Sergei Guriev and Daniel Treisman analyze a new form of authoritarianism in which dictators maintain power not primarily through violence but by manipulating information and mimicking democratic procedures. These spin dictators, from Putin to Orban to Erdogan, hold elections they do not intend to lose, maintain facades of press freedom while controlling major media, and project images of competence and popularity rather than relying on terror. The authors contrast spin dictators with old-style fear dictators who ruled through overt repression, showing how rising education levels and global communication have made pure coercion less viable. Spin dictators adapt by creating sophisticated propaganda operations, discrediting critics, and generating enough confusion that citizens cannot determine what is true. Guriev, an economist, and Treisman, a political scientist, combine quantitative analysis with case studies to explain how spin dictatorships function and why they have become the dominant form of contemporary authoritarianism. They examine the vulnerabilities of spin dictatorships, which depend on maintaining plausible performance and cannot survive exposure of fundamental lies. The book provides frameworks for understanding the political manipulation techniques that have spread globally and for identifying the conditions under which democratic alternatives can emerge.