The Despot's Accomplice: How the West is Aiding and Abetting the Decline of Democracy Revised, Updated Edition

When a first time author has his work endorsed by a former vice president of the United States then it stands to reason that it is probably something special. Such is the case here with Dr Klaas' debut book that examines the slow, sorry decline of democracy.Drawing upon Brian's experience in the field, interviewing the great and the not-so great, 'The Despot's Accomplice' moves from case to case and from place to place, to reveal the extent to which the world may be falling out of love with the democratic values that were fought for during the Twentieth Century, but which risk becoming little more than a memory from a forgotten age.Engaging and informative, this book takes the reader on a journey of discovery from the jungles of Madagascar to the corridors of power at the CIA to reveal the reasons for democracy's apparent fall from favor in a time of Trump and BREXIT.

This was my 3rd Klaas book. How to Rig an Election (he’s co-author) and The Despot’s Aprentice we’re so good that I wanted to get this too. This stuff is seriously interesting and caused an important shift in my world view. The stories he tells about the places he visited/lived are compelling. And seeing how we arrived at some of these situations helps create a path for improving things. I recommend all 3 books, they almost feel like a trilogy.

My husband and i both read this book and thought it was very well written. Mr. Klaas' insights are well thought out and explained. We also saw him interviewed and were impressed with his eloquent answers to questions about these complicated times. it is a must read.

Clearly written examination of an important and timely topic.

Very interesting book. Recommended

Compelling and thought-provoking book.

This is another book I came across while scouring for supplementary material after I was scouted for a potential adjunct position. The class — Wright State University’s Global Economic, Business and Social Issues (EC 2900) — looks at global economic, social, and business issues. Topics the class focuses on include healthcare, pollution, poverty, and business ethics. I was looking for a book that gave a general description of current political climates governments across the world face. Because government plays such a crucial role in addressing said issues, it’s imperative that people have a basic understanding of politics as politics drives public policy. I’m recommending this book as potential supplementary material for economic instructors.The author is Dr. Brian Klaas. Dr. Klaas is affiliated with the London School of Economics and has advised governments across the globe, NATO, the European Union, and other international actors. Regions he has visited include Eastern Europe, the Middle East, sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. The Despot’s Accomplice draws upon Dr. Klaas’ extensive international experiences to highlight creeping authoritarianism in countries ranging from Madagascar to Tunisia to Thailand. What makes this book relevant to economics is the major importance of government regarding market economies. Governments influence market economies through actions such as providing public goods and services, redistributing income, stabilizing the economy, correcting for externalities, dictating market competition, and providing the legal and social framework by which markets operate.The basic structure of government plays a pivotal role in shaping its responses to economic issues. Linkage with economic incentivisation too is a pivotal reason why democracies multiplied during the 1990s. Democracy affects daily life considerably, such as economic opportunity. Dr. Klaas points out “consolidated democracies spawn more economic opportunity, enjoy better physical security and are bastions of greater justice”, especially compared to dictatorships. Yet since the Cold War’s conclusion, global democracy is in retreat. A key reason for this, according to Dr. Klaas, is that Western powers are enablers, subtly encouraging authoritarianism abroad in pursuit of pyrrhic short-term economic victories. For example, Dr. Klaas notes how Western governments praised Cambodia for exceeding expectations for democratic values… a year after an anti-democratic coup occurred.The book illustrates how Western attitudes toward democracy are dictated first and foremost by geopolitical concerns. What if a country is geopolitically important? Then its form of government is not a barrier to good relations, otherwise known as “the Saudi Arabia effect”. What if, on the other hand, a country is not geopolitically important? Then Western powers adhere to an absolute commitment to Western democratic values. In truth, the West is quite fine cozying up with illiberal democracies, or pseudo democracies, in support of “stability”, assistance in the “war on terror”, or access to “free markets”. Dr. Klaas notes this as “the Madagascar effect”, where Western governments set extremely low standards for “counterfeit democracies” to justify working with them, like what occurred with the rigged elections that occurred after a 2013 coup in Madagascar.Sometimes the schizophrenic response of Western policymakers cannot be helped, however. How exactly does one deal with Thailand, for example? Thailand has had more coups than any other country. In the past, Western policymakers would rebuke the military and pressure it to relinquish power. After the 2014 coup, however, the Thai military still maintains direct control of the country and pressuring the Thai government only sends further into Chinese arms. Ditto for other countries like Belarus, where mounting pressure from Western policymakers have pushed the country farther in Russian orbits.Another key element to pay close attention to involves the process by which functional democracies emerge. Dr. Klaas notes that Tunisia is the only Middle Eastern country that has emerged from the Arab Spring with a functioning democracy. Why? Because Tunisia didn’t suffer the same fate as other countries like Iraq, where the de-baathification process orchestrated by the Bush Administration excluded the large segment of society that had actual experience of administration and governing. In Tunisia, the revolutionaries included remnants of the previous authoritarian government despite intense opposition. By doing so, Tunisian democracy prevented internal hostile forces invest in its failure from coalescing and acquired the previous government’s institutional knowledge and administrative expertise.Knowing the future trends of global governments is important in projecting the future of market economies. A key element of dictatorships is corruption. Corruption stifles markets, breeds social injustice, and absolves accountability. Corruption exists in democracies too, but this is false equivalence. Such corruption is small fry compared to the massive looting orchestrated by dictatorships. On multiple corruption measurements (e.g., the International Transparency Index) the least corrupt countries all happen to be democracies whereas the most corrupt countries are overwhelmingly dictatorships. Dictatorships are overly reliant on the zealous support of a small group of political elites, the military, law enforcement, and the bureaucracy. Thus, authoritarian governments bribe key constituencies by granting them special class privileges and obscene wealth. Looting public wealth is accomplished via means such as dubious privatization deals and the rigging of government contracts. These practices becomes problematic in the development of market economies because they stifle competition, steer vital resources toward inefficient means of production, and strangle economic opportunity for citizenry.Upon reading "The Despot’s Accomplice", I find the book contains extensive research and is easily understandable. When facing global problems like infectious diseases, having a general understanding of a country’s political situation is vital. This will also inform people of the challenges countries face in fostering market economies that are transparent, adhere to the rule of law, and promote economic opportunity. Finally, the book contains lessons for Western countries. It’s helpful when you practice what you preach and realize that promoting democracies through war (e.g., the Iraq war) is disastrous, counterproductive, and, well, stupid. Altogether, an enjoyable, recommended read for general readers, university students, and instructors.

It's a good book and makes some good points, yet the author mentioning Ukraine in the last chapter as an example of failed transition was absolutely unsupported by anything AT ALL in the rest of the book. Focusing on Belarus for an entire chapter while ignoring everything that has happened next door in Ukraine since 2014(except as an example how the West changed its view of Lukashenko because of Russia) was, frankly, unforgivable, in such an ambitious book. And to sum it all up as a "failed transition" -- when Ukraine actually proves all of the author's points, including its highly criticized failure in the early 1990s to eliminate the ancien Soviet regime, and is the most democratic of the former Soviet republics outside the Baltics -- makes me suspect the authors' motives. Dude, next time, don't spend one sentence on the biggest country in Europe, which has been a huge recipient of US democracy development aid and is currently, literally, protecting democracy from good, old-fashioned Russian imperialism. It's lazy, and insulting and detracts from the rest of the story. And an editor could have helped. I didn't do a spell check but "democracy" appears about 24,000 times in the book, sometimes multiple times in one sentence.

What an amazing book. Everyone should read this book so you can understand how democracy is real or counterfeit. Counterfeit democracy can appear to be real but in actuality it is authoritarian.Mr Klaas helped me understand the different forms of government and how they act. In today’s world I find this very important.Thank you Mr Klaas!

This book is fantastic, and changed my university choices. I have now found new passions within politics; the engaging, relevant and thought provoking content should be mandatory to read! Klaas offers advanced, expert and understandable theories and examples in a well-structured format. I loved this book.

Bright, insightful, easy reading, funny but very informative and resourceful. If you enjoyed books like "why nations fail" you'll love this!

It illustrates and explains that corruption can be found all over the world and that the West is not only aiding but abetting as well.

This high paced catalog of democracy highjacks across the world is an eye opener. Brian Klaas' conclusion is however far from cynical for the patient and dedicated diplomat. You also may want to read and discover little known citizen who dared vote with their feet, the hard way