Dictatorship

Presented as a satirical instruction manual, this book is written for anyone who wants to run a country with no limits. Its authors, Sarah Kendzior and Andrea Chalupa, host the Gaslit Nation podcast, and artist Kasia Babis provides the artwork. Together they cover five stages a would-be autocrat must pass through to gather power and keep it. The opening asks the reader whether they hunger to remake the world in their own image, whether they can lie without flinching, and whether they suspect enemies everywhere. Answer yes to all three, the book suggests, and you are well suited to the job. From there, it maps out a step-by-step route for turning a sweeping falsehood into reality, following a path from great wealth to still greater wealth. Along the way, readers learn how to tighten their hold on authority, silence those who object, turn ordinary citizens into tools, and even stretch out an unavoidable collapse. The whole undertaking, the authors insist, is easier than it sounds.