That's pretty much it. The trick is not to treat dictators as all-powerful or to assume benevolence on the part of democratic leaders. Everyone's part of a coalition and everyone acts in their self-interest.
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The book also has a VERY cynical take on foreign aid (esp. disaster relief) intended to help citizens of autocratic governments: (1) Autocrats take most of the $ for themselves; (2) Knowing aid $ will come creates a perverse incentive not to prevent disasters ahead of time.
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(esp. the chapter on politics).
Now some quotes and takeaways...
Savvy governments (e.g., the US State Department) understand that aid money mostly goes to the dictator and his coalition, which is why they use it for bribes (i.e., to extract policy concessions), all in the guise of "helping the poor."
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But finally (on an optimistic note), the book portrays democracies as relatively stable arrangements(!), stuck in a kind of virtuous cycle where both citizens AND leaders benefit from key political freedoms.
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Why key political freedoms (speech, press, assembly) are mostly stable in a democracy: 1. Politicians who provide freedoms make voters happy ⇒ re-elected. 2. Politicians need free speech to know what voters actually want. 3. Free people work harder and smarter ⇒ ↑ tax revenue.
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P.S.
@cgpgrey made a fantastic 18-minute video summary of The Dictator's Handbook: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rStL7niR7gs …. Also a bonus follow-up video on Death and Dynasties (5 min): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ig_qpNfXHIU … These videos are no substitute for the full book, but they're pretty damn good.Show this thread
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