Autocracy, Inc by Anne Applebaum

Anne Applebaum’s Autocracy, Inc. is one of the clearest and most unsettling books I have read in recent years about the modern authoritarian threat. For those who know me, that is saying something. I have seen some pretty unsettling things in my 50 years on this planet. For me to say a book is unsettling is not a trivial statement. What makes it so effective is not just its warning, but the precision with which it dismantles the comforting illusion that today’s autocracies are isolated, culturally unique, or ideologically incoherent. Applebaum persuasively argues that they are none of those things. Instead, they function as a loose but highly adaptive network—one bound together by shared interests, shared tools, and shared enemies.

I found the book particularly compelling in how it reframes authoritarianism as a business model rather than a political philosophy. Applebaum shows that contemporary autocrats are less interested in exporting ideology than in preserving power, wealth, and impunity. Corruption, money laundering, surveillance technologies, and disinformation are not side effects of these regimes; they are the core infrastructure. This framing felt both intuitive and deeply clarifying. It explains why regimes as different as Russia, China, Iran, Venezuela, and Hungary can cooperate without needing ideological alignment. What they share is a system of mutual reinforcement.

Applebaum’s analysis of information warfare is especially strong. Her discussion of how autocracies exploit the openness of democratic societies—using free speech, social media platforms, and legal systems against themselves—felt uncomfortably accurate. Rather than suppressing information outright, these regimes flood the zone with noise, conspiracy, and cynicism, eroding the very idea of truth. I appreciated that she treats this not as a technological accident, but as a deliberate strategy refined over decades. It is for this reason that I consider this book to be a must-read for anyone in the technology (and specifically cybersecurity) space. You are both the tool and the target!

What I respect most about Autocracy, Inc. is its refusal to indulge in fatalism. While the diagnosis is grim, Applebaum does not argue that democracy is doomed or obsolete. Instead, she insists that democratic decline is largely self-inflicted: the result of complacency, corruption, and the failure to defend institutions with the same seriousness that autocrats attack them. Her critique of Western enablers—law firms, banks, lobbyists, and politicians who profit from authoritarian money while professing democratic values—was sharp and necessary. While Applebaum does not call out the Trump administration, I will. The recent decision to roll back FINCEN efforts to shine light on the many ways U.S. businesses can be used as shells for foreign adversaries is laid bare by this book.

The book is written with urgency but not hysteria. Applebaum’s tone is measured, evidence-driven, and historically grounded. She draws on journalism, political history, and lived experience in Eastern Europe to make her case, which gives the book both intellectual credibility and moral weight. The reader never feels lectured; instead, the reader is steadily convinced. ...as if I needed any convincing.

Autocracy, Inc. left me additional proof of what I have already seen in my professional life...and what I have been ranting about for years. This is not simply a contest between democracy and authoritarianism as abstract ideals, but a struggle between transparency and kleptocracy, accountability and impunity. Applebaum makes a strong case that recognizing the networked nature of modern autocracy is the first step toward resisting it. For anyone who wants to understand how power actually operates in the 21st century, this book is essential reading.