Chris Blattman

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Design for despots

Foreign Policy takes us on a tour of the upcoming architectural wonders of the autocratic world. (Hat tip to SWJ)

This is an artist’s rendering of the Khan Shatyry Entertainment Center in Astana (Kazakhstan):

And this is Waterfront City in Dubai (United Arab Emirates):

Their not-so-subtle point: unfreedom equals vanity projects.

I wonder what they think of the new Royal Ontario Museum in Canada:

Those crazy Canadian despots.

2 Responses

  1. All it really means is that Autocratic Architecture really improved.. They came a long way since the “wonders” built in Kinshasa or Pyong-Yang.

  2. Oh Canadians…

    Is UAE really that bad? I always got the impression they were very western culturally.

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