A Return To The Truth

Digital authoritarianism breaks down where solidarity and resistance emerge.

They return not only in formation, in overcoats and with portraits of the leader. The new ghosts of authoritarianism often come in fancy suits or sneakers, with a beautiful PowerPoint presentation. They talk about security, efficiency, "digital sovereignty." But the essence is the same: control. Fear. Impunity.We have, as I warned in my previous text, "The Ghosts Are Back," looked away for too long, hoping that autocrats would die out along with TV sets and Stalinism. But in 2025, it turns out: regimes don't die, they renew themselves. Like an iPhone. Like a virus. And they spread the same way - quickly, quietly and massively.

Digital Cell

Today, surveillance is not just a camera on the corner, it's an algorithm in your phone, it's your digital footprint. In Shenzhen, China, they won't let you on the subway if you cross the street in the wrong place. Not because someone saw you, but because the system knows. It's not watching you personally. It doesn't need to know your character to zero in on your future. You're a number. You're a profile. You're the risk. And starting July 15, Chinese authorities are launching a massive digital identity card system. There will be more oversight.

In Russia, the state not only monitors, but also disables. Telegram, Youtube, VPN - enemies of the regime, then enemies of the people. Sovereign Internet is not about technology, it's about loneliness. So that you know only what Solovyov will say. And believe that you never had a choice.

In Saudi Arabia, algorithms read tweets. You write "disrespectful," you get jail time. Blogger Faisal al-Hamdani was sentenced to 34 years in prison for "destructive posts." And the courts, as is the norm in Authoritarianism 2.0 - no lawyers, no public, no chance.

Singapore has a different aesthetic. Everything is clean, beautiful, technological. But the Fake News Act (POFMA) allows authorities to remove "incorrect" opinions. Not facts - opinions. Because whoever has the server is right.

Power as a spectacle

At Erdogan, a rally is a show. With Trump, it's a cult. With Putin, it's sacredness. Their power no longer needs convincing. It is enough for them to create an impression. Show the picture: the people, the flags, the "enemy at the gate." And in the shadows - special forces. Authoritarianism in 2025 is a political technology rehearsed better than opera. With the mask of democracy, but with an iron face.

In Nicaragua, Ortega is both president and judge. More than 300 NGOs have been shut down. The opposition is abroad or in jail. He is elected without opponents, but still talks about "defeating the enemies of the people."

In Uganda, Yoweri Museveni has ruled since 1986. His son commands the army. His wife is minister of education. His opponent Bobby Wine - a singer who has become a symbol of protest - is beaten, sent under house arrest. And all this - under the slogan of "defense of stability".

Corruption as a linchpin

If corruption used to be the weakness of the regime, today it is its backbone. Not an accident, but a system. You pay to survive. You make friends not to go to jail. In Russia, kleptocracy is not even a form of government, but a type of culture. An ideology of convenience. The main thing is to be your own.In Brazil, after Bolsonaro, it's not a cleansing, but a relapse. Corruption schemes are deeper than the Amazon jungle. The judicial system depends on party agreements, and journalists who write about the military's ties with business receive threats rather than bonuses.In Azerbaijan, the Aliyev clan is turning the country into a flagging oil corporation. Ilham Aliyev has ruled since 2003, his wife is vice president. Protests? Banned. Trials? Family-run. Money? In London, like all decent autocrats.

Illusion of Right

Courts? Pseudo courts. Constitutions? Objects of rewriting. Laws work as long as they don't interfere with power. Then they get changed. Or ignored. And here democracies have themselves to blame - their rules can't keep up with aggression. When the democracy is waiting for the commission's conclusion, the autocracy has already appointed the guilty party.

In Tunisia, Kais Said dissolved parliament in 2021 and jailed the former president in 2025. Without a trial. Just because he can. He's not a tyrant, he's a "reformer". Like all those who first kill the system and then portray order.

Normalizing Evil

Political violence has become part of the landscape. It is no longer discussed with horror, it is recorded like the weather: 'opposition activist beaten', 'protesters detained', 'journalist killed'. In Iran, drones search for women without a headscarf. In Russia, people just disappear. And all this - to applause or silence.

In Myanmar - the army has burned down villages. In Ethiopia - civil war amid censorship and repression. In Kazakhstan - silence after the January 2022 protests. Because those who spoke, no longer speak.

Authoritarianism within the West

And now for the main risk: the West itself becomes infected. The processes of decay are beginning inside strong democracies.

In the US, 2025 is Trump's second term. He returns, dismantling the independence of the civil service, attacking the media, expanding the powers of the executive branch. Declaratively - "returning America to greatness." In fact - dismantling institutional balance.In France, Marine Le Pen loses the presidential election, but her party wins parliament. Under the slogan of "national revival" - fight against NGOs, restriction of protests, revision of civil rights. And all within the confines of the law.

In Germany, AfD (Alternative for Germany) holds record seats in the Landtags. A party that until recently was considered marginal is now supported by millions. Its openly racist rhetoric, support for Putin, and ideas of "bureaucratic cleansing" of the European Union are looking more and more like a creeping coup from within.

In Israel, "judicial reform" is turning into an attack on the independence of the courts. Protests by hundreds of thousands are ignored, the coalition is strengthened at the expense of ultra-religious and radical groups. The country becomes a battleground between institutions and the charisma of power.

In Canada, it's not extremism, it's burnout. Polarization and fake information are killing the credibility of parliament. Every conflict becomes an ideological war. The idea of truth is no longer a common reference point.

Corruption as a Trojan horse

In the West, corruption is spoken of in the past tense - as a disease of developing countries. But in 2025, this is already a dangerous misconception. Corruption is coming back not in the form of kickbacks, but as a systemic erosion of trust. Through lobbyism without borders, offshore without nations and politicians without accountability.

In the UK, the Cash for Access investigation continues - MPs providing "consultancy services" for hundreds of thousands of pounds, while voting in the interests of private donors. All in accordance with the law. But all out of morality. British democracy is stealthily turning into a paid subscription.

In the U.S., campaign finance scandals are spiraling into direct correlation. Billionaires control the agenda, and Congress increasingly votes not as representation but as a stockholder's meeting. And if democracy is for sale - who's to say it won't be bought by autocrats?

In the European Parliament in 2023-24, "Catargate" - the story of suitcases of money in exchange for political patronage - was seen as an excess. But in 2025, it is already being hailed as a model. States like Morocco and Azerbaijan use envelope diplomacy, and deputies in Brussels as agents of influence. Not spies. Just clients.

And the main thing is that it happens without shock. Without loud revelations. Because authoritarianism, like a virus, does not cause fever. It simply lowers immunity.

Why it works

Because in traditional democracies, society has relaxed from years of good living. Because society is afraid. Because it's used to it. Because it hopes it will get around. But authoritarianism is not rain. It's mold. It doesn't go away if you just sit quietly. It grows if you keep quiet.

And now for the good stuff

These regimes are strong - but they don't last forever. Ukraine proved in 2014: autocracies can be broken.

Protests in Iran, mass mobilization in Israel against the dismantling of the courts, the resignation in 2018 of the government in Slovakia after revelations of links to the mafia - these are all signals that people still can. We just need to resist apathy. And remember: the power of autocrats is based on lies, fear and passivity.

Digital authoritarianism can be convenient. It may seem inevitable. But it breaks down - where solidarity and resistance emerge.

Total

2025 is not the end. It is a mirror. We are shown what will happen if we retreat. If we hope that freedom will survive on its own. It won't.Authoritarianism doesn't come suddenly. It comes when we turn away.

It leaves when we turn back. To ourselves. To truth. To action.

Leonid Nevzlin, kasparov.ru

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