Political Salon
The Battle Between Democracy and Dictatorship: Are Dictators Getting Smarter?

William J. Dobson
Politics and Foreign Affairs Editor, Slate Magazine
Author, The Dictator’s Learning Curve: Inside the Global Battle for Democracy

July 17, 2012

6:00-8:00 p.m.

Bar Marco, 2216 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh

Waiting list This event is oversubscribed, and we have started a waiting list. There are often cancellations and seats open up. If you would like to be added to the waiting list, please call 412-281-7970 or click here to send an email. Please provide your best contact information, so that in the event that a spot does become available, we can get hold of you. We will try the best contact method you provide, but to be fair to others on the waiting list, we can only hold your spot for a short time before offering the spot to the next person on the list.

As the Arab Spring unfolded during 2011, new attention was brought to the changing face of authoritarian rule. Strongmen like former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi once dominated the political landscape in the Middle East and North Africa — but now have joined a cache of toppled regime leaders. Yet autocratic leaders such as Venezuelan President Hugo Chaves, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, and Russian President Vladimir Putin remain in relative control — having adapted their style of rule to avoid ceding absolute power.

How do dictators’ behaviors change over time? How is their grip on power executed differently now than in the past? Are dictators and autocrats getting smarter? William Dobson’s much-anticipated new book, The Dictator’s Learning Curve: Inside the Global Battle for Democracy, proposes that democracy — albeit of an illegitimate variety — has become the new standard in authoritarian rulers’ playbook for retaining power. As recent years have seen a host of rigged elections and inadequate polling practices, Mr. Dobson’s book is set against a backdrop of real-world vignettes, ranging from South America to Southeast Asia. At a moment in history when toppled dictators are being replaced with fledgling democracies, join us for a discussion about how some authoritarian regimes have constructed a new place for themselves in the international order.

Click here to listen to William J. Dobson's recent interview with Jian Ghomeshi on Q!

William J. Dobson is the Politics and Foreign Affairs Editor for Slate Magazine. Previously, he served as the managing editor of Foreign Policy magazine. Earlier in his career, Mr. Dobson served as Senior Editor for Asia for Newsweek International and as Associate Editor at Foreign Affairs. His international politics articles and op-eds have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, and Foreign Policy. He has provided commentary and analysis on international politics for ABC, CNN, CBS, MSNBC, and NPR. He holds a law degree from Harvard Law School and a Masters degree in East Asian Studies from Harvard University. He received his bachelor's degree, summa cum laude, from Middlebury College.

Costs
There is no charge for World Affairs Council Members | Non-Members: $15

Cash bar. Drink Specials! Appetizers will be served.

Participants must register to attend. No-shows and cancellations after July 12, 2012 will be charged.

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