The Age of the Strongman: How the Cult of the Leader Threatens Democracy Around the World

Journalist Rachman (Easternization) analyzes in this wide-ranging account the “similar playbook[s]” used by China’s Xi Jinping, Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro, and other authoritarian world leaders. The shared tactics he identifies include appealing to populist nationalism (e.g., Viktor Orbán’s declaration of “Hungary for Hungarians”), openly challenging the West (e.g., China’s funding of infrastructure projects in developing countries and Bolsonaro’s aggressively antienvironmental policies), and jailing opposition leaders (e.g., Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s 2016 arrest of Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtas on terrorism-related charges). Contending that the world is enduring “the most sustained global assault on liberal democratic values since the 1930s,” Rachman notes that even Western politicians including Boris Johnson and Donald Trump have used “bitter social divisions” as a means of rallying support. In contrast, he credits Germany’s Angela Merkel and France’s Emmanuel Macron with defying “the strongman model.” Though Rachman de-emphasizes the differences between authoritarian leaders and doesn’t fully reckon with why their criticisms of Western liberalism and globalism have struck a chord, the scope of his reporting impresses. This astute survey offers valuable perspective on a worrisome global trend. (Apr.)