1117: Anne Applebaum | Inside The Fortune 500 of Modern Dictatorships

Digital Surveillance

Anne Applebaum discusses China's sophisticated digital surveillance system, which extends beyond the Great Firewall to include real-world monitoring. The Chinese government employs a combination of online and offline surveillance methods to track individuals' movements, spending habits, and social interactions, particularly in regions like Xinjiang. This technology is not only used for censorship but also to predict political dissent, as Anne explains:

The Chinese have begun to attach online surveillance to real-world surveillance, tracking people across time and space.

--- Anne Applebaum

Such advancements in surveillance technology highlight the growing capabilities of authoritarian regimes to control and suppress dissent 1 2.

   

Control Through Fear

Anne explores how modern autocracies, like Russia, use strategic violence and fear to suppress political opposition. In Putin's Russia, targeted violence against journalists and activists serves as a warning to others, creating an atmosphere of fear. Anne notes that political murders are designed to be publicized, ensuring that the message of intimidation is clear:

They want it to be known who's done it.

--- Anne Applebaum

This defiance of international norms, as seen in Russia's actions in Ukraine, demonstrates a blatant disregard for global laws and conventions, further solidifying their control through fear 3 4.