Summary of the book "After the fall by Ben Rhodes"

 Key concepts in this book:

1. In the post-Cold War era, America's reputation took a hit.
2. Viktor Orbán, the Hungarian prime minister, exemplifies how nationalism and authoritarianism go hand in hand.
3. After the fall of the Iron Curtain, Vladimir Putin rose to power.
4. In many respects, America aided dictatorship around the world.
5. After the Cold War, China became the modern, authoritarian country it is today.
6. China has exploited American technology for its own tyrannical purposes.
7. There are grounds to believe that authoritarianism will ultimately fail.

Who can benefit the most from this book:

• Political junkies.
• Fans of Democracy.
• Students of modern History.

What am I getting out of it? Learn how the United States contributed to the spread of authoritarianism around the world following the Cold War.

It appeared that things were going well for democracy at the end of the 1980s. The Berlin Wall was being torn down, the Soviet empire was collapsing like a house of cards, and Eastern Europe was being liberated, and people were dancing in the streets. For a brief moment, it appeared like the United States and much of the rest of the globe was going in the direction of democracy.

But that moment passed, and the United States was left to face what it truly had to offer in the 1990s. Corruption in politics. Inequality in the economy. These were the commodities that would come back to haunt America in the decades ahead as nationalism and authoritarianism grew in popularity around the world.

• You'll learn the most prevalent steps in this summary.
• How the US War on Terror aided authoritarian governments around the world.
• And how American technology-aided Chinese persecution in these this summary.

1. In the post-Cold War era, America's reputation took a hit.

People growing up in the United States in the 1980s were susceptible to a certain storey about American exceptionalism. Popular films such as Top Gun and Rocky IV instilled in young minds the belief that no foreign power could stand a chance against the United States and its unwavering brand of pure liberty.

This hypothesis was supported by real-world signs. The US economy was thriving, the Soviet empire was collapsing, and the Berlin Wall had fallen before the end of the decade.

The fall of the Berlin Wall was as unambiguous a proof as any that America had triumphed over the Soviet Union in the Cold War. In some ways, it was a watershed moment for the United States. However, it also created a gaping hole, prompting the country to ask, "Where do we go from here?" What is our mission in life?

The main message is that America's standing in the post-Cold War era has deteriorated.

Following WWII, the United States focused on fostering democracy. This was a motivating aim for many individuals, especially those living in the Eastern bloc under Soviet rule. Things became murkier with the fall of the Iron Curtain. The principles that America promoted shifted away from human liberty and democracy and toward dollars and cents. It became about building a strong global economy.

This move prompted issues about America's particular style of capitalism in countries like Hungary and Russia. Politics and corruption have long gone hand in hand, but it became evident in the post-Cold War years that the wealth-generating money markets of the United States also came with glaring economic inequalities.

It was impossible to deny that America was pushing a system structured to assist the wealthy get even wealthier. Not only that but the system was exposed to be a severe threat to anyone who wasn't super-rich in 2008 when a crippling financial crisis swept across Europe.

At the same time, the United States had spent the first decade of the twenty-first century engulfed in an endless nightmare war in the Middle East. America was flexing some ugly imperialist muscle in the guise of a so-called War on Terror after exporting a disastrous version of capitalism. However, rather than diminishing terrorism, the conflict appeared to increase violence and inspire new generations of radicals.

America, once a symbol of freedom and prosperity, was now spreading violence and poverty in the post-Cold War era. Oh, how the great had sunk.

2. Viktor Orbán, the Hungarian prime minister, exemplifies how nationalism and authoritarianism go hand in hand.

It's all about identity politics. Since it is at the heart of nationalism, which has witnessed a disturbing growth in the post-Cold War era, you've undoubtedly heard the term a lot during the last decade. Right-wing politicians are keen to capitalise on voters' concerns about national identity by railing against any perceived threat, whether it's lax Western values or Muslim refugees.

These politicians distort reality in order to instil a sense of national pride. They give a straightforward picture of their countries' past, one that any voter can passionately support.

We've seen it in Donald Trump's call to "Make America Great Again," but it's also at the heart of Russia's, China's, and Hungary's present politics.

The main point is this: Viktor Orbán, the Hungarian prime minister, exemplifies how nationalism and authoritarianism go hand in hand.

Since taking office as Prime Minister in 2010, Viktor Orbán has steadily strengthened his authoritarian hold on Hungary by seizing control of the media and the court system, limiting freedom of the press, curtailing civil liberties, and eroding democratic principles. It wasn't always like this, though. In fact, when Hungary became more democratic in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Orbán began as a left-leaning politician.

Orbán railed against corruption at the time, urging his country to go forward, embrace democracy, reject Soviet tyranny, and work toward a more open and free future. After the financial crisis of 2008, however, this altered. Hungary was very heavily hit. Orbán needed something to rekindle his career after serving four years as Prime Minister earlier in the decade. As a result, he morphed into a nationalistic, populist candidate — a leader capable of restoring Hungary's greatness.

The problem, according to Orbán, was that Hungary had become too open, too liberated, and too Westernized. It needed to strengthen its frontiers and return to its Christian roots and ideals.

Orbán was not only re-elected prime minister, but his party, Fidesz, also obtained two-thirds control of parliament as a result of his identity politics. As Fidesz amended the constitution, co-opted key television and media sources, and changed voting regulations, over a thousand new laws were established, making it more difficult for opposing views to be heard.

Orbán's strategy was not original. It's directly out of the authoritarian playbook, and it's the same basic technique that Russia, China, and the United States have all utilised to great effect.

3. After the fall of the Iron Curtain, Vladimir Putin rose to power.

Ironically, while Orbán started his career combating corruption and Russian influence, he ended up courting Russia for a long time. The Republican Party in the United States has made the same bizarre transition, from denouncing Russia during the Cold War to openly embracing it today.

Few leaders have demonstrated a better understanding of the authoritarian playbook than Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin is clearly someone to look up to if your goal is to amass power and money while silencing your opponents.

The main point is that Vladimir Putin rose to prominence after the crumbling of the Iron Curtain.

Putin's rise coincided with the end of the Cold War, following Boris Yeltsin's failure to move Russia away from Communism in the 1990s. The economy was in trouble. Corruption was widespread. Yeltsin had worked with American advisers to open up the economy, but it merely revealed that the system was designed to benefit a select few, not the masses. Smuggling vodka across the border was a way for women to make a life. It wasn't difficult to see the situation as a long-term humiliation caused by the West.

Putin was chosen as Yeltsin's successor in 1999, in part because Putin promised that Yeltsin would not face corruption charges. One of Putin's first moves, like Orbán's, was to seize control of the media and transform it into a conduit for pro-government messages and the fanning of nationalistic fervour. Friends and associates were given wealth, including Igor Sechin, who was given control of the Yukos oil business. Meanwhile, individuals deemed a threat, like Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a self-made billionaire, could face prison time.

In reality, opposing Putin would be a risky business. Boris Nemtsov, a prominent dissenter, was assassinated in Moscow, only blocks from the Kremlin. Another is Alexei Navalny, who spoke with the author extensively throughout his study before being poisoned and admitted to the hospital in August 2020.

Putin's United Russia party has gradually consolidated its authority over the country over the last decade, hand-picking local governors and the judges while ratcheting up the anti-Western rhetoric. As we'll see in the next blink, America provided plenty of fodder for Putin's moral superiority assertions.

4. In many respects, America aided dictatorship around the world.

The War on Terror in the United States was a direct response to the horrific events of September 11, 2001. The assaults on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon undoubtedly changed the United States, but that does not mean that its response was always positive.

The result was a military and nationalistic response. Civil rights were damaged with the founding of the Department of Homeland Security and the passage of the PATRIOT Act. As a result, countries that had little to do with the 9/11 attacks were invaded, and photographs and reports of the US military torturing individuals overseas surfaced.

This was important for leaders like Vladimir Putin. It was just more proof that the United States was far from becoming a moral leader in the world.

The fundamental lesson is that America has provided ammo for authoritarianism around the world in various ways.

After the Cold War, the War on Terror gave the United States a purpose. It did, however, succeed in lowering the bar for what was considered "normal" in the world of international politics. Why should anyone else follow the rules if the United States won't? If the US invades countries under false pretences then passes laws that obliterate private rights, that must be the new normal, right?

Following 9/11, America's actions made it easier for Putin to justify war on his Chechen neighbours and enact anti-terror laws that bolstered his power. However, the United States unwittingly supplied even more assistance in the shape of cheap and strong social media technology.

Platforms like Facebook and Twitter appeared to be a boon to democracy at first. In Egypt in 2011 and Ukraine in 2013, these techniques were utilised to assist coordinate pro-democracy protests. However, in the years thereafter, social media has been used as a weapon against democracy. Russia was particularly adept at utilising social media to attack dissidents and political competitors, as well as to spread conspiracy theories and sow discord in countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom.

But, as we'll see in a moment, they weren't the masters - no one has exploited technology as an effective instrument for social control like China has.

5. After the Cold War, China became the modern, authoritarian country it is today.

We can observe a modern, Western version of nationalist authoritarianism in Hungary. We see old-fashioned ideals of sovereignty and militant national security in Russia. We can see what the future may hold in China.

The United States has an effect in all three countries, but it is likely most visible in China, where late-stage capitalism and technological monitoring have merged to create something altogether new.

The important point here is that today's harsh, contemporary China arose from the Cold War as well.

If you live in the United States, chances are you own something made in China. Toward the end of the Cold War, the United States persuaded China to defect from the Soviet Union and join the West. Since then, the two countries have had an economic collaboration, allowing them to meet the growing demand for lower-cost commodities. Massive gains have been created as a result of this relationship, yet only firm executives and stock market players have benefited.

Nonetheless, the conclusion of the Cold War placed China in a precarious position. Its authorities didn't want it to go the way of the Soviet Union and knew that embracing capitalism was the only way to avoid that. China opened up during a time of economic reform under Deng Xiaoping's leadership. It did not, however, open up politically, unlike other communist countries. In fact, the Chinese Communist Party grew stronger as the country's nationalist spirit grew stronger and it became more dictatorial.

Of course, growing more nationalistic often entails becoming more hostile to "others." China had already pushed Tibetan Chinese people out of the nation by the 2000s, but an attack by Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang Province sparked the "people's war on terror" in 2014. China, following in the footsteps of the United States, carried out a ruthless crackdown on the Uighur population, interning over a million people in detention centres.

Technology has revolutionised Chinese society in recent years, propelling the country's economy to new heights and assisting in the eradication of poverty. However, technology has been used against society as a monitoring and oppression tool.

6. China has exploited American technology for its own tyrannical purposes.

“Freedom is what order is meant for, and order is the guarantor of freedom,” China's president Xi Jinping wrote on the internet. You're not alone if you think that sounds a lot like the Party's motto in George Orwell's 1984, "Freedom is Slavery."

China, like Russia, had been watching the promise of social media and new online technologies developing from the United States for the past two decades. In China, this technology would serve as the foundation for a new "social credit" system.

The main point is that China has exploited American technology for tyrannical purposes.

Are you looking for a new opportunity? Do you plan on enrolling your child in a decent school? Then you'd better keep your social credit score in good shape. Who you interact with, what you buy, where you go, and whether or not you pay your bills on time are all tracked and recorded. You might acquire what you desire if you have a solid social credit score. A low social credit score may be interpreted as a threat, and you may be imprisoned as a result.

In Xinjiang Province, the extent of technology surveillance goes beyond "social credit." The entire location is also monitored by cameras, and even something as minor as being caught with long facial hair can result in detention. Calls are recorded and monitored. Even the activities of a family or acquaintance outside the nation could be judged enough of a danger to warrant arrest for someone living in Xinjiang. All of this is possible thanks to technology that was exported from the United States before its full potential was realised.

China, on the other hand, has been actively expanding its sphere of influence. It has created the Belt and Road Initiative, a massive infrastructure project involving over 70 countries that will likely profit sufficiently not to complain about China's dubious human rights record. It has also been attempting to assert greater authority over Hong Kong's semi-autonomous zone.

Few will speak out because so many organisations and businesses rely on Chinese business. Protests, however, have resurfaced on Hong Kong's streets.

There are grounds to believe that authoritarianism will ultimately fail.

Leaders like Orbán, Putin, and Xi aren't the only ones who have shaped the world since the collapse of the Berlin Wall. It's also chock-full of smaller, more intimate stories about how huge decisions touch us all.

Sandor Lederer, a half-Jewish Hungarian who, like Orbán, had a political awakening while combating governmental corruption. Lederer's anti-corruption watchdog, however, is now seen as an "enemy of the state." Then there's Zhanna Nemtsova, the killed Boris Nemtsov's daughter, who established a foundation in his honour to promote liberal politics and democracy.

The author spoke with Lederer, Nemtsova, and Hong Kong demonstrators, all of whom were still fighting for democracy in their own countries. The issue became, "Will democracy triumph?" in every conversation.

The fundamental point is that there are reasons to believe that authoritarianism will fail.

When the author discussed his work with Barack Obama, Obama pointed out that the post-Cold War era's traits aren't unique. Democracy and authoritarianism have ebbed and flowed throughout history, and will certainly continue to do so in the future.

Maria Stepanova, a Russian poet and writer, sees a silver lining in the present pandemic, which has afflicted almost everyone on the planet. Perhaps this worldwide catastrophe will serve as a reminder that skewed realities, racial conspiracy theories, and vindictive nationalism are less valuable than truth, expert knowledge, and global cooperation. Perhaps people will recognise the foolishness of enclosing themselves within their own fortified borders.

Of course, the inverse might also occur. Perhaps the pandemic will cause people to become even more alienated in their disinformation-filled social media bubbles, and their reality will become even more twisted by hatred and rage. However, there is reason to suppose that we have become more aware of the threats that the internet poses to democracy. Is it possible to hold companies like Facebook more accountable? Is it possible to impose guardrail rules on social media? Currently, Mark Zuckerberg's only accountability is for the money he makes, which is clearly insufficient.

Anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny remained defiantly optimistic in his chats with the author, even in the midst of the pandemic. People like Putin, Orbán, and Trump, he argued, will eventually run out of reasons for the corruption at the heart of their activities. Every empire comes crumbling down because of leadership that is focused on consolidating power and money.

People protesting in Budapest, Moscow, Hong Kong, and across the United States realise that we can do better. This is a reality that cannot be altered or suppressed.

The primary message in this summary is that America was left without a purpose in the world after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War. Instead of working for democracy, it advocated a form of capitalism that resulted in economic inequality, culminating in the financial crisis of 2008. This, combined with the unjust war on terror that followed 9/11, severely weakened America's moral authority and aided in the maintenance of a democratic drift in countries such as Hungary, Russia, and China.

Now, the internet and social media are fueling a global surge in authoritarianism by propagating disinformation and conspiracy theories, as well as monitoring and repressing political opposition.

However, there is one ray of hope. And it's the understanding that political leadership based only on money and power is doomed to fail at some point.

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