Last week Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted more than 20 leaders from many of the world’s fastest developing nations in the Russian city of Kazan.
The meeting was a display of unity of many of the world's dictators and authoritarians. It was an attempt to show the West that attempts to isolate Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine have failed.
Addressing a roundtable of some 30 nations, Putin told the gathered BRICS+ members and guests that their countries “share similar ambitions, values and a vision for a new democratic world order.”
The international gathering was for the 16th annual BRICS+ summit , an acronym carved from initial members Brazil, Russia, India, China and, soon after, South Africa, when the economic bloc was first launched in 2009.
A “+” was added to reflect the addition of Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates to the ranks this year. Others — including Turkey, Azerbaijan and Malaysia — have since applied for membership as well.
The economic bloc represents 45% of the world's population and could be a sign of a gathering storm for a global conflict.
In his closing comments to the summit Putin lambasted Western nations for hoarding global wealth, goods, even concepts like human rights, climate change, and democracy.
Simultaneously, North Korean military forces are on the ground in Russia joining Russia's invasion of Ukraine and showing a dangerous multinational expansion of the war.
NATO said on Monday thousands of North Korean troops were moving toward the front line, a development which has prompted Kyiv to call for more weapons and an international plan to keep those troops at bay.
South Korea has said it may start supplying weapons to Ukraine if North Korean troops joined Russia's war. Putin has not denied the presence of North Korean troops in the country.
Anne Applebaum is a journalist and author of the new book Autocracy Inc.: The Dictators Who Want to Run the World. She argues that the dictators of the world are working together to oppose the spread of democracy and the rule of law.
A global network of dictators means that they can exchange notes on arming police, do business with one another, and strip the people in their countries of fundamental rights like freedom of speech.
Dictatorships tend to work across regimes, from China to Russia to Iran. What does it say about former President Donald Trump that dictators across the globe are working to help him get reelected this November? Could our world look vastly different a week from now? What are the signs of an autocracy sneaking up on a nation?
Applebaum’s book proposes that democracies reorient their policies to fight the threat of an autocratic society.
Guests:
Anne Applebaum is a journalist and author of the new book, Autocracy Inc.: The Dictators Who Want to Run the World.
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This interview will be recorded on Wednesday, October 30, 2024.
