Book Reviews 123

Book Reviews
Title: Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of
Authoritarianism
Author: Anne Applebaum
Publisher: Penguin Random House LLC, New York, 2020, 206.

H
ow do demagogues come into being and what entices masses to
yield to their divisive politics? In Twilight of Democracy, Anne
Applebaum takes us through democracies on both sides of the
Atlantic and their flirtation with authoritarianism. Born in Washington
D.C. in a Jewish household and married to a former Foreign Minister of
Poland, Mrs. Sikorski’s three decades of career in journalism is nothing
short of illustrious. She has written extensively on communism, European
affairs and American politics. Her sizeable list of honors includes the 2004
Pulitzer Prize for Non-Fiction for Gulag: A History, a book that has since
been translated in twenty-five languages. Founder of Democracy Lab, a
website that watches states in transition to or moving away from
democracy, and Beyond Propaganda, a program that examines twenty-
first century disinformation campaigns, Applebaum sits on the editorial
board of the American Interest and Journal of Democracy. Besides
considerable comprehension of Western societies, this publication exudes
the author’s profound faith in the post-war liberal project and dismay at
its contemporary descent.
Between two parties in a bucolic setting in northwest Poland,
Applebaum gives a quick rundown of the proliferation of post-truth
politics in the first two decades of the twenty-first century: degeneration
of institutions, demonization of criticsand dissolution of fraternity that has
accompanied the disruption of democracy in Europe and the United States
of America. Beginning with the Law and Justice Party that rose to power in
Poland in 2015, she describes the paranoia and xenophobia that is
systemically fed to the masses to further political agendas. From
subversion of the constitution to curbs on journalistic freedom, the
authoritarian bent of the dispensation is flagrant. This soft dictatorship is
also visible in Orban’s Hungary that uses the machinery of the state to
harass opponents of the regime and promote its allies. Institutions are
regularly undermined and in some cases, such as the Central European
University, also dislodged. Applebaum continues that similar hyper-
nationalism, disapprobation of rule of law, exclusionary rhetoric and
obfuscation animated Vox’s campaign in Spain, Brexit and the US
Presidential Elections of 2016.
How does democracy become a staging point on the road to
tyranny as Plato had postulated? The Greek philosopherdreaded the
demagogue’s false words just like the founding fathers of the United States
were mindful of a corrupt leader and sought to create a system of checks
124 Journal of Contemporary Studies, Vol. IX, No.2, Winter 2020

that could restrain one. Another question follows: who might be drawn to
a rabble-rouser and under what conditions? The answer lies in human
nature. According to behavioral economist Karen Stenner, an authoritarian
disposition favors order and uniformity. It appeals to people who cannot
stand complexity and pluralism. Averse to debate, it is not a set of ideas
but a frame of mind and there is nothing inherently right or left wing
about this instinct. She is of the view that in any country, a third of the
populace possesses this tendency. However, the mere presence of citizens
inclined towards absolutism does not completely account for a
demagogue’s rise to power. Quoting the French essayist Julien Benda’s
1927 book ‘The Treason of Intellectuals’, the author points out that
authoritarians also require members of the educated and intellectual elite,
the clercs, to launch the coup or promote unrest by manipulating
discontent, channeling grievances and providing a different vision for the
future.
Anne Applebaum holds that although, the authoritarian left is
amassing cultural power, the only modern clercs who have succeeded in
taking charge of governments and political parties in the West are
members of movements labeled as the ‘right’. Moreover, they have little in
common with groups that have been so defined after the 2nd World War.
Instead, the new right longs to undo existing paradigms of state and
society. To attain this end, these polarizing campaigns employ a ‘Big Lie’ or
the ‘Medium-Size Lie’, encouraging their followers to engage with an
alternative reality. Conspiracy theories are first circulated as the main
plank of an election campaign and then by the ruling party using full might
of a modern, centralized administration. Their emotional appeal lies in
their simplicity and their reiteration brings power to the custodians of
one-party state. This illiberal state system is not a philosophy but a means
of obtaining and holding on to power and functions parallel to an
assortment of ideologies. In modern times, it does not entail violence to
remain in power. Instead, it depends on a cadre of elites to run state
media, bureaucracy, courts and in some instances, state companies as well.
Their role is to defend their leaders’ deceitful statements, corruption and
devastating impact on institutions and ordinary people. In return, they are
rewarded and promoted, offered lucrative contracts, salaries and impunity
for graft and incompetence. Different versions of this state capture are
found around the world but they all represent the end of the rather
detestable notions of free market, political competition and meritocracy
that according to them have not benefited the less successful.
The speedy shift in the manner people exchange messages has
enormous political ramifications. Diversion of advertising to social media
companies has severely limited the ability of newspapers and
broadcasters to gather and present information. Answerable to regulators
and courts, the journalists of these mediums abided by certain ethical
codes and enabled a single national conversation. It is not possible
Book Reviews 125

anymore as people do not only differ in opinion nowadays but also on

facts. In an information sphere not constrained by any political, cultural or
moral authority whatsoever - and no reliable sources, fabricated, partisan
and deceptive narratives spread like wildfires. Too difficult to keep up
with for the fact-checkers and even if they could, the public won’t believe
them. Incorrect perceptions of the world are stimulated by social media
algorithms themselves. Designed to keep people online, they stir emotions
especially fear and anger. Owing to the addictiveness of these sites,
divisiveness and rage become a habit. As these digital platforms
increasingly determine how journalists and politicians construe and depict
things, polarization moves from the virtual to the real world resulting in a
hyper-partisanship that derides ‘experts’, mistrusts ‘establishment’
politics and is suspicious of ‘mainstream’ institutions including civil
servants, police and the courts.
Applebaum is of the view that although democracy has always
been unruly, it ultimately generates consensus when its rules are
observed. However, the modern debate is driven by the desire to
compulsorily silence the rest. The occurrence of a pandemic at this time is
disconcerting as historically, contagions have resulted in the expansion of
a state’s powers. Fear of disease may lead to fear of freedom. She worries
that the era in which borders could be traversed with ease, expertise and
knowledge were appreciated and sensible debate was possible may have
been one of history’s many blind alleys. It is conceivable that our
civilization is already headed for tyranny or anarchy and like the twentieth
century, a new generation of clercs, theproponents of authoritarian ideas
born out of antipathy or messianic dreams triumph. Contrarily, Covid-19
may inspire a renewed sense of global solidarity and lead to the expansion
of international institutions. After having undergone quarantine, lockdown
and fear of infection simultaneously, the reality of death could perhaps
teach people to be wary of peddlers of hate, division and disinformation.
Both futures are equally likely. One must realize that no political victory is
eternal and no definition of the nation is conclusive. No solution or theory
can explain everything. There is no single road map to a better world. All
authoritarianisms polarize, separate and split people in warring camps;
therefore, it is crucial that we choose our comrades with great care.
Together, we can reimagine democracy for the digital age and make
misconstrued concepts like liberalism mean something again. The struggle
against their excesses is worth continuing not because a perfect society is
attainable but because indifference is soul-destroying, mind-numbing and
deadening.

Reviewed by Saria Ahmad, PhD Scholar, Department of IR, NDU.

126 Journal of Contemporary Studies, Vol. IX, No.2, Winter 2020

Title: The World: A Brief Introduction

Author: Richard Haass
Publisher: Penguin Press, New York, May 12, 2020, 378.

T
he earth is in both, a perilous and promising state and America’s
sustained, active participation in international affairs is essential in
every respect, opines this primer on global politics. The ambition of
the book is discernible from its title, ‘The World: A Brief Introduction’. In
barely 400 pages, the author pitches this compendium at beginners
attempting to make sense of the implications of developments abroad for
the United States of America. Following a swift montage of world history
from the seventeenth century, the publication zooms in on the period after
the Second World War and prevalent conditions in key regions and hot
spots such as Europe and the Middle East. This brief, yet authoritative
study leads up to chapter-long backgrounders about geopolitical issues
covering the rise of China, migration, nuclear non-proliferation,
development strategies for poor countries, climate change, war, trade and
pandemics. As such, it promises a manual for everyday people to interpret
the global forces in which their lives are enmeshed even if they are not
aware of it or do not like it.
Richard Haass’s credentials are as prolific as his writings on the
subject. In his seventeenth year as the President of Council for Foreign
Relations, an independent and non-partisan think tank based in New York,
he has also served as a senior foreign policy official in the administration
of Presidents Ronald Regan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush. An
important insider of American foreign policy clerisy, Haass’s last book ‘A
World in Disarray: American Foreign Policy and the Crisis of the Old
Order’ expressed trepidation over the falling apart of the liberal
international order and obstacles to devising a viable substitute to it.
Perhaps, to accentuate average Americans’ limited knowledge about the
world in general, Haass mentions that the inspiration for his recent
volume came from his encounter with a student at the Stanford University
during a day of fishing in Nantucket who confessed to having studied little
of history, economics or politics. From poor decision-making to
disengagement at a time of increasing global dysfunction, he warns that
the consequences of this ignorance are severe.
What exactly do Americans require to learn to ensure a better
future for themselves? In the two dozen chapters of ‘The World’
amounting to IR 101, Haass attempts to answer this question by covering
everything from terrorism to international law and monetary policy. While
explaining these multifarious issues, he steers clear of academic theories
dismissing them as “too abstract and too far removed from what is
happening to be of value to most of us.” The central argument of the book
is that the Vegas rule is not applicable to today’s interconnected world.
What happens inside a country does not stay there; the oceans adjoining
Book Reviews 127

the United States are not moats. Extremist ideologies, economic

downturns and greenhouse gases, for instance, do not respect frontiers
and no nation can be sequestered from them. The gulf between the
insistence of governments to preserve their sovereign prerogatives and
inevitability of global problems that can only be tackled through
empowerment of international institutions and combined sacrifice is
widening. The pandemic we are faced with provides a primary evidence of
the conflicting trends that are at the heart of Haass’s analysis. It impels
nations to seal themselves against the virus’s ingress from abroad but also
to cut across national borders and cooperate globally against a shared
threat.
The book makes a start in the manner of a reference book. The first
few chapters narrate the broad flow of international politics since the
Peace of Westphalia that enshrined the concept of sovereignty of the
nation-state, not accountable to any higher authority. Pacing through
modern diplomatic history, the author exhibits the stabilizing capability of
the balance of power but also underscores the dangers of violence and
discord in a world grouped in this way. In contrast to some self-professed
realists who view states as the only players that matter on world stage,
Haass recognizes the often crucial role played by non-governmental
organizations, corporations, religions, media and also, terrorist groups.
The next section deals with major demographic, political and economic
developments in important regions of the world. Haass acknowledges the
promising trends of the past thirty years which includes a decline in the
proportion of global population living in acute poverty from more than
one-third three decades ago to less than one-tenth now. However, the
overall picture presented by him is grim. Whereas some issues such as
hostility between nuclear-armed Pakistan and India, civil wars in Africa
and tensions provoked by a rising China are familiar, there are others that
do not constitute top stories but are equally pressing. These include
challenges to providing education and making jobs available to rapidly
increasing populations in Africa and Asia and weakening civil authority
and democracy in countries of the Western hemisphere.
The third portion digs into a variety of global problems. The good
news is that nations have made remarkable strides in controlling the
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and combating terrorism. In
other areas such as the handling of refugees and policing of cyberspace,
Haass sees little hope for progress. Talking about the environment, he is
forthright in predicting that the defining issue of the twenty-first century
may be climate change. In the final section of his book, Haass returns to ‘A
World in Disarray’ by inquiring into the potential of alliances, international
institutions and law that states may resort to to restore order in a chaotic
world. He contends that international institutions such as the United
Nations are only as strong as the major powers are willing to let them be.
Dependent on them for resources to sustain themselves, they have to tread
128 Journal of Contemporary Studies, Vol. IX, No.2, Winter 2020

carefully. Contrary to the even-handed and didactic approach adopted

elsewhere in the book, Haass wraps up with an exhortation to reinstate
America’s role as the leader of the free world. Bolstered by military
muscle, this, he believes is indispensable to attaining stability and progress
in the years ahead. A world order propped up by China would undeniably
be illiberal and democracies in Europe, Canada and Asia cannot be
expected to rise to the occasion.
To build a new and improved order that can withstand changes to
global configuration of power and meet the complex challenges of
globalization, the United States must amend its behavior to be viewed as a
benign, rather than malign force in world affairs. Some observers consider
this change elusive unless Democrats take over all three branches of the
government in November. Other factors can also not be discounted. Can
the United States continue to expend its material capabilities on costly
military enterprises? Will a more informed citizenry abreast with the
intricacies of international relations favor an activist foreign policy as
pursued by the United States from the second half of the twentieth
century? Whatever way one may answer these questions, the most
important takeaway from Haass’s book can be recapped in his own words:
‘The world is going to keep changing. And how it affects us is also going to
keep changing. And we've got to keep up with it.’

Reviewed by Irfan Ahmed, PhD Scholar, Department of IR, NDU.