It’s hardly a revelation, but caffeine’s rejuvenating effect continues to amaze. The prowess of its restorative nature is unparalleled.
At Notting Hill, a trendy London suburb in the west, nearing an 8am breakfast meeting is a lauded US historian and journalist, and Pulitzer Prize holder, Anne Applebaum. She is reputed for her sharp insights on global matters, her perceptive reporting on totalitarian politics. Today though, she appears to be in dire straits.
Minutes shy of schedule, Applebaum warily enters the restaurant and seats herself at a front terrace table. An unusually large pair of sunglasses mask her eyes, notwithstanding the overcast sky. She appears pallid and visibly fatigued.
She confesses that the weariness clouding her is just an extreme bout of jetlag: “The effects are always amplified when travelling eastwards from the west.”
Cue the arrival of a cappuccino, bearing the elixir of caffeine. As she sips on her drink, a transformation ensues. Within moments, Applebaum experiences a Lazarus-like revival. The sunglasses are discarded and her eyes spark with life. Her speech loses its lethargic pace as a spirited conversation ensues, traversing topics from Vladimir Putin, to Xi Jinping, and finally onto the myriad perils facing contemporary democracy.
As breakfast makes its entrance, she requests for yet another cappuccino. The seriousness of the situation is becoming palpable. Keeping pace with Applebaum could emerge as a daunting task.
Applebaum’s visit to London, where she has spent a considerable duration of her life, is for the promotion of her latest book. ‘Autocracy Inc: The Dictators Who Want to Run the World’ is a piercing exploration of contemporary dictatorships like Russia, China, Venezuela, Iran, and North Korea. It sheds light on their collaborative efforts aimed at destabilising democracy and eradicating the old world order. Further, it delves into the thieving practices of so-called “mafia states” such as Russia.
Applebaum offers a grim view of Venezuela, lamenting over the destruction caused by Nicolás Maduro’s rule. Despite having a potent opposition, she explains how the country continues to suffer due to Russian arms, Chinese investments, and Cuban surveillance technology.
Applebaum’s hypothesis posits that autocratic regimes reinforce each other by trading weapons, enhancing mutual propaganda and crafting innovative methods to circumvent economic embargos. “The considerable push is driven by internal, not external threat perception,” she explains. High-profile domestic dissidents like Russia’s late Alexei Navalny, Hong Kong protestors, and the Iranian women’s movement are seen as threats to the respective regimes’ power, instead of foreign military forces.
She further illuminates how democratic nations like the UK and US are inadvertently assisting autocrats by enabling them to utilise their economic, communication and political structures to conceal stolen fortunes, disseminate propaganda and extend their influence corridor within the democratic power.
Highlighting the domestic vulnerability, Applebaum suggests a comprehensive understanding and change in the ways societies consume information and how their financial systems can be exploited. She offers that it’s essential to comprehend the extent of clout autocrats possess within democratic nations.
The lucrative Russian oligarchs, who bolster Putin, have notoriously seeped their illicit gains into London. She advocates for an overhaul of financial systems, a resolute retaliation against the fabricated narratives steered by autocratic leaders, and the monitoring of social media platforms’ algorithm, which she surmises aids in propagating these.
Discussing the former US President, Trump, Applebaum explains his self-interest aligns with that of autocrats, rendering him a potential risk. On the encounter day, she was oblivious of the imminent faux pas by Joe Biden at his first TV debate with Trump, something that threatened his campaign. At the same time, she was unknowing of Trump’s future brush with an assassin’s bullet, potentially aiding his return to power.
In the fight against the influence of autocrats like Putin and Xi, there’s a lot at stake in the US Presidential election scheduled for November 5th.
There’s a significant amount in “this book” that could have been improved. It seemed to be released a bit on the hasty side, with a perhaps a more suitable release date being sometime in January. However, the forthcoming election necessitated its earlier publication. I certainly don’t presume it will be read by all Americans, but I do hope it might influence some voters’ decisions.
Should Trump succeed, which seems most plausible, it’s not I don’t anticipate him instantly establishing agreements with Putin’s Russia or Xi’s China. Despite this, Trump is self-focused and transactional, just like them, which makes him quite a potential threat.
The views I present highlight the crucial position the US holds in ensuring the current order. Depending on November’s outcomes, there may be a necessity for other nations to assume a greater leadership role.
Born and raised as a Jew in Washington DC, I celebrate my 60th birthday next week. I am a graduate of eminent institutions such as Yale, the London School of Economics and Oxford University. I have my writings published in a variety of publications such as the Economist, the Spectator, the Daily Telegraph, the Washington Post and now the Atlantic magazine. My book, Gulag, detailing the history of the Soviet political prison camp system, won me the Pulitzer Prize 20 years ago.
Being fluent in Russian and an ardent observer of Russian political culture, I was amongst the first to critique Putin. My warnings about the looming danger he posed came while he was still favoured by the West during his initial years. What was the shadowy element I discerned in Putin that didn’t quickly dawn upon others?
It’s quite straightforward. Even prior to his ascension to the Russian presidency, as the prime minister he resurrected this image of loyal Chekist (Soviet secret police) being patriotic. He looked up to Yuri Andropov, a 1980s leader of the Soviet Union, known for his suppression of dissidents. To me, these were red flags. I’ve always believed Putin to be about suppression.
The conflict in Ukraine will indeed only come to a definitive end when Russians acknowledge they made a blunder and that they can’t exert colonial control over Ukraine. However, we haven’t yet reached that point.
Applebaum has authored numerous pieces on the dangers that Putin’s Russia poses to Western societies in recent periods. Following her extensive coverage of Ukraine’s invasion in 2022, she was subjected to sanctions by Putin’s administration in November of that year. However, she stated that this had minimal personal impact.
Applebaum, who previously spent a considerable amount of time in Russia and has many friends there, ceased her visits around a decade and a half ago due to a series of unusual incidents and her husband’s involvement in Polish politics. Her spouse, Radek Sikorski, serves as Poland’s foreign minister.
Among the strange events she recounts is a break-in at her hotel room during one of her stays. She expressed her disappointment about the sanctions, which prevent her from returning to a country where she experienced much kindness and support while researching for her debut book.
She suggests that Putin’s conflict with Ukraine will only terminate when he considers the cost to be too high and Russians conceive of Ukraine as a separate entity with its own unique culture. Stressing that there is still a way to go, she draws a parallel with British recognition of Irish independence in the late 19th century.
Applebaum dismisses suggestions that Putin was compelled to invade Ukraine due to NATO’s progression towards the East, fronted by the US. As evidence, she points to Putin’s indifference towards Finland and Sweden joining NATO, despite Finland’s extensive frontier with Russia. She asserts that Putin’s primary motivation to invade Ukraine lies in the country’s non-participation in NATO, not fear of the military alliance.
She concludes that Putin maintains his initial objective of dismantling Ukraine as an independent nation.
Applebaum puts forth the argument that, although Russia’s leader displays an indifference to how he is perceived globally, China’s president, Xi, has a contrasting outlook. Moreover, the rest of the planet cannot overlook the importance of engaging with China, predicted to be the world’s next emerging superpower. It continues to place significance on its global image.
She suggests there are no situations in which total disconnection or sanctions would benefit us. Although it could inevitably occur, the global community strives to postpone it. Western democracies, Applebaum proposes, should implement new legislature to control the algorithms of social media platforms, specifically those operating under Elon Musk’s X. This isn’t a call for censorship but rather a demand to comprehend how these algorithms distribute information to the public, especially anti-western propaganda pushed by nations such as Russia.
She highlights that the aim of current Russian propaganda is to promote a sense of pessimism and cynicism, discouraging hopeful attitudes and efforts to instigate change. This propaganda, she contends, must be opposed.
Applebaum argues for the regulation of both social media and artificial intelligence, supporting the defeat of propaganda, blocking the illicit funds of kleptocrats, and overcoming the web of autocratic countries attempting to destabilise democratic societies. It is an immense challenge, but according to Applebaum, not an insurmountable one.
Describing herself as an optimist, she sees pessimism as irresponsible. She insists optimism is necessary to prevent despair, even when encountering overwhelming subjects. Applebaum is confident in our collective ability to incite change, drawing example from past successes such as America’s formation of a defensive military alliance post World War II, Europe’s creation of the EU to prevent future conflicts, and Britain’s founding of the NHS.
She finds inspiration in the resilience of dissidents from nations like Venezuela and Iran, and sees their determination as a call to action.
Applebaum, amid a dense geopolitical atmosphere, has had a full year, providing coverage on the US election for Atlantic and finishing her book. She jokes about planning an extended holiday once the conflict in Ukraine is resolved and Trump is no longer in power. However, she half-heartedly mentions that she might have to await that holiday if the Democrats don’t manage to turn things around.
The server tidies up after breakfast and Applebaum requests yet another cup of coffee. It’s an essential perk for writers grappling with jet lag. It’s a necessary sustenance for life.