💭 The Authoritarian Dynamic

Why is authoritarianism on the rise, and what can we do about it?

Hi, 

For our tenth State of the Exponential Briefing, we welcomed Dr Karen Stenner, renowned behavioral economist, to talk about the science and real-world implications of authoritarianism on liberal democracies. I’ve found Karen’s framework clarifying—although it does demand some attention to grasp.

A former Princeton University and Duke University academic, Karen published ‘The Authoritarian Dynamic’ in 2005, a landmark book on the topic of authoritarianism.

If you missed the briefing, you can…

• Watch the video of the briefing here,

• See Karen’s presentation here,

• Read the notes below,

• Comment below to continue the discussion with Karen,

• Reach out to Karen on Twitter.

If you enjoy this essay, please click the “Like” button or the “Share button” above. 

Cheers,

Azeem

Authoritarianism: nature or nurture? 

Karen is best known for predicting the rise of authoritarianism and far right attitudes across liberal democracies. For the past 25 years, Karen’s work has been focused on understanding why autho…