Dismantling Tyranny: Transitioning Beyond Totalitarian Regimes

By J. Michael Waller and Ilan Berman

Book Overview

When a totalitarian group seizes power, one of the first institutions it creates is a secret political police. Since the birth of modern totalitarianism, in country after country, secret political police have been the predominant instruments of power, used to consolidate power, neutralize the opposition, and erect a one-party state. Yet, when these same totalitarian regimes have liberalized or collapsed, the secret political police have often managed to survive and even remain relevant.

Dismantling Tyranny: Transitioning Beyond Totalitarian Regimes provides a groundbreaking exploration of this survival tendency in seven formerly communist regimes in the former Soviet Union and Latin America - and the lessons these transformations hold for future democratic revolutions. But Dismantling Tyranny is also much more: it is a guidebook designed to empower, inform, and guide future transitions toward democracy for those political leaders with the initiative, and courage, to embark upon such a visionary path.

Published in cooperation with the American Foreign Policy Council.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0742549038
• ISBN13: 9780742549036
• Release Date: December 2005
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

An Amazing Read!

I could not wait to read "Dismantling Tyranny" when I heard about its release. I love the book and feel that it is one of the most versatile compilations of case studies I have read. Ilan Berman, J. Michael Waller, Jaroslav Basta, John O. Koehler, Aadu Oll, Tomas Skucas, and Andrzej Grajewski all did excellent work in their creation of the book. The Preface by Fredo Arias-King is an amazingly simple and concise guide for those wishing to dismantle a totalitarian political police structure. It puts the reader in the correct mindset for reading the rest of the book. My hope is that readers who may possess a preconceived notion of the work do not overlook this artfully crafted work. It would fit in well as a supplemental text in any university course and I hope many within academia choose to read it. At the same time, the reader does not have to have a set of knowledge and facts before they begin reading it. Anyone can read it for pure pleasure, like I did, as well. The writing is very accessible and it can quickly enthrall the reader. I personally finished the book in a weekend, which tells you how much I liked it, since I am a Georgetown University student that had a lot of homework at the time, yet I could not put the book down. I can envision the work being put to use in a wide variety of university courses. The work could be used in a variety of departments, including history, government, international affairs, and even sociology. However, the possibilities are nearly endless. "Dismantling Tyranny" could be used in the historical and political study of the Cold War and the effects of the Soviet collapse in satellite nations that were under Soviet influence and control. The case studies could be separated and a class could use one by itself as a specific supplement for a course related to a particular country. This book should be read by those within the governmental field that deal with international relations, as it may give them a better context to view the countries studied and help to understand how the totalitarian political police structure needs to be dismantled for a move towards democracy. In Ilan Berman's conclusion of the work, he even makes an oblique yet relevant allusion to the current situation in Iraq and how dealing with the remains of the Ba'ath Party, the party totalitarian police structure under Saddam, is a necessity if democracy and an effective government are both going to be achieved. The first case study in "Dismantling Tyranny" is Russia by J. Michael Waller. His essay is fantastic with extensive citation and a very thorough history in a small amount of pages. This essay should be required reading for any young person under 20 with interest in international affairs. As a young Georgetown student, as I was growing I did not have the mental faculties to truly understand the political dynamic of Russia, though I do have a slight recollection of the Berlin Wall falling. Waller offers a great analysis