Adolf Hitler. Joseph Stalin. Benito Mussolini. Pol Pot. Saddam Hussein.

Apart from being some of the most famous dictators in human history, they all have one thing in common.

They all had dramatic, violent, and disgraced downfalls. But, in almost every case, foreign powers played a major role in shaping the post-dictatorship future.

How Tyrants Fall: And How Nations Survive by political scientist Marcel Dirsus delves into the vulnerabilities of authoritarian regimes and explores strategies for their dismantling.

Dirsus was recently in New Zealand for the Auckland Writers Festival, and joined The Front Page while here to discuss tyrants and whether we’ve learnt anything from the world’s darkest rulers.

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Host: Chelsea Daniels
Sound Engineer/Producer: Richard Martin
Producer: Ethan Sills

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