Just Finished Reading: How To Lose A Country - The Seven Steps From Democracy To Dictatorship by Ece Temelkuran (FP: 2019) [280pp]

Its difficult not to be aware of the rightward slide to more authoritarian government and right-leaning politicians across the world, from the obvious examples of Turkey and Hungary to France, the Netherlands, Poland, Germany and, of course, the USA. Living and working as a journalist and author in Turkey the author of this fascinating (and rather disturbing) book knows this all too well and all too personally from her day to day experiences. As Turkey was something of an outlier in this trend the author was able to discern, along with others, these trends in other places but recognised what appeared to be a 'playbook' of would-be authoritarians and wannabe dictators - the Seven Steps of the title. Having such first hand knowledge and a desire to educate those who would be facing similar challenges to democracy and the rule of law that her country did (and still does) the author wrote articles at home and abroad, gave lectures and informal talks and, as here, produced books both non-fiction and fiction to get her thoughts and ideas across and to get people thinking about their own situations as well as ideas of what to do about it.  

Watching the news over the past 5-6 years it's easy to see how the 'playbook' plays out. How 'Movements' can be created from what was disparate groups of disaffected people, how Myths (and especially foundational myths) can be used to both tie the new Movement together, differentiate it from outsiders and then demonise them, how language - especially regarding the Truth [nearly always capitalised] - can be twisted to create a world of 'alternate facts' where the so-called 'reality based community' can be ridiculed for not creating its own reality as required, where the concept of shame or the need to actually apologise or, God forbid, resign after being caught red-handed with fingers in the cash box or other body parts elsewhere is both a thing of the past and is now seen as passé, how judicial and political processes can be dismantled, ignored or so bent out of shape that they become meaningless theatre, how 'real people' (naturally always in the minority) can be created out of whole cloth to compete with and ultimately replace 'others' who, no matter what they say or do, can never become really 'real', how, no matter the depths of the horror, events that would have previously given people serious pause for thought are either dismissed as 'fake news' or 'false flags', viewed as righteous retribution or laughed at. Once these elements are accepted as right, as normal, you can create your own country with the trappings of Democracy but without any of the substance.

I did find myself sadly nodding in agreement throughout this extremely well-written short work. So much so I've recently bought her follow up book and I'm looking out for her novels too. Not only is the author passionate about her work she is a very able communicator. She knows (again from first hand experience) how difficult it is to fight against this sort of anti-democratic force but she also knows that such a fight is possible and that, despite some news to the contrary, all is not lost. This is, be warned, a sobering read but also a hopeful one. Most definitely recommended to anyone who has ever wondered what they can do or how can they cope with the world as it is or seems to be moving. Definitely looking forward to reading her next book.