‘Thought-provoking, vivid and often entertaining’ DAILY TELEGRAPH
‘Compelling’ FINANCIAL TIMES
‘Thought-provoking’ THE ECONOMIST
‘Gripping . . . Essential and captivating’ BRADLEY HOPE
HOW DO WE END TYRANNY?
Tyrants seem invincible, but they face constant threats from all sides. Whether it’s by members of their inner circle, military elites, alienated masses, assassins, revolutionaries, or simply old age – they always fall. And when they do, they cannot retire: they face exile, prison or death. The aftermath can be catastrophic.
Meeting with improbable coup plotters, intelligence officers, rebel commanders and fugitive dissidents, Dr Marcel Dirsus draws on extraordinary interviews to unpick the vulnerabilities of the world’s strongmen.How Tyrants Fall is an essential guide to decapitating tyranny, and a warning of what happens if we do.
‘Compelling’ FINANCIAL TIMES
‘Thought-provoking’ THE ECONOMIST
‘Gripping . . . Essential and captivating’ BRADLEY HOPE
HOW DO WE END TYRANNY?
Tyrants seem invincible, but they face constant threats from all sides. Whether it’s by members of their inner circle, military elites, alienated masses, assassins, revolutionaries, or simply old age – they always fall. And when they do, they cannot retire: they face exile, prison or death. The aftermath can be catastrophic.
Meeting with improbable coup plotters, intelligence officers, rebel commanders and fugitive dissidents, Dr Marcel Dirsus draws on extraordinary interviews to unpick the vulnerabilities of the world’s strongmen.How Tyrants Fall is an essential guide to decapitating tyranny, and a warning of what happens if we do.
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Reviews
Fascinating, sweeping, and jaw-dropping. Dirsus takes everything you think you know about dictators and turns it on its head, with provocative insights into the warped minds of despots and the twisted systems that keep them on top. With dazzling stories and convincing analysis, How Tyrants Fall provides a roadmap to a world with fewer Putins and Kim Jong-Uns
Timely, authoritative and accessible . . . Essential reading
A compelling and intricate portrait of how dictators survive and how they fall. Grounded in the latest research, it uses colourful real-world experiences to shed light on the central tensions underlying the reign of today's tyrants . . . How Tyrants Fall expertly captures the complex nature of strongman rule
A smart, accessible, engaging reminder of the brittleness of tyrannical regimes. It is also a resource for policies that can weaken those repressive governments and prevent chaos in their aftermath. We in the West have lost confidence in the university of our political values; this excellent book ought to restore our commitment to advancing those values
A fascinating, wide-ranging and highly-entertaining journey
Gripping . . . An essential and captivating look at the perils of authoritarian rule and the remarkable ways in which even the most ruthless despots can be toppled
A sparkling read full of original observations and captivating insights. This handbook on the vulnerability of tyrants is an important contribution to our political discourse at a time when democracy is once again competing against the lure of autocracy
A timely and engaging romp through the world of dictators, exploring how they survive, how they fall, and what comes next when they collapse. A joy to read!
Entertaining . . . Thought-provoking
Thought-provoking
The political scientist's rigorously researched book offers fascinating insight into the rise - and then inevitable fall - of dictators . . . a much-needed look at how tyranny ends
Compelling
A fascinating, wide-ranging and highly-entertaining journey
[Dirsus] wears his research lightly and ranges widely, lathering his dark material with a bright impasto of playful irony
Thought-provoking, vivid and often entertaining