Marcel Dirsus Keynote Speaker
- Political scientist and analyst
- Acclaimed author of ‘How Tyrants Fall: And How Nations Survive’
- Featured by Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Financial Times, and many others.
Marcel Dirsus's Biography
Marcel Dirsus is a political scientist, analyst and the acclaimed author of ‘How Tyrants Fall: And How Nations Survive’.
Having studied dictators for more than a decade, Dirsus analyses geopolitics and global threats to democracy. In doing so, he combines the latest research with practical insights.
His book ‘How Tyrants Fall: And How Nations Survive’ was published by John Murray Press in July 2024. The Financial Times called it “compelling” and The Economist recommended it as one of the best books of the year. According to The Guardian, the book is “a ‘blueprint’ for bringing dictators down that could equally function as a Machiavellian manual for staying in power”.
Dirsus writes ‘The Hundred’, a politics newsletter that features world experts to make international politics accessible. In addition to being a Non-Resident Fellow at the Institute for Security Policy at Kiel University (ISPK) in Germany, he is a member of the Standing Expert Committee Terrorism and Interior Security at the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung. He has advised democratic governments, foundations, multinational corporations and international organisations like NATO and the OECD.
His analysis has been featured by Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Financial Times, BBC, CNN, The Atlantic, Reuters and many others.
Dirsus attended the University of Warwick and the University of Oxford (St Antony’s College) before completing his doctorate on irregular regime changes in Germany. He also studied abroad in France, China and Ukraine.
Marcel Dirsus's Speaking Topics
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Why Dictators are more Fragile than they Look
Tyrants may look strong, but all of them are much more fragile than they seem. Whether it's Vladimir Putin or Kim Jong-un, all dictators are constantly on the verge of losing everything.
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Democracy vs Dictatorship
Much has been written about the fragility of democracy and it's true that our systems have plenty of weaknesses. But that's only half the story. Democracy has many strengths and it's time to pay more attention to them.
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Geopolitical Risks
Since international politics is ultimately determined by people, it's impossible to understand geopolitical risks without understanding the incentives of individual leaders, especially dictators.
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