How Tyrants Fall

Strongmen are rising. Democracies are faltering. How does tyranny end?

Tyrants project invincibility, but all of them fall. This is because they face critical weaknesses that can form a fatal trap. Whether it's their inner circle turning against them or resentment of elites in the military, the masses alienated by cronyism or revolutionaries plotting in exile, tyrants always have more enemies than friends. And when they fall tyrants don't quietly retire - they face exile, prison or death. What happens in the aftermath can change the fate of a nation.

Meeting with a revolutionary (codename 'Satan') who risked Stasi capture to undermine an oppressive regime, an American-Gambian activist who plotted to liberate his homeland on breaks during his construction job and the unapologetic former leader of a Burundian rebel group which carried out a massacre, internationally renowned security expert and political scientist Dr Marcel Dirsus draws on extensive field research and personal interviews with coup leaders, rebels and soldiers to examine the workings and malfunctions of tyrants.

But understanding dictators isn't enough. How Tyrants Fall is the gripping, deeply researched blueprint for how to bring them down.

Fascinating, sweeping, and jaw-dropping. Dirsus takes everything you think you know about dictators and turns it on its head, with provocative insights into the warped minds of despots and the twisted systems that keep them on top. With dazzling stories and convincing analysis, How Tyrants Fall provides a roadmap to a world with fewer Putins and Kim Jong-Uns -- Brian Klaas, author of CORRUPTIBLE
Timely, authoritative and accessible ... Essential reading -- Professor Nic Cheeseman
A compelling and intricate portrait of how dictators survive and how they fall. Grounded in the latest research, it uses colourful real-world experiences to shed light on the central tensions underlying the reign of today's tyrants... How Tyrants Fall expertly captures the complex nature of strongman rule -- Professor Erica Frantz, Michigan State University
A smart, accessible, engaging reminder of the brittleness of tyrannical regimes. It is also a resource for policies that can weaken those repressive governments and prevent chaos in their aftermath. We in the West have lost confidence in the university of our political values; this excellent book ought to restore our commitment to advancing those values -- Kori Schake, Director of Foreign and Defense Policy at the American Enterprise Institute

Marcel Dirsus studied at Oxford and worked in the Democratic Republic of Congo during a failed coup in 2013. In addition to writing the politics newsletter The Hundred, Dirsus has advised major foundations and international organisations like NATO and the OECD. You can find him at marceldirsus.com and @marceldirsus on Twitter.

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