How spreading democracy keeps dictators in power
Angry Planet15 Maalis 2017

How spreading democracy keeps dictators in power

For his views on democracies and dictatorships, he’s been called a cynic. But NYU professor Alastair Smith doesn’t think that makes him wrong. This week on War College, Smith debunks popular ideas about dictators and how they stay in power. According to Smith, and his colleague Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, the West too often trades cash for policy favors from dictators. International criminal courts for authoritarian leaders are bad ideas, Smith argues, because they create negative incentives for dictators to leave. And attempts to help the masses - as former Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi attempted - can be a dictator’s biggest mistake. Smith says that for dictators, it’s good policy to understand who keeps them in power and to keep those entities – which can sometimes include the West - happy. By Matthew Gault Produced and edited by Bethel Habte

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jaksot(497)

Neutralizing Iran’s Nuclear Material During a War Is ‘Nearly Mission Impossible’

Neutralizing Iran’s Nuclear Material During a War Is ‘Nearly Mission Impossible’

America went to war in Iran, we’re told, because the idea of the country developing nuclear weapons was intolerable. Nukes are complicated and technical weapons that require scientists and experts to ...

27 Maalis 54min

The ‘AI as Nuclear Weapons’ Obsession

The ‘AI as Nuclear Weapons’ Obsession

AI enthusiasts love to say that the technology is as revolutionary and important as nuclear weapons. Even the Trump administration has adopted the metaphor. The President and the Department of Energy ...

13 Maalis 1h 2min

A Killer True Crime Fandom & Islamic State’s Digital Caliphate

A Killer True Crime Fandom & Islamic State’s Digital Caliphate

Things have gotten very surreal in the dark corners of the internet. AI-generated prophets are preaching jihad in Facebook groups, Minecraft servers host digital caliphates, and school shooting fandom...

4 Maalis 1h 22min

When Americans Became ‘Splendid Liberators’

When Americans Became ‘Splendid Liberators’

America spent most of the 19th century at war with itself. It conquered its western expanse then collapsed into civil war. Once the North beat the South, partisan politics consumed the country for a g...

20 Helmi 1h 5min

Puffins, Zyn, and ‘Polar War’

Puffins, Zyn, and ‘Polar War’

Greenland fever has faded for now but it will return. The world’s polar region, you see, is pretty damn important. As the planet heats and the ice melts, what was once an impassible warren of ice and ...

6 Helmi 55min

Online Culture Is the Whole Culture

Online Culture Is the Whole Culture

There was a time, just before the pandemic, when folks would say “Twitter isn’t real life” as a means of dismissing the horrors of social media. This was a cope, a way to ignore the worst political an...

30 Tammi 1h 24min

How We Thought the First Year Would Go

How We Thought the First Year Would Go

Listen to this episode commercial free at https://angryplanetpod.comOn January 28, 2025, I sat down with Aram Shabanian to talk about how we thought the first year of the Trump administration would go...

16 Tammi 1h 2min

On Spectacles of Cruelty

On Spectacles of Cruelty

On the last Angry Planet of 2025, novelist and Marine Corps veteran Phil Klay returns to reflect on a year of spectacle and cruelty.Between the Pentagon’s boat strikes and the administration’s constan...

9 Tammi 52min

Suosittua kategoriassa Politiikka ja uutiset

uutiscast
aikalisa
ootsa-kuullut-tasta-2
politiikan-puskaradio
rss-ootsa-kuullut-tasta
tervo-halme
rss-vaalirankkurit-podcast
rss-podme-livebox
et-sa-noin-voi-sanoo-esittaa
rss-asiastudio
otetaan-yhdet
the-ulkopolitist
rss-hyvaa-huomenta-bryssel
rss-merja-mahkan-rahat
aihe
rikosmyytit
rss-kaikki-uusiksi
rss-raha-talous-ja-politiikka
rss-aijat-hopottaa-podcast
rss-polikulaari-pitka-kiekko-ja-muut-ts-podcastit