Episode 60: The Road to Unfreedom by Timothy Snyder - Deep Dive Book Review

Today we review "The Road to Unfreedom" by Timothy Snyder. In his book, Snyder explores the rise of illiberal politics in Russia and the United States, arguing that both countries have shifted from a politics of inevitability, which accepts the status quo, to a politics of eternity, which rejects the possibility of change and embraces a manufactured sense of national innocence. Snyder examines the influence of figures like Ivan Ilyin and Alexander Dugin in Russia, who helped shape Putin’s ideology of Eurasianism and anti-Western sentiment. Snyder further examines the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a prime example of how this ideology has been used to justify aggression and manipulation of truth, and how this has subsequently impacted Western politics, especially in the United States during the Trump era. He analyzes the role of Russian cyberwarfare and propaganda in undermining democratic institutions and promoting disinformation campaigns, and concludes that a return to a politics based on individual responsibility, truth, and the pursuit of a better future is essential to combat the threat of authoritarianism.

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