Klaas Brian - The Despots Accomplice

Revised and Updated

Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the Universitys objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and certain other countries.

Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America.

Brian Klaas, 2018

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by license, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reproduction rights organization. Inquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above.

You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Brian Klaas.

Title: The Despots Accomplice: How the West is Aiding and Abetting the Decline of Democracy / Brian Klaas.

ISBN 9780190903237 (print)

ISBN 9780190934774 (updf)

ISBN 9780190934996 (epub)

Since 2012, I have conducted roughly 250 interviews trying to understand the battle for global democracy. The list includes former prime ministers and presidents, diplomats, MPs, journalists, ex-rebels, generals, coup plotters, democracy promoters, election observers, academics, political analysts, economists, and torture victims. Many of them spoke to me candidly at great personal risk to their safety and wellbeing. I admire some of them more than others, but to everyone who spoke to me during my research over the last four years, thank you for taking the time, opening your homes, and helping me understand your point of view. I didnt always agree with you, but I did earnestly try to understand you. To the committed democrats I spoke to, I hope that this book catalyzes more support for you in the West. To the despots I spoke to, Im sorry.

This book is dedicated to my parents, Paul and Barbara Klaas. Couldnt you study French history in Paris or something? they often asked, as I set off for war-torn, destabilized countries around the world. But in spite of their (understandable) worries, they have been unwaveringly supportive and selfless. Long ago, they gave me the best and simplest advice Ive ever received as I pondered career paths: Do something interesting with your life. Mom and Dad, I can never thank you enough. Parenting books should be written about you. For all the stories in here that Ive never told you in the hopes that youd worry less, Im sorry.

Ann, James, and Kelsey Klaas inspired me. When I returned home after witnessing the depressingly cynical ploys of despots, Ann taught me the power of strength through adversity, and James, Kelsey, and particularly their young son Thomas, taught me that there is never reason to lose hope. Im only sorry I dont get to see you as often as Id like.

Marcel Dirsus and David Landry provided excellent feedback. They also promised to call the embassy if I took too long to respond to messages when I was looking over my shoulder in Belarus or was navigating other worrisome situations, and they made me laugh when I needed it. You guys are fantastic friends. Sorry I asked your opinion about a specific argument, anecdote, or idea every day for months and expected an immediate reply.

Roy Grow, who lost a battle with cancer in 2013, advised me as an undergraduate. With his wife Mary Lewis, Roy never stopped urging me to understand the world by exploring it myself, to take calculated risks, and to keep an open mind to alternative views. Im sorry we didnt get nearly enough time together before you left us.

Nic Cheeseman, my DPhil adviser at Oxford, made this book possible by shaping me into a scholar and believing in me when I was a wide-eyed student. Sorry about all the insurance and health and safety forms you had to fill out.

Thanks are also due to many, many other people who helped me with writing, research, and support: to Gemma Clucas, John James, Oliver Clarke, Edward Grigg, Oz Jungic, Jason Pack, Andy Cunningham, Hanan Haber, Joseph Baines, Rory McCarthy, Michael Willis, Juvence Ramasy, Nika Wegosky, Verapat Pariyawong, Jack Delehanty, Howard French, Sishuwa wa Sishuwa, Nancy Bermeo, Ben Ansell, Elliott Green, and literally hundreds of taxi drivers who shared their thoughts on local politics with me as we sat in traffic.

Finally, I couldnt have written this book without Ellie, my better half and my best friend. Ellie listened to every awful first draft of each chapter eagerly and patiently. She managed to always offer encouragement even as she (rightfully) told me when I was wrong. Ellie, I love you. Sorry in advance for the shock when you finally realize, as Ive known all along, that youre clearly out of my league.

What a difference a year makes.

Since I wrote the first edition of The Despots Accomplice, the world has shifted considerably. At that time, in the spring of 2016, I worried that my argument would be seen as too pessimisticthat I was placing too much blame on the West and discounting too far the prospects for global democracy. Now, given the authoritarian populism ushered in by Donald Trumps rise in Washington and the chaotic European conflagration ignited by Brexit, I worry that the first edition of The Despots Accomplice was in fact too optimistic. Democracy currently faces its strongest headwinds since the end of the Cold War. We are facing a global crisis of democracy.

The global order is in turmoil. Trumps White House has abandoned any semblance of values-based diplomacy and openly embraced authoritarian strongmen who abuse their people and systematically attack democratic values. Trumps myopic and misguided America First foreign policy is increasingly dragging the United States toward an America Alone power vacuum. In a bizarre twist of events, President Xi of authoritarian China has now emerged as the de facto champion of the international order that the democratic West forged over decades of bloody fighting and hard-fought global leadership. If a course correction is not made swiftly, the twenty-first century will not just be defined by the rise of China, but also by the downfall of democracy.

In the pages that follow, I make a provocative argument: that the global decline of democracy has been forged, at least partly, by misguided Western foreign policy. However, as I make clear, the West is the only force in the world that advocates for, spends money on, and uses its might to advance democracy. As a result, my critique is one that places blame on the worlds champions of democracy for failing to sufficiently uphold their stated vision for a more democratic worldwhile simultaneously recognizing that the alternatives to Western leadership are far worse. In this sense, I highlight the flaws in the Western approach, while showing how the Wests retreat from the global stage could be catastrophic for the future of democracyfrom sub-Saharan Africa to Southeast Asia and from Latin America to the Middle East.