June 1, 2021
Who gets power, and who misuses it? Are tyrants, embezzlers, and cops who kill born bad, or do they become bad owing to the system they're in? To answer these questions and more regarding power, award-winning podcaster and Washington Post columnist Klaas, global politics at University College London, conducted more than 500 interviews with leaders, dictators, and rebels worldwide, even gliding down the slopes with a ski instructor who once ruled Iraq. With a 100,000-copy first printing.
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September 6, 2021
Political scientist Klaas (The Despot’s Accomplice) investigates in this illuminating study whether power corrupts or corrupt people seek power, and why humans seem “somehow drawn to giving power to the wrong people for the wrong reasons.” Drawing from sociology, psychology, anthropology, and evolutionary biology, Klaas examines how innovations in warfare and agriculture contributed to the rise of hierarchical societies between 11,000 and 5,000 years ago, and illustrates theories about the nature of power with intriguing historical cases. For example, the contrast between King Leopold II’s progressive reforms in Belgium, where he “faced accountability and oversight,” and his barbaric treatment of villagers in the Congo, where “he was a tyranny of one and his atrocities were hidden” from those who kept him accountable back home highlights the role that systems play in guiding individual behavior. Elsewhere, Klaas compares police department recruiting techniques in the U.S. and New Zealand to show that an emphasis on weaponry instead of community care in the U.S. attracts those more likely to use force. His concrete suggestions for how organizations can reduce corruption include expanding the pool of applicants for leadership positions, rotating employees through different departments, and auditing decision-making processes. Enriched by colorful case studies and lucid explanations of academic research, this is a nuanced and entertaining guide to the meaning and function of power. Agent: Anthony Mattero, CAA.
October 15, 2021
Brilliant study of the nature of power, explaining just why it so often renders those who hold it evil. "Does power corrupt, or are corrupt people drawn to power?" So asks Klaas, a professor of global politics at University College London, at the outset of this absorbing survey. The answer is yes. The author delivers a provocative argument to support that claim, whether discussing the case of an African strongman who cannibalized his political enemies or the martinet president of a homeowners association. Two memorable examples come early: One is a "psychopathic pharmacist" who organized the survivors of a 1629 shipwreck on an Australian island to commit more than 100 murders at his whim. The second is a similar marooning, four centuries later, in which a group of young Tongan men lived for more than a year in a flatly organized shared-power-and-responsibility system. That all survived may have been a fluke given that we tend to create hierarchies in which "upstarts who would've previously faced ostracism, humiliation, or death now had a real prospect of becoming genuinely powerful." Because power thrives on conflict, the rate of violence increases; because people fear violence, powerful people who offer security thrive. Hierarchy itself isn't bad, writes Klaas; it's just that it attracts corrupt people who flourish in competition. Today, "much of the world is dominated by systems that attract and promote corruptible people." Some make no effort to disguise their corruption (Putin, Trump, etc.); others are more sophisticated. Is it nature or nurture? "We don't know," writes Klaas. The implications are far-reaching. For example, since police work attracts former soldiers who enjoy exercising power, real police reform will involve not hiring such people. To keep people from abusing power, those with power within a hierarchy must be rotated and kept an eye on, given that "watched people are nice people." Lord Acton would be proud. Essential for interpreting history and world events--both the provinces of tyrants--alike.
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