En yderst interessant og dybtgående gennemgang af de nye diktaturer og ikke-voldelig modstand. ( )

The Dictator’s Learning Curve provides an insightful view of the new face of tyranny. Many modern dictators have learned to preserve their power by more subtle means than concentration camps or massacres in the street. Seemingly reasonable bureaucratic requirements for the media or for receiving government assistance can be just as effective as more brutal means at stifling open dissent.
For example, Putin’s elections, free but structured so that the opposition cannot win, are just as effective as Stalin’s Gulag in keeping the regime in power, but are much less disruptive of Russian society. Dissident media offices are shut down, not by club-wielding thugs, but by having their computers confiscated because they contain unlicensed software.
Dobson’s provides many examples from Russia, China, Serbia, the Middle East, and Venezuela. He also illustrates the ways democracy advocates oppose these new tactics, such as the Egyptian riot policeman who clandestinely publishes a guide for protestors, showing how to stymy his colleagues’ tactics.
Dobson also provides a good introduction to the work of Gene Sharp, the American professor who has developed creative ways around these new techniques of repression. ( )