Dobson's second thesis concerns the increasing globalisation of the battle between dictatorship and freedom. There are, he says, no greater experts on the collapse of the Soviet Union than the Chinese Communist Party, for whom their former ally's final days are how-not-to guide to running an authoritarian state. In 2004-5, the Kremlin watched Ukraine's Orange Revolution just as closely. The determination shown by young Ukrainians scared Putin's strategists into engaging with young Russians through groups like Nashi. After the "Jasmine Revolution" brought down Ben Ali in Tunisia, Chinese censors frantically blocked online searches for "jasmine" and even banned the now-subversive flower's sale in Beijing's markets.

Dobson's observations shed light on the inner workings of these regimes. But, for all the book's illuminating vignettes, the Darwinian claim at the heart of The Dictator's Learning Curve is specious. Unless dictatorships adapt to modern times they will not last, argues Dobson. While nimble and media savvy regimes may be in office in Russia and Venezuela, North Korean rulers, whose stranglehold on power shows no signs of loosening, have guaranteed stability with Stalinist brutality. Dictators may have learnt a few new tricks, but, even in the 21st century, fear and violence remain the most potent weapons in their fight against freedom.