Gen. Retreat: The Fine Art of Spin During the Collapse Phase of Authoritarian Debacles

Dissonance and defeat doctrine

The more personal power one person tries to impose over a very large system at one time, the less capable service that system delivers under stress. Contrary to their reputation, most autocrats are in fact very bad at making trains run on time, or even at all, and under stress an authoritarian train system will often break down completely.

Lt. Gen. Igor …