How Dictators Trap Themselves @JamesKerLindsay

Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

Why can’t dictators simply walk away from power? Political scientist and author Dr Marcel Dirsus explains the “dictator’s treadmill”: autocrats may enjoy wealth, corruption and absolute power at first, but their crimes can eventually trap them. Studies show that more than two-thirds of such totalitarian rulers end up in forced exile, prison or dead after losing power. Facing the possible loss of freedom or life, many escalate their brutality to survive.

#Dictatorship #Authoritarianism #PoliticalScience #Dictators #PowerPolitics #Geopolitics #PoliticalHistory #Autocracy #MarcelDirsus #InternationalPolitics #JamesKerLindsay

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$Is the Western Alliance FINISHED? Is the Western Alliance finished? NATO is facing one of its sharpest tests in generations. In this livestream, Michael Rossi, Pyotr Kurzin, and I break down Donald Trump’s latest escalation: renewed threats to bring Greenland under U.S. control, coupled with new tariffs targeting key European NATO partners. Trump has warned that imports from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and Finland will face a 10% tariff from 1 February, rising to 25% by 1 June unless a deal is reached over Greenland. European leaders are calling it blackmail; some warn it would hand strategic advantage to Moscow. Meanwhile, the Arctic has become a flashpoint, with allied troop deployments and military signalling adding hard power to an already combustible dispute. But what does this mean for NATO solidarity and transatlantic trust? Are tariffs now a weapon to force strategic concessions from allies? Could the Greenland crisis trigger wider retaliation, fracture EU-US cooperation, and accelerate a pivot away from Washington? Or will Europe and the United States find a way to contain the damage and reset relations? Join us live for analysis, debate, and your questions as we ask the big one: Can the Western Alliance Survive? We’ll also explore what comes next. #DonaldTrump #Greenland #InternationalRelations$