The secret of how to topple tyrants and dictators — and crimes against humanity under the microscope

Presenting a road map to a world with fewer Putins and Kim Jong Uns. Political scientist Marcel Dirsus exposes the precarious reality behind the façade of the dictator's absolute power, and the remarkable ways in which even the most ruthless despots can be felt. Gareth Evans, Geoffrey Robertson, Tobias Buck and Dorcy Rugama take a closer look at crimes against humanity. When is reconciliation possible? Are international courts still useful? How important is truth telling? How Tyrants rise (and fall) was recorded live at the 2025 Sydney Writers' Festival at Sydney Town Hall. Speaker Dr Marcel Dirsus Political scientist, author of How Tyrants Fall: And How Nations Survive Non-Resident Fellow at the Institute for Security Policy at Kiel University (ISPK); member of the Standing Expert Committee Terrorism and Interior Security at the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung in Germany Crimes against Humanity was presented at Adelaide Writers' Week Speakers Tobias Buck Managing Editor of the Financial Times Author of Final Verdict: A Holocaust Trail in the Twenty-first Century Geoffrey Robertson Australian-British barrister, academic, broadcaster and author — among others of Crimes Against Humanity Dorcy Rugamba Rwandan writer, playwright, and director. Author of Hewa Rwanda, Letter to the Absent Gareth Evans AC (host) Former cabinet minister in the Hawke and Keating Labor governments, former president and CEO of the Brussels-based International Crisis Group