Dr. Marcel Dirsus

And stepping down voluntarily is extremely difficult too. So I call this the dictator's treadmill. So at the moment that you assume power, you risk getting stuck because in order to be in power as a dictator, you have to do horrible things regularly, right? You have to harass people. You put them in prison. You might have people killed. You steal from your people and so forth.

And stepping down voluntarily is extremely difficult too. So I call this the dictator's treadmill. So at the moment that you assume power, you risk getting stuck because in order to be in power as a dictator, you have to do horrible things regularly, right? You have to harass people. You put them in prison. You might have people killed. You steal from your people and so forth.

And stepping down voluntarily is extremely difficult too. So I call this the dictator's treadmill. So at the moment that you assume power, you risk getting stuck because in order to be in power as a dictator, you have to do horrible things regularly, right? You have to harass people. You put them in prison. You might have people killed. You steal from your people and so forth.

And at the moment where you want to step down, there's a massive risk of that catching up with you. Doing so is inevitably a risk. And part of the problem is that you would have to find somebody to replace you who would be powerful enough to protect you, but not so powerful that they can get rid of you.

And at the moment where you want to step down, there's a massive risk of that catching up with you. Doing so is inevitably a risk. And part of the problem is that you would have to find somebody to replace you who would be powerful enough to protect you, but not so powerful that they can get rid of you.

And at the moment where you want to step down, there's a massive risk of that catching up with you. Doing so is inevitably a risk. And part of the problem is that you would have to find somebody to replace you who would be powerful enough to protect you, but not so powerful that they can get rid of you.

Yeah, you're absolutely right. You're looking at a guy who has reportedly had somebody blown up with an anti-aircraft gun for falling asleep in a meeting. This is the type of regime that we're talking about. And as you say, this type of transparency, at first it sounds good from the perspective of the dictator because like, well, nobody can criticize you really.

Yeah, you're absolutely right. You're looking at a guy who has reportedly had somebody blown up with an anti-aircraft gun for falling asleep in a meeting. This is the type of regime that we're talking about. And as you say, this type of transparency, at first it sounds good from the perspective of the dictator because like, well, nobody can criticize you really.

Yeah, you're absolutely right. You're looking at a guy who has reportedly had somebody blown up with an anti-aircraft gun for falling asleep in a meeting. This is the type of regime that we're talking about. And as you say, this type of transparency, at first it sounds good from the perspective of the dictator because like, well, nobody can criticize you really.

And if they do, you can put them in a gulag or you can have them killed or whatever. But ultimately, a lot of these dictators fall into a trap because the system is set up this way. So as they promote for loyalty and not for competence, and people who speak the truth get purged over and over again, you do end up with these yes men.

And if they do, you can put them in a gulag or you can have them killed or whatever. But ultimately, a lot of these dictators fall into a trap because the system is set up this way. So as they promote for loyalty and not for competence, and people who speak the truth get purged over and over again, you do end up with these yes men.

And if they do, you can put them in a gulag or you can have them killed or whatever. But ultimately, a lot of these dictators fall into a trap because the system is set up this way. So as they promote for loyalty and not for competence, and people who speak the truth get purged over and over again, you do end up with these yes men.

Obviously, if everybody constantly agrees with you because they don't want to be sent to a gulag, that's not conducive to good policymaking. And again, it's not great for a healthy mind, right? We've seen a lot of the times in history that this leads dictators to basically detach from reality. Like they don't really know what's going on anymore.

Obviously, if everybody constantly agrees with you because they don't want to be sent to a gulag, that's not conducive to good policymaking. And again, it's not great for a healthy mind, right? We've seen a lot of the times in history that this leads dictators to basically detach from reality. Like they don't really know what's going on anymore.

Obviously, if everybody constantly agrees with you because they don't want to be sent to a gulag, that's not conducive to good policymaking. And again, it's not great for a healthy mind, right? We've seen a lot of the times in history that this leads dictators to basically detach from reality. Like they don't really know what's going on anymore.

And as a result, they can make mistakes because they become overly confident.

And as a result, they can make mistakes because they become overly confident.

And as a result, they can make mistakes because they become overly confident.

Yeah, I think Putin is a really interesting case. I talked to a lot of Russia experts while writing this, right? And what some of them argued is that essentially as Putin came in, he would listen to a lot of people that were technocrats. So these might have been people that previously ran a bank or they were like managers. They cared a lot about the economy. They wanted things to work, right?

Yeah, I think Putin is a really interesting case. I talked to a lot of Russia experts while writing this, right? And what some of them argued is that essentially as Putin came in, he would listen to a lot of people that were technocrats. So these might have been people that previously ran a bank or they were like managers. They cared a lot about the economy. They wanted things to work, right?