Summary of Sergei Guriev & Daniel Treisman's Spin Dictators

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.

#1 In 1956, the Chinese-speaking students took over their middle schools in Singapore. The colonial authorities dissolved the students’ union and arrested its leaders, saying the organization had been infiltrated by communists. In protest, thousands of teenagers flooded onto their school grounds.

#2 Lee Kuan Yew, the leader of Singapore, had a very different approach to dealing with the Chinese protesters in Tiananmen Square than Deng Xiaoping did. He wanted to keep the country’s politics and economy strictly under his control.

#3 In the 1950s, authoritarian rule was identified with violence. Around the globe, brutal regimes continued to kill their citizens by the thousands. In communist states, the body counts were staggering.

#4 20th century dictators used violent repression to stay in power, but they also took pride in their gory exploits, which they made sure citizens knew about. The West underwent a revolution in penal philosophy and practices between 1760 and 1840, with the deliberate infliction of pain giving way to more humane and invisible punishments.

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Rafbók: 13 april 2022