to adopt policies that ushered in sustained high growth. The focus is on IMT because circa 1960 few thought the three were candidates for high growth and because the three have factor endowments, ethnic heterogeneity, and forms of governance that resemble the Rest. These similarities suggest the Rest may have much to learn from IMT. The focus is unabashedly on the politics of development in IMT because dictators and democrats in IMT built and sustained pro-growth political coalitions that enabled them to link their long term political survival with delivering development. How and why they did so should be of keen interest to the Rest. Because dictators and democrats in IMT were committed to capitalist, industrial and open economy development strategies but deeply suspicious of a laissez faire approach to development, none of the three ever adopted a Washington Consensus style growth strategy. While all three toyed with a Northeast style capitalist developmental state approach to growth, because governments in IMT lacked the political requisites to make this strategy work, none really stuck to this approach to growth either. Instead dictators and democrats in IMT implemented highly pragmatic growth and development strategies. When markets worked, governments used them. When interventions worked governments relied on them. When either failed to deliver expected results, governments weeded out bad investments to sustain high growth. Such a pragmatic, trial and error approach to development should also be of keen interest to the Rest.
The Dictator's Handbook: Why Bad Behavior is Almost Always Good Politics
by Alastair Smith Bruce Bueno de MesquitaA groundbreaking new theory of the real rules of politics: leaders do whatever keeps them in power, regardless of the national interest.As featured on the viral video Rules for Rulers, which has been viewed over 3 million times.Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith's canonical book on political science turned conventional wisdom on its head. They started from a single assertion: Leaders do whatever keeps them in power. They don't care about the "national interest"-or even their subjects-unless they have to. This clever and accessible book shows that democracy is essentially just a convenient fiction. Governments do not differ in kind but only in the number of essential supporters, or backs that need scratching. The size of this group determines almost everything about politics: what leaders can get away with, and the quality of life or misery under them. The picture the authors paint is not pretty. But it just may be the truth, which is a good starting point for anyone seeking to improve human governance.
Dictators in Cartoons: Unmasking Monsters and Mocking Tyrants
by Tony HusbandWhat is it that makes dictators fear cartoonists? The answer is that they can't stand to be ridiculed. Cartoonists may not be able to topple tyrants or change the course of history, but they can lessen the climate of fear and bring courage to the victims of state bullying with their subversive drawings.In this book, you'll find dictators and wielders of power transformed into midgets, hotel porters, moustachioed horses, even a humble pear. Figures include:• Hitler • Stalin• Mussolini • Franco• Mao Zedong• Robert MugabeWritten by renowned cartoonist and commentator Tony Husband, this shrewd and funny pictorial history traces the fightback led by artists against tyranny and its figureheads.
The Dictator's Learning Curve: Tyranny and Democracy in The Modern World
by William J DobsonIt’s not easy being a dictator these days.From Tahrir Square to the Kremlin, downtown Caracas to the Forbidden City, we have witnessed an incredible moment in the war between dictators and democracy. The problem is that today’s authoritarians are not like the frozen-in-time, ready-to-crack regime of North Korea. They are ever-morphing, technologically savvy, and have replaced more brutal forms of intimidation with subtle coercion. But as dictators have become more nimble, so have the inspiring people who oppose their rule. The Dictator’s Learning Curve explains this historic moment and offers hope for the future of freedom.
Dictators Without Borders: Power and Money in Central Asia
by Alexander A. Cooley John HeathershawA penetrating look into the unrecognized and unregulated links between autocratic regimes in Central Asia and centers of power and wealth throughout the West Weak, corrupt, and politically unstable, the former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan are dismissed as isolated and irrelevant to the outside world. But are they? This hard-hitting book argues that Central Asia is in reality a globalization leader with extensive involvement in economics, politics and security dynamics beyond its borders. Yet Central Asia’s international activities are mostly hidden from view, with disturbing implications for world security. Based on years of research and involvement in the region, Alexander Cooley and John Heathershaw reveal how business networks, elite bank accounts, overseas courts, third-party brokers, and Western lawyers connect Central Asia’s supposedly isolated leaders with global power centers. The authors also uncover widespread Western participation in money laundering, bribery, foreign lobbying by autocratic governments, and the exploiting of legal loopholes within Central Asia. Riveting and important, this book exposes the global connections of a troubled region that must no longer be ignored.
Dictatorship
by Carl SchmittNow 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.
Dictatorship
by Carl SchmittNow 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.
Dictatorship and Daily Life in 20th-Century Europe
by Lisa PineBringing together leading scholars from across the UK, North America and mainland Europe, this book provides a uniquely comparative exploration of daily life under dictatorship in 20th-century Europe. With coverage of well-known regimes and some that are relatively underrepresented in the literature from right across the continent, it examines the impact felt on people's lives amidst political administrations characterised by some or all of the following: a one-party state, in which opposition or multiple parties were banned; a cult surrounding the leader; the censorship of the press and other publications; the widespread use of propaganda and political persuasion; and the threat or use of force by the regime and its agents.The chapters investigate crucial questions in relation to life under dictatorships as follows:· What was the impact of censorship on access to news or entertainment?· How was leisure time conducted?· What was the impact of the regime on working life?· What was the scope for dissent and resistance? To what extent were these possible?· How much did the regime coerce the population and how much did it try to indoctrinate?· What was the difference for Party leaders, comrades and members in terms of the possibilities and opportunities that opened up, compared to everyone else in society?· With the shutting down – to a large extent – of civil society and state intrusion into private life, what restrictions were placed on ordinary and day-to-day activities?· What happened to religious life and to cultural life and the arts?· How were personal choices in aspects of life such as reproduction, education and even eating affected by these regimes?· What was the impact of different political ideologies on people's way of life – whether Fascist, Nazi or Communist?Dictatorship and Daily Life in 20th-Century Europe addresses these issues and more, striking to the heart of European life in the darkest episodes of its recent history.
Dictatorship and Daily Life in 20th-Century Europe
Bringing together leading scholars from across the UK, North America and mainland Europe, this book provides a uniquely comparative exploration of daily life under dictatorship in 20th-century Europe. With coverage of well-known regimes and some that are relatively underrepresented in the literature from right across the continent, it examines the impact felt on people's lives amidst political administrations characterised by some or all of the following: a one-party state, in which opposition or multiple parties were banned; a cult surrounding the leader; the censorship of the press and other publications; the widespread use of propaganda and political persuasion; and the threat or use of force by the regime and its agents.The chapters investigate crucial questions in relation to life under dictatorships as follows:· What was the impact of censorship on access to news or entertainment?· How was leisure time conducted?· What was the impact of the regime on working life?· What was the scope for dissent and resistance? To what extent were these possible?· How much did the regime coerce the population and how much did it try to indoctrinate?· What was the difference for Party leaders, comrades and members in terms of the possibilities and opportunities that opened up, compared to everyone else in society?· With the shutting down – to a large extent – of civil society and state intrusion into private life, what restrictions were placed on ordinary and day-to-day activities?· What happened to religious life and to cultural life and the arts?· How were personal choices in aspects of life such as reproduction, education and even eating affected by these regimes?· What was the impact of different political ideologies on people's way of life – whether Fascist, Nazi or Communist?Dictatorship and Daily Life in 20th-Century Europe addresses these issues and more, striking to the heart of European life in the darkest episodes of its recent history.
Dictatorship and Information: Authoritarian Regime Resilience in Communist Europe and China
by Martin K. DimitrovFear pervades dictatorial regimes. Citizens fear leaders, the regime's agents fear superiors, and leaders fear the masses. The ubiquity of fear in such regimes gives rise to the "dictator's dilemma," where autocrats do not know the level of opposition they face and cannot effectively neutralize domestic threats to their rule. The dilemma has led scholars to believe that autocracies are likely to be short-lived. Yet, some autocracies have found ways to mitigate the dictator's dilemma. As Martin K. Dimitrov shows in Dictatorship and Information, substantial variability exists in the survival of nondemocratic regimes, with single-party polities having the longest average duration. Offering a systematic theory of the institutional solutions to the dictator's dilemma, Dimitrov argues that single-party autocracies have fostered channels that allow for the confidential vertical transmission of information, while also solving the problems associated with distorted information. To explain how this all works, Dimitrov focuses on communist regimes, which have the longest average lifespan among single-party autocracies and have developed the most sophisticated information-gathering institutions. Communist regimes face a variety of threats, but the main one is the masses. Dimitrov therefore examines the origins, evolution, and internal logic of the information-collection ecosystem established by communist states to monitor popular dissent. Drawing from a rich base of evidence across multiple communist regimes and nearly 100 interviews, Dimitrov reshapes our understanding of how autocrats learn--or fail to learn--about the societies they rule, and how they maintain--or lose--power.
Dictatorship and Information: Authoritarian Regime Resilience in Communist Europe and China
by Martin K. DimitrovFear pervades dictatorial regimes. Citizens fear leaders, the regime's agents fear superiors, and leaders fear the masses. The ubiquity of fear in such regimes gives rise to the "dictator's dilemma," where autocrats do not know the level of opposition they face and cannot effectively neutralize domestic threats to their rule. The dilemma has led scholars to believe that autocracies are likely to be short-lived. Yet, some autocracies have found ways to mitigate the dictator's dilemma. As Martin K. Dimitrov shows in Dictatorship and Information, substantial variability exists in the survival of nondemocratic regimes, with single-party polities having the longest average duration. Offering a systematic theory of the institutional solutions to the dictator's dilemma, Dimitrov argues that single-party autocracies have fostered channels that allow for the confidential vertical transmission of information, while also solving the problems associated with distorted information. To explain how this all works, Dimitrov focuses on communist regimes, which have the longest average lifespan among single-party autocracies and have developed the most sophisticated information-gathering institutions. Communist regimes face a variety of threats, but the main one is the masses. Dimitrov therefore examines the origins, evolution, and internal logic of the information-collection ecosystem established by communist states to monitor popular dissent. Drawing from a rich base of evidence across multiple communist regimes and nearly 100 interviews, Dimitrov reshapes our understanding of how autocrats learn--or fail to learn--about the societies they rule, and how they maintain--or lose--power.
Dictatorship and the Electoral Vote: Francoism and the Portuguese New State Regime in Comparative Perspective, 1945-1975 (The Portuguese-Speaking World)
by Carlos Domper LasusWhy do dictatorships have elections? Dictatorship and the Electoral Vote analyses the role of elections in two dictatorships that were born in the Era of Fascism but survived up to the 1970s: the Portuguese New State and Francoism. A comparative study of the electoral vote held by both dictatorships is revealing at many organizational and structural levels. The multiple political interactions involved in elections worldwide have been subject to social science scrutiny but rarely encompass historical context. The analysis of the electoral vote held by Iberian dictatorships is uniquely placed to link the two. The issues to hand include: drawing of electoral rolls; evolution of the number of people allowed to vote; candidate selection processes; propaganda methods; impact on the institutional structure of the regime; the socio-political biographies of the candidates; the electoral turnout and final tally; relationship between the central and peripheral authorities of the state; and the viewpoint of regime authorities on the holding of elections. Comparative analysis of all these issues enables a better understanding of the political nature of these dictatorships as well as a comprehensive explanation of the historical roots and evolution of the elections these dictatorship held since 1945. Based on primary archival documents, some of them never previously accessed, the book offers a detailed explanation of how these dictatorships used elections to consolidate their political authority and provides a historical approach that allows placing both countries in the framework of European electoral history and in the history of the political evolution of Iberian dictatorships between the Axis defeat and their breakdown in the mid-seventies.
Dictatorship as Experience: Towards a Socio-Cultural History of the GDR
by Konrad H. JarauschA decade after the collapse of communism, this volume presents a historical reflection on the perplexing nature of the East German dictatorship. In contrast to most political rhetoric, it seeks to establish a middle ground between totalitarianism theory, stressing the repressive features of the SED-regime, and apologetics of the socialist experiment, emphasizing the normality of daily lives. The book transcends the polarization of public debate by stressing the tensions and contradictions within the East German system that combined both aspects by using dictatorial means to achieve its emancipatory aims. By analyzing a range of political, social, cultural, and chronological topics, the contributors sketch a differentiated picture of the GDR which emphasizes both its repressive and its welfare features. The sixteen original essays, especially written for this volume by historians from both east and west Germany, represent the cutting edge of current research and suggest new theoretical perspectives. They explore political, social, and cultural mechanisms of control as well as analyze their limits and discuss the mixture of dynamism and stagnation that was typical of the GDR.
Dictatorship on Trial: Coups and the Future of Justice in Thailand
by Tyrell HaberkornIn 2014, after a decade of political turmoil, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) carried out Thailand's 13th coup since the country's transformation from absolute to constitutional monarchy in 1932. Though the NCPO promised to restore the rule of law, justice—long tenuous in Thailand—disappeared entirely. The legal system was used to criminalize the thoughts and actions of democratic dissidents, facilitate extrajudicial violence, and guarantee impunity for the coup and crimes by state officials. Combining legal and historical scholarship and long-term courtroom observation, Dictatorship on Trial traces the legal, social, and political impacts of authoritarianism, and foregrounds court decisions as both a history of repression and a site in which to imagine future justice. Organized chronologically across the five years of the NCPO regime, each chapter takes up a different political case and enumerates the ways in which political activists were made vulnerable rather than protected by the state's interpretations of the law, and the mechanisms through which perpetrators evaded accountability. Inspired by feminist legal scholars, the substantive analysis in each chapter is followed by new, rewritten judgments created in collaboration with Thai human rights activists. In plotting these alternative logics, interpretations of evidence, and conclusions, Tyrell Haberkorn outlines what true justice might look like, and assesses the legal and political transformations necessary to realize it.
Dictatorship on Trial: Coups and the Future of Justice in Thailand
by Tyrell HaberkornIn 2014, after a decade of political turmoil, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) carried out Thailand's 13th coup since the country's transformation from absolute to constitutional monarchy in 1932. Though the NCPO promised to restore the rule of law, justice—long tenuous in Thailand—disappeared entirely. The legal system was used to criminalize the thoughts and actions of democratic dissidents, facilitate extrajudicial violence, and guarantee impunity for the coup and crimes by state officials. Combining legal and historical scholarship and long-term courtroom observation, Dictatorship on Trial traces the legal, social, and political impacts of authoritarianism, and foregrounds court decisions as both a history of repression and a site in which to imagine future justice. Organized chronologically across the five years of the NCPO regime, each chapter takes up a different political case and enumerates the ways in which political activists were made vulnerable rather than protected by the state's interpretations of the law, and the mechanisms through which perpetrators evaded accountability. Inspired by feminist legal scholars, the substantive analysis in each chapter is followed by new, rewritten judgments created in collaboration with Thai human rights activists. In plotting these alternative logics, interpretations of evidence, and conclusions, Tyrell Haberkorn outlines what true justice might look like, and assesses the legal and political transformations necessary to realize it.