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Dealings with Dictators: A CEO's Guide to Defending Democracy
Global business leader Mathias Döpfner offers a “compelling” (Gideon Rachman, chief foreign affairs columnist for Financial Times) and revolutionary road map to reshape global trade, strengthen our democracy, and safeguard our freedoms.
Freedom is on the decline around the world. Autocrats in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East are undermining our open societies, human rights, and the rule of law. The Russian invasion of Ukraine was a wake-up call for the West, but the biggest threat remains China. For two generations, Americans and Europeans have believed that change will come through trade, but instead of dictatorships becoming more like Western democracies, unfettered free trade has strengthened our enemies and undermined our countries. We are caught in a trade trap, faced with the decision to choose either opportunism and submission or opposition and emancipation.
In The Trade Trap, one of the world’s most powerful business leaders traces the rise and costs of Western dependency on China and Russia. And he suggests a radical new approach to free The establishment of a new values-based alliance of democracies. Membership is based on the adherence to three very simple the rule of law, human rights, and sustainability targets. Countries that comply with these criteria can engage in tariff-free trade with others. Those who don’t will pay prohibitive tariffs.
Sharing the author’s encounters with major global figures including Vladimir Putin, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, George W. Bush, Angela Merkel, Jack Ma, and more, The Trade Trap offers personal insight into the dangerous consequences of doing business with autocrats along with a bold proposal for a values-based trade policy.
Freedom is on the decline around the world. Autocrats in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East are undermining our open societies, human rights, and the rule of law. The Russian invasion of Ukraine was a wake-up call for the West, but the biggest threat remains China. For two generations, Americans and Europeans have believed that change will come through trade, but instead of dictatorships becoming more like Western democracies, unfettered free trade has strengthened our enemies and undermined our countries. We are caught in a trade trap, faced with the decision to choose either opportunism and submission or opposition and emancipation.
In The Trade Trap, one of the world’s most powerful business leaders traces the rise and costs of Western dependency on China and Russia. And he suggests a radical new approach to free The establishment of a new values-based alliance of democracies. Membership is based on the adherence to three very simple the rule of law, human rights, and sustainability targets. Countries that comply with these criteria can engage in tariff-free trade with others. Those who don’t will pay prohibitive tariffs.
Sharing the author’s encounters with major global figures including Vladimir Putin, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, George W. Bush, Angela Merkel, Jack Ma, and more, The Trade Trap offers personal insight into the dangerous consequences of doing business with autocrats along with a bold proposal for a values-based trade policy.
205 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 19, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 19, 2023
TL;DR: Döpfner lacks expertise in the topic of economic security/strategy and it shows.
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Döpfner spends the first ~80% of the book convincing the reader (that didn’t need to be convinced in the first place) that authoritarianism is immoral. He then makes the relevant, albeit basic, point that international business is linked with grand strategy. While all of this is well-written, and sprinkled with interesting personal recollections about his time in-and-around journalism, it wastes valuable real estate that could’ve been used to defend his eventual policy proposal.
The last ~20% of the book is Döpfner’s solution to the “Trade Trap”. His proposal is shockingly surface-level, as he devotes far too little time to addressing the many, many holes that can be poked in his argument. He waves away several obvious counter-arguments before reverting to talking about how much he dislikes the simple fact that undemocratic states exist. In the end, I was left with the sense that his editorial team neglected to socialize the idea with any scholars that could’ve added much-needed nuance to this text.
I don’t mean to preach— I’m probably not much more of an expert that Döpfner— but blowing up the world trading system seems a misguided policy approach that would create unimaginable knock-on effects. At worst, an exclusive trade bloc of so-called “free countries” risks alienating— and potentially radicalizing— a majority of the world’s population. I’m not sure this would do anything but accelerate global inequality… or the anti-democratic movement itself.
The reason for two stars, as opposed to one, is that Döpfner does show some depth in diagnosing the issue. He accurately assesses the over-reliance of Western businesses on China; he also succinctly explains the woes of the WTO.
Economic security is likely to be one of the most relevant international issues over the next several decades— and the goal of “values-based trade” is genuinely aspirational. Döpfner, if he seeks to be involved, should stick to descriptive journalism rather than prescriptive policymaking.
—
Döpfner spends the first ~80% of the book convincing the reader (that didn’t need to be convinced in the first place) that authoritarianism is immoral. He then makes the relevant, albeit basic, point that international business is linked with grand strategy. While all of this is well-written, and sprinkled with interesting personal recollections about his time in-and-around journalism, it wastes valuable real estate that could’ve been used to defend his eventual policy proposal.
The last ~20% of the book is Döpfner’s solution to the “Trade Trap”. His proposal is shockingly surface-level, as he devotes far too little time to addressing the many, many holes that can be poked in his argument. He waves away several obvious counter-arguments before reverting to talking about how much he dislikes the simple fact that undemocratic states exist. In the end, I was left with the sense that his editorial team neglected to socialize the idea with any scholars that could’ve added much-needed nuance to this text.
I don’t mean to preach— I’m probably not much more of an expert that Döpfner— but blowing up the world trading system seems a misguided policy approach that would create unimaginable knock-on effects. At worst, an exclusive trade bloc of so-called “free countries” risks alienating— and potentially radicalizing— a majority of the world’s population. I’m not sure this would do anything but accelerate global inequality… or the anti-democratic movement itself.
The reason for two stars, as opposed to one, is that Döpfner does show some depth in diagnosing the issue. He accurately assesses the over-reliance of Western businesses on China; he also succinctly explains the woes of the WTO.
Economic security is likely to be one of the most relevant international issues over the next several decades— and the goal of “values-based trade” is genuinely aspirational. Döpfner, if he seeks to be involved, should stick to descriptive journalism rather than prescriptive policymaking.
October 1, 2023
3.5 stars
December 31, 2023
In the lead up to his big idea -- that open societies need to band together and upend the world order of trade, Dopfner's The Trade Trap includes a concise overview of exploitative practices by some authoritarian and non-free countries. In essence, the author argues the trading with authoritarian countries has only made the authoritarians stronger, and that this trend will seemingly continue. Dopfner suggests that the World Trade Organization is dysfunctional and, perhaps more importantly, that the WTO does not consider metrics valued by free societies when forming and enforcing rules. For example, the impacts of products on climate change, intellectual property theft, the use forced and child labor, and "starvation wages" matter to open societies, but the WTO does not consider these subjects in its rule making.
Dopfner argues that free societies should, while they still have a chance, disband the World Trade Organization, and form a new trade organization built on a set of shared values. He suggests that this transition should occur right away -- led by the US and Europe, with other countries being admitted as soon as possible. He also highlights the importance of bringing BRICS countries into the fold, India, Brazil, and South Africa, in particular. Dopfner suggests that the rule changes could be done slowly, to reduce the shock to world economies, and that in this transition could include reduction of tariffs and increasing avenues for legal migration, a potential boon for individual member countries (e.g., those with a shortage of working-age people), as well as the longterm outlook for the organization.
I really enjoyed this book. I think it gave voice to some of the concerns I've had about the products that I buy; the underreported bad behavior by some players on the world stage; and the noticeable reduction in alternatives available to consumers. Over the past decade or so, I think several open societies have reacted to the trends Dopfner describes by implementing protectionist policies. Irrespective of whether or not you like Dopfner as a person or publisher, it seems to me that he's provided us all with a not-impossible alternative to an eventual dependence on authoritarian regimes, or rampant protectionism.
Dopfner argues that free societies should, while they still have a chance, disband the World Trade Organization, and form a new trade organization built on a set of shared values. He suggests that this transition should occur right away -- led by the US and Europe, with other countries being admitted as soon as possible. He also highlights the importance of bringing BRICS countries into the fold, India, Brazil, and South Africa, in particular. Dopfner suggests that the rule changes could be done slowly, to reduce the shock to world economies, and that in this transition could include reduction of tariffs and increasing avenues for legal migration, a potential boon for individual member countries (e.g., those with a shortage of working-age people), as well as the longterm outlook for the organization.
I really enjoyed this book. I think it gave voice to some of the concerns I've had about the products that I buy; the underreported bad behavior by some players on the world stage; and the noticeable reduction in alternatives available to consumers. Over the past decade or so, I think several open societies have reacted to the trends Dopfner describes by implementing protectionist policies. Irrespective of whether or not you like Dopfner as a person or publisher, it seems to me that he's provided us all with a not-impossible alternative to an eventual dependence on authoritarian regimes, or rampant protectionism.
May 10, 2025
This book is already not aging well in his fill throated defense of an axis of trade with the US and EU. Döpfner has a CEO's pragmatism around his somewhat wavering belief in "wandel durch handel" (peace through trade). He is staunchly pro Democracy and the notion that we need to do capitalism better, cancel the WTO and take away one of the levers China has manipulated mercilessly is a very good idea, and increasingly vital as the US teeters in its flirtation with suspending democracy. It didn't dawn on him 45 could become 47 but there are allusions to it, so this small book still offers a call to arms to embrace the kind of moral and environmental and social limits that define freedom and the best of capitalism lest the opposite continue to take root. 4.3/5
April 28, 2025
Concuerdo con algunos de los reviews previamente publicados, en el sentido de que el 80% son -sin restarle méritos- relatos de experiencias junto con hechos históricos, como antesala a la "carne" o la sustancia del libro, que es la propuesta de una suerte de liga de libre comercio para las democracias, en donde hay tres estándares para "ingresar" (estado de derecho, respeto a ddhh, y sostenibilidad). Inspirante ideal, pero en la práctica soy algo pesimista.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews