![]() Pit foreign powers against Shi‘i insurgents, Shi‘i insurgents against the military, the military against Sunni extremists, Sunni extremists against local tribes, and local tribes against secessionists, or vice versa. Incite your enemies and allies against each other. Resort to military force only when politically expedient. ![]() Pray that US diplomats do not mention this deal in their cables back to Washington.ħ. In return, you will receive carte blanche to crush any domestic opponent in the name of counter-terrorism and hundreds of millions in military aid will come your way. Become a poster child for the “war on terror.” Turn a blind eye to the goings-on at Guantánamo Bay and claim that US drone strikes are maneuvers conducted by your air force. If those measures fail, involve the air force of a neighboring monarchy in fighting a domestic insurgency and have them accidentally bomb the headquarters of your rival.Ħ. If any one of them grows too powerful, orchestrate a helicopter crash or send his units to war without reinforcements and supply the other side with arms. Appoint loyal members of your tribe as high-level commanders. Fill key military posts with trusted family members. Ensure that your military does not defect (see Mubarak, Husni). Pay lip service to democracy, negotiate a 73.85 percent or a 67.42 percent majority, and put opposition leaders on your payroll.ĥ. ![]() Do not win presidential elections with a 99.9 percent majority. You may use anti-corruption institutions to destroy them at will.Ĥ. Include political allies and enemies alike in a vast patronage system. If you distribute your loot only among your close family, others will rebel against you or decline to defend you when angry citizens rise up (see Ben Ali, Zine El Abidine).ģ. ![]() Dole out shares of your rentier income to them. Forge an informal power sharing agreement with a small circle of powerful elites. (Hint: Make sure the institutional setup is dysfunctional from the outset and rotate public servants frequently.)Ģ. Whatever you do, never allow formal bureaucratic institutions to take hold. Do not rely on charisma it is only a temporary phenomenon (see al-Qaddafi, Muammar). The following 13 principles are a humble attempt at providing current or aspiring Arab despots with a blueprint for long and prosperous rule in a region threatened by the idea that authority derives from popular will:ġ. Salih has dedicated his retirement to fending off the encroachment of democracy in Yemen, derailing security sector reforms and obstructing the National Dialogue Conference, a forum for discussing the future system of governance, promoting national reconciliation and preparing the ground for a new constitution. With four of his fellow Arab strongmen in exile, under house arrest, deceased or enmeshed in bloody civil war, Salih received blanket immunity for the abuses of his 33-year rule in a controversial power transfer deal that terminated Yemen’s 2011 uprising. This concise guide is based on lessons from one of the most cunning masters of the art of divide and rule: Yemen’s former president ‘Ali ‘Abdallah Salih. But does Machiavelli’s masterpiece supply the foils for the new perils that insubordinate youths pose to the Arabian emir of the early twenty-first century? The wretched remainder have to turn to Machiavelli’s Il Principe - a handy companion for political realists - for answers to the question of how to forestall their otherwise inevitable overthrow. Only a few dictators are blessed with a security apparatus powerful enough to suppress any and all challenges to their rule.
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