

The Dictator's practical Internet guide to power retention - euphemize
http://pwd.io/guide/

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cabalamat
A response by democracies could be to have a "freedom computing" initiative
that ensures that freedom-enhancing technologies (anonymity and secure
communications) are supported out-of-the-box in the protocols the internet
runs, internet-based services and computing hardware. (I've written about this
here: [http://cabalamat.wordpress.com/2009/07/07/using-computers-
to...](http://cabalamat.wordpress.com/2009/07/07/using-computers-to-promote-
freedom/) )

Then, authoritarian regimes would either have to accept that the internet
allows freedom, or would have to build their own software and hardware that
works the way they want (and would have compatibility problems with the
democratic internet). China would have the resources to do this, but many
smaller autocracies might not. And would smaller autocracies want to be
beholden to China?

Even if the autocracies banded together, if all the democracies got behind
freedom computing, then as democracies have a larger share of world GDP than
autocracies[1], the free internet would have larger network effects accruing
to it than the unfree internet, ensuring that democracies outgrow autrocracies
and eventually win[2].

1: true if you count the USA and EU as democracies, which sadly is not a given
since (i) the USA is mostly ruled by corporations not people, and (ii) while
EU member staes are mostly democratic, the EU central bureaucracy has a
democratic deficit with the elected European Parliament being a weak
institution without much power.

2: also, countries are more likely to transition from autocracy to democracy
than the other way round, which also helps democracy win.

~~~
euphemize
Hmmm, I'm not sure that creating new technology on top of what we currently
have will make any difference. Currently, TCP/IP is a very simple end-to-end
mechanism, which is why it's so easy to work with it. If you enforce
encryption, you're violating that principle and causing a lot of headaches.
It's much more a matter of legislation and infrastructure, I think, than of
technology itself. Refusing to sell surveillance equipment to these
authoritarian states would already be a good first step.

~~~
cabalamat
> Currently, TCP/IP is a very simple end-to-end mechanism, which is why it's
> so easy to work with it.

I agree, and it makes a lot of sense to have a "world of ends"
(<http://www.worldofends.com/>) where all the intelligence is at the ends of
the network rather than in the network infrastructure.

> If you enforce encryption, you're violating that principle and causing a lot
> of headaches.

I'm not tlaking about having a law that enforces encryption. Instead I think
services should be created that make it dead easy to use encryption, and
computers/tablets/mobile phones should come with these facilities out of the
box.

> It's much more a matter of legislation and infrastructure, I think, than of
> technology itself.

Infrastructure is technology, so I'm not sure what point you're making.
Imagine if every laptop sold in the west came as standard with hardware and
software that enabled ad hoc mesh networking, switched on by default. (This
would enable a city-wide ad hoc anonymous network). Then imagine that lots of
services in the west were bult around this technology, and that you have whole
ecosystems of protocols which relied on it. Then autocracies would have to
forgo all these services and ecosystems, or build their own alternatives.

~~~
euphemize
sorry, my "infrastructure" was vague. I meant ISPs, traffic hubs, physical
cables, etc. The stuff that gets tampered with before it actually hits your
PC.

------
epenn
As an aspiring dictator looking to create my minimum viable regime, couldn't I
also use some of these same (or similar) techniques to promote the creation of
power rather than simply the maintenance of power? This guide is great for the
Ayatollahs and Czars of the world who already have a claim to authority. But
what about us little guys doing what we can to spread misinformation and
dissidence?

~~~
euphemize
indeed! that's probably a second guide (for junior dictators, or aspiring
ones). I guess you could start with the 3 prerequisites at the top of the
document, see where it takes you? There's a bunch of small authoritarian
regimes that managed to pull it off (Eritrea comes to mind), Im sure it's
possible. Good luck!

~~~
cabalamat
> There's a bunch of small authoritarian regimes that managed to pull it off
> (Eritrea comes to mind)

Maybe you could add some case studies to the guide giving more detail on this.

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kuahyeow
The genie is really out of the bottle. Yes, OP acknowledges that North Korea
will be crumbling, static strategy. The alternative merely prolongs but hardly
extends.

Consider that people can emigrate - but they still need to communicate with
their family back home. That cannot be prevented ideally as remittances would
be a major economic boost. However one cannot allow open exchange of liberal
ideas _into_ said represssive country. Censor such communication? People start
using homonyms and code-words. That road only serves as an excellent
recruitment funnel for the dissidents. Stop emigration? Welcome the Berlin
Wall aka swiss cheese

Co-opt private enterprise ? Here I'm slightly optimistic that the degration of
service over the medium to long term will be just enough such that a better
competitor will emerge that _won't_ co-operate. Even if say 80% of tech people
co-operate, there will be 20% who won't give in (thanks RMS, Linus for the
inspiration) -> ergo the good guys win in the end, eventually

The said dictators only real long-term hope is for global melt-down, reducing
economies to 1850 standards when people may actually put up with repression in
exchange for food.

PS. Hell, Strategy A Depoliticization is too cunning !

PSS. Knowledge is power. This satirical article is an example of the genie
being out of the bottle too.

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hollerith
Title is a bit awkward. Suggested replacement: "The dictator's practical guide
to neutralizing the internet".

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binarymax
Afraid to upvote this lest it be put to use (but did anyway). I don't have
time to read it all now, but is it satire? If not then how could you honestly
live with yourself if it was used to benefit a dictator and suppress a
populous?

~~~
micheljansen
Well, if you read it and do the opposite, you know how to prevent a nascent
dictatorship from taking shape or fight it when it's already in place
(although in that case, you would probably not be able to read this document).

I'm guessing the point of this whole thing is that this is a manual of things
that should _NOT_ happen in a healthy, free, democratic society; yet some of
the things in it are in fact happening right now, so perhaps we recognize
them.

It's similar in form to those articles that show "eight ways to ruin a
meeting" [1] or "How to destroy a conversation" [2]. At least, that's my
interpretation.

[1] [http://mystrategicplan.com/resources/eight-ways-to-ruin-
any-...](http://mystrategicplan.com/resources/eight-ways-to-ruin-any-
strategic-planning-training-meeting/)

[2] [http://basicinstructions.net/basic-
instructions/2012/4/22/ho...](http://basicinstructions.net/basic-
instructions/2012/4/22/how-to-destroy-a-conversation.html)

~~~
euphemize
if you go to the non-dictator version, scroll to the bottom - "note from the
author". I state my intentions clearly there.

Inspiration for the tone : Screwtape Letters
(<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Screwtape_Letters>)

~~~
micheljansen
Ah yes, didn't read that far into it yet, but of course an explanation of the
author about his own intentions is always a good place to start for answers ;)

Interesting link to the Screwtape Letters. I never heard of that before, so
I'll be sure to check that out. Thanks for the tip!

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adavies42
editing: "Take examples on these states and seek stability, no matter what
your regime type is." -- "take examples on" is not standard english (at least
not in america). you want something like "Follow the example of these states".

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kevdoran
Editing: "favors is not a [sic] option". Very cool to hear an internet
machiavelli, wish there were more of these.

Would love to hear more about what into making it.

~~~
euphemize
Thx - it's a WIP thesis, to be submitted in a few months. I'm not saying much
new, but I figured having a different tone than the usual patronizing one
could make it more interesting.

~~~
cabalamat
> I figured having a different tone than the usual patronizing one could make
> it more interesting

I agree.

Good luck with this, and I'll be interested to read the finished version.

Have you considered having a section on how people and democratic countries
could counter this?

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mazsa
FYI: <http://scholar.google.com/scholar?cites=544492889937656269>

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euphemize
quick note for those wondering : it's meant to be satire. (intentions are
stated at the bottom of the non-dictator version - "note from the author")

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nodata
> ex-Soviet Union states possess an arsenal of tricks you can learn from

Interesting, but I don't see a reference. Where can I read more?

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SagelyGuru
Why is this advice limited to 'single dictators'? Surely oligarchies
masquerading as democracies can also benefit from it.

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novalis
The Lawrence Lessig zing is awesome... still I can't tell but hope this is
satire.

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_exec
What's the difference between the two versions?

~~~
euphemize
one has all the academic fluff, not the other.

~~~
_exec
I like your work. How complete is it (%) ?

~~~
euphemize
Thanks! I'd say ~70. Won't grow in length, but needs tweaking in a bunch of
places.

~~~
_exec
Are you open to suggestions / additions by the way?

~~~
euphemize
I'd love to - that's why I posted it here!

(you can use the email address on the main guide page if it's more convenient)

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horsehead
Didn't Machiavelli already write this?

~~~
kevinpet
I was hoping the two versions would be called "The Prince" and "The
Discourses".

