Drive Division
A core component of the kleptocrat’s playbook is to stir up public foment and polarize society. Autocrats divide societies to hide their corruption, but most importantly, to keep their hold on power. By exploiting existing social divisions, kleptocrats can distract from corruption, consolidate power, and create an "us versus them" mentality that allows them to erode democratic institutions. The cultural issues they exploit—such as gender, race, immigration, and religion—are genuine points of conflict within society. Kleptocrats, however, amplify and manipulate these divisions to prevent coalitions and political opposition from being built. Instead, they aim to systematically deepen societal divisions, making it easier to deflect accountability and obscure financial corruption.
Driving social division
Kleptocrats rule by creating "enemies within" and "enemies abroad." They play with existing social divisions to distract from corruption, consolidate power, and create an "us versus them" mentality that helps them override people's rights. The cultural issues they exploit—such as gender, race, immigration, and religion—are often at the heart of genuine disagreements within society. But kleptocrats are not trying to build coalitions or reach solutions; they aim to polarize.