At least 70% of the world’s population now lives under an autocracy. There are more openly authoritarian states than ever, democratic regimes are ‘backsliding’ into autocracy, and authoritarian values and practices are increasingly normalized. Regimes in China and Russia are as prominent and urgent as ever, but authoritarianism is spreading across the globe.

Why is this happening? What can we do about it?

This book is a concise and compelling exploration of the increasing number and influence of authoritarian regimes. It explains the realities of recent trends to ‘autocratisation’, the tools these regimes use, what we can do to resist, and why we might even allow ourselves a degree of optimism.

Professor Natasha Lindstaedt works at the Department of Government at the University of Essex.


The ‘What Do We Know and What Should We Do About...?′ series offers readers short, up-to-date overviews of key issues often misrepresented, simplified or misunderstood in modern society and the media. Each book is written by a leading social scientist with an established reputation in the relevant subject area.

"Short, sharp and compelling." - Alex Preston, The Observer

"If you want to learn a lot about what matters most, in as short a time as possible, this is the series for you."- Danny Dorling, Halford Mackinder Professor of Geography, University of Oxford