Intimacies: A Terrifying Autocracy Narrative
Katie Kitamura’s outstanding novel Intimacies (2022) delves into the International Criminal Court trial of a former African dictator. The story unfolds as the accused refuses to relinquish authority after the national electoral commission and other monitors call the election in favor of his opposition. To maintain power, he tampers with elections in areas where his opponent performed well, seals borders with the help of the army, and bans foreign media. The accused even goes as far as creating a mercenary army and orchestrating ethnic cleansing, resulting in the formation of death squads and mass graves.
A Pattern of Abuse and Autocracy
This terrifying autocracy narrative reminds me of Jess Hill’s shocking assertion in her important book on domestic abuse, See What You Made Me Do. Hill argues that abusers often follow a pattern, similar to a guidebook. Dictators, like the accused in Intimacies, reject elections, constitutional processes, and the law. This recipe for mendacity leading to violence is further explored in Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt’s bestseller, How Democracies Die (2019).
Based on Real Events: Laurent Gbagbo’s ICC Trial
During a podcast interview, Kitamura revealed that the case depicted in her novel was based on the trial of Laurent Gbagbo, the former president of Ivory Coast. Kitamura even attended Gbagbo’s International Criminal Court trial at The Hague as an observer.
Mounting a “Coup” After Election Results
The question arises: can a leader who refuses to accept election results mount a “coup”? The answer is yes. Recent attempts to overturn due process, constitutional norms, and other governmental institutions have been particularly visible under the presidency of Donald Trump.
Rory Cormac’s book, How to Stage a Coup, highlights that leaders and nations have committed similar crimes throughout history, even before the era of Trump. The book focuses on the actions states take against other states, rather than solely on the actions of hazardous leaders towards their own people. Cormac argues that populist politics at the national level can create internal fractures that foreign enemies might exploit, especially in the age of cyber warfare.
The Impact of Trump’s Presidency
Under the presidency of Donald Trump, US politics has become more xenophobic, anti-democratic, and cruel. Cormac suggests that Russia and other US enemies have fueled this fire by supporting both Trump’s most extremist fans and his radical opponents.
Intimacies and books like How to Stage a Coup shed light on the dangers of autocracy, the erosion of democratic norms, and the importance of remaining vigilant in protecting our institutions and democratic processes.
