The Despot’s Apprentice — Why Democracies Depend on Unwritten Rules
Welcome to Crisis in Perception, where we examine the systems shaping our world.
Author: Brian Klaas
This episode explores The Despot’s Apprentice by Brian Klaas as a systems-level analysis of how democratic norms, media ecosystems, and institutional incentives influence political behavior and public perception.
By focusing on incentive architecture rather than personalities or partisan conflict, the episode shows how democratic erosion can emerge gradually through the breakdown of shared reality, institutional trust, and voluntary restraint.
📺 Watch on YouTube:
👉 https://youtu.be/H9kYpCHuYjc…
The skinny
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