{"id":29151,"date":"2017-10-20T19:11:24","date_gmt":"2017-10-20T19:11:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.firdevstalkturkey.com\/?p=29151"},"modified":"2017-10-20T19:11:24","modified_gmt":"2017-10-20T19:11:24","slug":"guarding-against-tyranny-snyders-twenty-lessons-from-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.firdevstalkturkey.com\/guarding-against-tyranny-snyders-twenty-lessons-from-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Guarding against tyranny \u2013 Snyder\u2019s twenty lessons from history"},"content":{"rendered":"

I had already known that Timothy Snyder, a professor of history at Yale, was an exceptional researcher and writer. His 2010 book Bloodlands- Europe between Hitler and Stalin<\/a> was truly eye-opening for those of us closely involved with the former Soviet Union and interested in the history of the last century.<\/p>\n

When his latest book \u201cOn Tyranny- Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century<\/a>\u201d was published and greeted with widespread critical acclaim earlier this year, there were a few reviews about it in Turkey too.<\/p>\n

Even before the book\u2019s publication, while the ideas were still fresh from an article, Turkey\u2019s award-winning independent media platform Medyascope<\/a>, translated and published it in November 2016.<\/p>\n

So this is not breaking news. Long ago, I had made a mental note to read the book, to see what parallels Professor Snyder drew between recent European history and the current situation in the United States.<\/p>\n

It was not until this week, when I heard Professor Snyder at his Chatham House lecture<\/a> titled \u201cModern Authoritarianism\u201d, \u00a0that I realized how relevant his observations were to today\u2019s Turkey, too.<\/p>\n

Snyder\u2019s 126-page book, which starts by reminding us that \u201chistory does not repeat, but it does instruct,\u201d differs from other books on similar themes. \u00a0It doesn\u2019t confine itself to explaining why and how authoritarian regimes rise. It also makes meaningful suggestions about how it can be stopped from happening.<\/p>\n

Even though the history has lessons for us all, Professor Snyder rightly remarks that this book may not be equally applicable to circumstances in other countries. \u00a0When questioned by an audience to draw parallels with others, such as Turkey, his comments are measured and qualified.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, his lessons from the 1930s, which are also relevant to Trump\u2019s America, still offer a lot of very pertinent insights on Turkey\u2019s near-complete transformation into a contemporary tyranny today.<\/p>\n

Snyder\u2019s first lesson is \u201cDo not obey in advance\u201d<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of the power of authoritarianism is freely given\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The kind of \u201canticipatory obedience\u201d he warns against is fairly easy to recognise as a characteristic behaviour of those \u201cadapting instinctively, without reflecting, to a new situation\u201d.<\/p>\n

Another lesson is to \u201cDefend Institutions<\/strong>\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe tend to assume that institutions will automatically maintain themselves against even the most direct attacks. This was the very mistake that some German Jews made about Hitler and the Nazis after they formed a government,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The rule of law, which is \u2018difficult to build but easy to destroy\u2019, is often the first one to be undermined. Unless defended from the beginning, institutions fall one after the other.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeware the one-party state,<\/strong>\u201d Snyder says. Support the multi-party system and defend the rules of democratic elections.<\/p>\n

He urges us to \u201cTake responsibility for the face of the world<\/strong>\u201d because \u201cthe symbols of today enable the reality of tomorrow\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cNotice the swastikas and other signs of hate. Do not look away, and do not get used to them\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cRemember professional ethics<\/strong>\u201d he writes. \u201cWhen political leaders set a negative example, professional commitments to just practice become more important.\u201d \u201cProfessional ethics must guide us precisely when we are told that the situation is exceptional\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the men with guns who have always claimed to be against the system start wearing uniforms and marching with torches and pictures of a leader, the end is nigh.\u201d So, be wary of paramilitaries. <\/strong><\/p>\n

A word of warning to those in legitimate uniform, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you carry a weapon in public service, may God bless you and keep you. But know that evils of the past involved policemen and soldiers finding themselves, one day, doing irregular things. Be ready to say no\u201d<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

He questions the necessity of a trade-off between security and liberty. \u00a0Snyder cautions against the use of words such as extremism<\/strong> and terrorism<\/strong> and points out that authoritarians constantly produce real or manufactured crisis.<\/p>\n

Avoid pronouncing the phrases everyone does, and \u201cBelieve in truth\u201d.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

According to Professor Snyder, modern authoritarians deliberately create uncertainty and confusion. \u00a0He even goes as far as suggesting \u201cPost-truth is pre-fascism\u201d.<\/p>\n

He urges us to \u201cinvestigate\u201d<\/strong>, figure things out for ourselves and support investigative journalism. We must not forget that the first thing authoritarians all do is to go after journalists.<\/p>\n

We are told to \u201chold on to our friends, look at them in the eye and make new friends\u201d. In 1920\u2019s, 30\u2019s and 40\u2019s Europe, be it in Nazi Germany or the Stalinist Soviet Union, \u201cpeople who were living in fear of repression remembered how their neighbours treated them. When friends, colleagues, and acquaintances looked away or crossed the street to avoid contact, fear grew\u201d.<\/p>\n

Establishing a private life is important. <\/strong>Be wary of divulging too much personal information on social media and guard against internet malware, Snyder warns.<\/p>\n

Being active in organisations, political or not, that express your own view of life \u2013 in other words, \u201ccontributing to good causes<\/strong>\u201d \u2013 is another lesson.<\/p>\n

Snyder sees the present difficulties in the United States as an element of a larger trend. No country is going to find a solution by itself. \u201cLearn from peers in other countries <\/strong>and keep up your friendships abroad\u201d he advises.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn Tyranny\u201d is a short book with wisdom and insight that could easily be read as the story of any country facing the threat of tyranny anywhere in the world.<\/p>\n

Perhaps it is another reminder that just as learning from the past helps us to protect the future, analysing the distinguishing characteristics of today\u2019s populist regimes elsewhere, makes it easier to understand our own.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I had already known that Timothy Snyder, a professor of history at Yale, was an exceptional researcher and writer. His 2010 book Bloodlands- Europe between Hitler and Stalin was truly eye-opening for those of us closely involved with the former Soviet Union and interested in the history of the last century. When his latest book […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[4],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firdevstalkturkey.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29151"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firdevstalkturkey.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firdevstalkturkey.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firdevstalkturkey.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firdevstalkturkey.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29151"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.firdevstalkturkey.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29151\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29154,"href":"https:\/\/www.firdevstalkturkey.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29151\/revisions\/29154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firdevstalkturkey.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firdevstalkturkey.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firdevstalkturkey.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}