Laurier Rochon, Graduation Project, Trimester 6, Year 2.

How to run an authoritarian state in the digital era.

It's everybody's dream to rule a repressive state, but how can it be done in the digital era? This presentation focuses on all the best tips and tricks to keep control on your population using the Internet. It's an easy to follow, step-by-step guide highlighting all best practices and what dictators should do in difficult situations. It will accompany you in the obliteration of political dissidence. By having everyone agree with you, or having people believe that everyone else agrees with you, your stay at the head of state will be long and prosperous.

Current non-democratic states use merely a fraction of the internet's capabilities when it comes to alienating their population. This can be partly attributed to the effectiveness of traditional repressive techniques, the misguided belief that technology has inherent democratic properties or the lack of interest in developing a tech culture. Leaders of non-democratic states need to change their mindsets and better adapt to this new landscape overflowing with opportunity. As you will see, some of these endeavors are not without risks, but the rewards to be reaped are immense and the possibilities, nearly endless.

Hard copies of the guide will be available at the presentation too.

Media cabaret night

(video below of the actual talk)

Thanks to Loes for the pictures!

Media

Video

Thanks to Daan for filming!

Essay

THE DICTATOR'S PRACTICAL INTERNET GUIDE TO POWER RETENTION

Abstract : The goal of this guide is to provide leaders of authoritarian, autocratic, theocratic, totalitarian and other single-leader or single-party regimes with a basic set of guidelines on how to use the internet to ensure you retain the most power for the longest time.

The best way to achieve this is to never have your authority contested. This guide will accompany you in the obliteration of political dissidence. By having everyone agree with you, or believe that everyone agrees with you, your stay at the head of state will be long and prosperous.

As non-democratic regimes come in incredibly varied flavors, some of the formulated recommendations will be of greater relevance for some dictators than others, depending on a long list of factors pertaining to the state you rule (generally, states with higher economical growth rates have easier choices to make). This guide will attempt to cover as much ground as possible, but aims first and foremost to offer general advice.

Current non-democratic states use merely a fraction of the internet's capabilities when it comes to alienating their population. This can be partly attributed to the effectiveness of traditional repressive techniques, the misguided belief that technology has inherent democratic properties or the lack of interest in developing a tech culture. Leaders of non-democratic states need to change their mindsets and better adapt to this new landscape overflowing with opportunity. As you will see, some of these endeavors are not without risks, but the rewards to be reaped are immense and the possibilities, nearly endless.

Contrary to popular myths, technological adoption does not automatically translate into more democratic institutions. Many authoritarian countries which have experienced steady or rapid degrees of ICT diffusion have stayed authoritarian, namely Brunei, Eritrea, Gambia, Iran, Jordan, Morocco, Oman, Russia and others. This guide aims to distill common threads and useful tricks in order to emulate the success some of these states have achieved.

Full thesis : http://pwd.io/guide

Additional Information

non optional

(120 printed guides * $4.40/guide) + $100 shipping = 500 EUROS

optional

Thesis + project URL : http://pwd.io/guide

User:Laurier Rochon/work/Laurier Rochon, How to run an authoritarian state in the digital era, 2012

Contents