Unpacking the Rise of 'Smart Authoritarianism' in China
Podcast: The Tech Policy Press PodcastPublished On: Sun Jan 25 2026
Description: Today's guest is Jennifer Lind, an associate professor of government at Dartmouth, a fellow at Chatham House London, and the author of the new book Autocracy 2.0: How China’s Rise Reinvented Tyranny, just out from Cornell Press. The book introduces the concept of 'smart authoritarianism,' a strategy that seeks to preserve political dominance while minimizing the economic damage of repression. It’s a sharp and unsettling argument—and one that is worth considering as a wave of autocratization continues to sweep across the globe, increasingly enabled by new technologies.
The note was deleted
The note was saved
Your message was sent