A Book on How People Gain and Keep Power

       

        Are you an ambitious ruler willing to make your nation a better place? Are you frustrated at the seeming ineptitude of your leaders, ignoring the good of the people to serve their own cronies and supporters? Perhaps you think that if you were in charge, you would work for the people, and watch your nation with pride as it prospers with you at the head. Or you may have more sinister ideas for your power, such as enriching yourself, your friends, and your family, without a care for the ordinary people suffering outside the door. Before you act on your ambitions however, it is important that you understand the position of leadership you're striving for, and what it requires. And The Dictator's Handbook is just the right book to learn about how to secure and use your power. 

        Written by two political scientists named Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith, The Dictator's Handbook outlines the basic concepts which guide any successful leader's decisions. It explains a large majority of the political world with the power of a simple statement: the first goal of a leader is to survive in power, while all other ambitions are secondary. If you are someone curious about political maneuvering, or even want to become involved in the world of politics, this will be an intriguing and engaging educational book for you to read. 

        One of the great parts of the book is the fact that almost all of its content focuses on a basic concept: the need for a leader to stay in power. After all, the leadership role comes with a lot of power, and losing that position would be an extreme setback to your ambitions. The only way to secure power is to have people who are content in keeping you at the helm, and have the power to do so. The book dubs these people as "essential supporters" who are part of the leaders "winning coalition." Depending on the system of governance, these people may be different. For example, in an ideal democracy, this "winning coalition" is 50% of the voting population, while in a dictatorship, it would be a handful of powerful individuals, usually coming down to security forces and important ministers. Leaders have to satiate their needs and interests, lest they revolt and get in the way of your own ambitions. This book hones in on this concept again and again, using these basic concepts to explain tendencies of leaders, and contrasting autocratic and democratic societies with these explanations. 

        The number of questions answered with these basic concepts is astounding. The ideas presented include why some leaders create and extensive and efficient welfare system while others do not, why some tax heavily and others do not, and why some leaders turn a blind eye to corruption while others do not. The rules of politics aren't limited to domestic policy either. The book also highlights several ways in which international relations, such as aid, alliances, and war are influenced by the need for a leader to survive in office. 

        The Dictator's Handbook also does not hesitate to bring examples of these concepts up, by highlighting specific instances in which a behavior is present in leaders, and comparing countries with different political systems and analyzing how these systems affected their development. Of course, this all is done through the lens of a leader focused on political survival. 

        This book is one of the most interesting nonfiction reads that you will ever encounter. The amount of information, anecdotes, and concepts introduced is quite large, making their arguments more intriguing and convincing. If you have any interest in politics and history, or are just generally interested in new ideas and concepts, I definitely recommend you read this book. It's generally a great read, and perhaps one day, you will have a nation in your grasp, and you will turn to these author's writings as your very own dictator's handbook.         

What Does Death Have to Say?

    

        Inhuman, cold-hearted, and sinister are words that come to mind when I think of death. Perhaps because our representation of death, the Grim Reaper, wears a dark cloak and carries a scythe not intended for cutting wheat. Not only does his scythe remind you to keep your distance, but his hooded robe also adds an air of mystery because it is quite difficult to tell what he is thinking. Well, that is, until you read The Book Thief. The complex story, written by Markus Zusack, is narrated by none other than Death himself. Through his eyes, we see the main character Liesel adjusting to a new life with her foster family during WWII in Nazi Germany. At 10 years old, she cannot read but desperately wants to, so she works hard with her foster father to learn how. Her hunger for reading draws her to seek out any book she can find, even if it means stealing. Thus the name The Book Thief is given to her by her friend Rudy Steiner, a neighborhood boy her age. Liesel’s foster family is soon faced with a life-threatening situation when they take in a Jewish man, Max, in need of refuge. 

 Death is often portrayed as vengeful, but Zusack gives Death a sense of humor, compassion, and other humanlike characteristics. For example, Max suddenly becomes quite ill, yet Death wasn’t excited to take his soul or was hopeful that he would join him. Written as a “Late Night Excerpt,” Death recalls, “It must have been one of the few moments when the girl was not there with him, for all I saw was a man in bed. I knelt. I readied myself to insert my hands through the blankets. Then there was a resurgence--an immense struggle against my weight. I withdrew, and with so much work ahead of me, it was nice to be fought off in that dark little room. I even managed a short, closed-eyed pause of serenity before I made my way out” (Zusack 317-318). Although many times death is something that people fear, I never thought of Death also being reluctant towards our demise, but that’s what makes him seem more human. His hesitance is almost more comforting because it’s no longer like he is waiting for us. Being in the hands of someone who is more like us lets the possibility of dying become less intimidating.

Death’s descriptions of what it’s like to pick up the fallen souls is both beautiful and filled with sorrow. As he tells of the time he was in a German prison where a group of French Jews were being held, he says, “Please believe me when I tell you that I picked up each soul that day as if it were newly born. I even kissed a few weary, poisoned cheeks. I listened to their last, gasping cries. Their vanishing words. I watched their love visions and freed them from their fear...They were French, they were Jews, and they were you” (350). Not only are these prisoners Jewish, but they are French, they are men and women: they are people. We continue to create divisions and differences amongst ourselves even though we will all meet the same fate, and yet we let those separations cause our own peril. However, while it is us who creates those differences, it is also up to how we interpret them. Liesel, who has recurring nightmares of the death of her younger brother, learns that Max also has traumatizing nightmares. One night, when she hears that Max is especially restless, she asks him what he dreams about, leading to the “swapping of nightmares” (220). Although they are girl and man, young and old, German and Jewish, they’re comforted to learn they are not alone, and a wonderful friendship grows. If everyone’s ultimate destination is death, then our differences shouldn’t have to set us apart.

Not only is death a part of us, but we also have a part in death. We are offered a description of Death’s appearance: “I do not carry a sickle or scythe. I only wear a hooded black robe when it’s cold. And I don’t have those skull-like facial features you seem to enjoy pinning on me from a distance. You want to know what I truly look like? I’ll help you out. Find yourself a mirror while I continue” (307). It’s not about who cleans up the mess, but who causes it, and the answer is us. While black robes and scythes are out of style, our actions make up for it. Death is not hunting for people to take with him. Instead, we are creating more reasons for us to join him. When speaking of the war taking place in the novel, Death says that he rejects the saying, “war is death’s best friend.” He says that war is like a controlling leader who calls on him like a servant, with impossible standards and no thank-you’s in return (309). I agree with him because it doesn’t seem that death and war work together, rather, death happens to be the result of the wars invoked by us. 

There is much more to unpack in this novel: Liesel’s journey as a reader, her friendship with Max, and more, but unfortunately there is no time. I haven’t finished all of it yet, but I’m excited to see what’s next, and I hope you give it a try.

--Grace