Paradoxes of Politics: Volume 2: International Relations and Authoritarianism

By Dmytro Lutsenko

This book offers a concise exploration of how contradictions lie at the heart of political life, showing that many of the most persistent patterns in both international relations and authoritarian politics emerge from situations in which purposeful actions generate counter-productive results. The first part examines how strategic interaction between states produces recurring tensions such as the security dilemma, the credibility problem, the instability hidden within stability, and the conflicting effects of trade, interdependence, sanctions, alliances, and deterrence. These cases reveal that even rational strategies can create insecurity, misperception, and unintended escalation because each actor's defensive move becomes another's threat.

The second part turns to authoritarian politics, where rulers confront their own distinct paradoxes. Efforts to collect information undermine its reliability; repression encourages dissent; co-optation weakens competence; elections designed to reinforce power expose vulnerability; and performance-based legitimacy risks collapse when growth slows. Elite dynamics intensify these tensions as power-sharing, succession, corruption tolerance, digital control, and modernisation all strengthen regimes while simultaneously creating fragile equilibria.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0G4K21PK4
• ISBN13: 9798276590271
• Release Date: December 2025
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 344 Pages
• Weight: 1.01 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.0"