Book Review: Autocracy Inc.
Here’s my review of Autocracy Inc. by Anne Applebaum. Leave a comment if you’ve read it, plan to read it, or have any book recs to share. And don’t miss today’s writing prompt.
Autocracy, Inc.: The Dictators Who Want to Run the World by Anne Applebaum is a small book that packs a big punch, especially its ending, which serves as both rallying cry and stark warning. And if you read it in 2026, like I did, all you’ll be able to do is check international news headlines against its content, albeit with a much better and more nuanced viewpoint. Hopefully.
This book details how modern dictators, kleptocrats, oligarchs, and other non-democratic leaders run sophisticated networks relying on kleptocratic financial structures, security services, and technological experts providing surveillance, propaganda, and disinformation. And while these networks are primarily connected across autocratic countries, they’re often found in democracies too, with the aim to repress citizens’ autonomy and undermine anyone who challenges them—in short, to repress any instance of democracy anywhere it appears. So, while financial incentives and tit-for-tat trades and agreements keep them aligned, Autocracy Inc. is also aligned via shared ideologies, political motives, and individual participants’ desire to maintain personal wealth and power.
Some sections of the book explore specific examples of how members of Autocracy Inc. (Russia, China, and others) use media, manipulation, and technology to control national and personal narratives and stifle dissent against them and their aims. Other sections detail how Autocracy Inc.’s complex financial systems and practices allow them to hide and launder their stolen wealth, and how Western and democratic institutions have done their part in helping them do it. And other sections demonstrate how members of Autocracy Inc. share surveillance tools, as well as other technologies and strategies, to control their populations. Its concluding chapter, however, details how and why we need to build democratic networks as united, pervasive, and organized as theirs, to beat them at their own games before it’s too late.
Applebaum does an excellent job integrating historical context with present day concerns in a succinct and effective way. There is nothing superfluous in this book. Once you finish reading it, you’ll want to learn more about the ever-evolving tactics of Autocracy Inc. in 2026 (or whenever you end up reading it), as well as what you can do about it ASAP, without feeling like you missed anything important Applebaum covered.
More than anything, this book will leave you feeling informed enough to know where you can start in combating the growth of Autocracy Inc. You’ll know how it came to be, who its major players are, and what their playbook is. But instead of feeling mystified by the growing number of people supporting its autocrats and the demise of democratic norms, you’ll feel empowered to stand up to them. However, there were portions of the book that were a bit dry, which made me check out periodically while I was reading it.
Notable passages from the book:
“Everyone assumed that in a more open, interconnected world, democracy and liberal ideas would spread to the autocratic states. Nobody imagined that autocracy and illiberalism would spread to the democratic world instead.”
“But no one who studies autocratic propaganda believes that fact-checking or even swift reactions are sufficient. By the time the correction is made, the falsehood has already traveled around the world. Our old models never acknowledged the truth that many people desire disinformation. They are attracted by conspiracy theories and will not necessarily seek out reliable news at all.”
“But many of the propagandists of Autocracy Inc. have learned from the mistakes of the twentieth century. They don’t offer their fellow citizens a vision of utopia, and they don’t inspire them to build a better world. Instead, they teach people to be cynical and passive, because there is no better world to build. Their goal is to persuade people to mind their own business, stay out of politics, and never hope for a democratic alternative: Our state may be corrupt, but everyone else is corrupt too. You may not like our leader, but the others are worse. You may not like our society, but at least we are strong and the democratic world is weak, degenerate, divided, dying.”
Subscribe to receive future book reviews in your inbox, along with other engaging posts. And don’t forget to leave a comment with your own book recommendations.
© This work is not available for artificial intelligence (AI) training. All Rights Reserved by K.E. Creighton; Creighton’s Compositions LLC.
Want to express your appreciation for this post and writing prompt?
My writing and I are fueled by loyal readers, caffeine, and kind words, so I appreciate any support you can offer that keeps me writing. Thank you so much!
Today’s Writing Prompt
Writing Prompt: Free Write, New World Order
Set a timer for ten minutes. Once you start the timer, start free writing about what a new world order would like to you, if you were to base it on our common humanity. Don’t stop writing until the timer goes off.
Writing Tip
When free writing, write down whatever comes to mind as soon as it surfaces. Don’t overthink what you’re writing about. And feel free to repeat this free writing exercise for any topic in the future, as well, especially when you find yourself stuck or needing a bit of creative inspiration.
