The Role of Mediocre Employees in Autocracies

Journalists often dedicate considerable attention to country leaders. These leaders set agendas and must be held accountable. However, those who implement these agendas are often overlooked. In autocratic regimes, implementing state tasks can involve activities like intimidation or torture. This raises questions about why individuals would choose such roles, effectively becoming enablers of these regimes.

Amanda Taub provides insights into research that offers unexpected answers to this question.

Argentine security forces in 1982 in Buenos Aires.
Credit. Horacio Villalobos/Corbis, via Getty Images

Autocrats, no matter how powerful, cannot govern in isolation. For instance, Vladimir Putin relies on Russian oligarchs, Iran depends on the Revolutionary Guards, and Viktor Orban constructed Hungary’s “electoral autocracy” with the aid of a selected group of judges, enforcers, and business tycoons.