The Age of The Strongman: How the Cult of the Leader Threatens Democracy around the World
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- Create Date：2022-05-26 06:51:45
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Gideon Rachman
- ISBN：1847926428
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Summary
'Timely， laser-sharp and unsettling。。。 A must read' - Peter Frankopan， author of The Silk Roads
We are in a new era。
Authoritarian leaders have become a central feature of global politics。 Since 2000， self-styled strongmen have risen to power in capitals as diverse as Moscow， Beijing， Delhi， Brasilia， Budapest， Ankara， Riyadh and Washington。
These leaders are nationalists and social conservatives， with little tolerance for minorities， dissent or the interests of foreigners。 At home， they claim to stand up for ordinary people against globalist elites; abroad， they posture as the embodiments of their nations。 And everywhere they go， they encourage a cult of personality。 These leaders are not just operating in authoritarian political systems but have begun to emerge in the heartlands of liberal democracy。
While the EU referendum and election of Donald Trump in 2016 mark a watershed， the new era started at the beginning of the millennium， when Vladimir Putin took power in Russia。 How and why did this new style of strongman leadership arrive？ How likely is it to lead to war or economic collapse？ And what forces are in place not only to keep these strongmen in check but to reverse the trend？
From Trump， Putin and Bolsonaro to Erdogan， Xi and Modi， The Age of the Strongman provides the first truly global treatment of the new nationalism and offers a bold new paradigm for understanding our world
We are in a new era。
Authoritarian leaders have become a central feature of global politics。 Since 2000， self-styled strongmen have risen to power in capitals as diverse as Moscow， Beijing， Delhi， Brasilia， Budapest， Ankara， Riyadh and Washington。
These leaders are nationalists and social conservatives， with little tolerance for minorities， dissent or the interests of foreigners。 At home， they claim to stand up for ordinary people against globalist elites; abroad， they posture as the embodiments of their nations。 And everywhere they go， they encourage a cult of personality。 These leaders are not just operating in authoritarian political systems but have begun to emerge in the heartlands of liberal democracy。
While the EU referendum and election of Donald Trump in 2016 mark a watershed， the new era started at the beginning of the millennium， when Vladimir Putin took power in Russia。 How and why did this new style of strongman leadership arrive？ How likely is it to lead to war or economic collapse？ And what forces are in place not only to keep these strongmen in check but to reverse the trend？
From Trump， Putin and Bolsonaro to Erdogan， Xi and Modi， The Age of the Strongman provides the first truly global treatment of the new nationalism and offers a bold new paradigm for understanding our world
Reviews
Saleem
，
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this brilliant and profoundly alarming book。 Strongman leaders， Rachman suggests， tend to be pretty useless at leading。 Rachman offers a “sharp analysis” of the strategies authoritarians have used to hold onto power – typically a combination of media manipulation， rigged elections， and populist rhetoric that positions them on the side of “ordinary people” against sinister global elites。 Highly recommended！
Ron
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Helpful as a primer but just doesn't really scratch the itch。 Helpful as a primer but just doesn't really scratch the itch。 。。。more
Duncan Smith
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Felt like an extended Special Report from The Economist。 You may appreciate the chapters about leaders who you’re particularly interested in or who you don’t know about， but as other reviewer‘s have noted， this book can feel repetitive if you already have a baseline knowledge of the subject。
Shubhanshu Shrivastava
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I'll just say this。 Gideon Rachman might be off his rocker。 In the book he talks like one of those typical woke liberals whom noone really likes。The book is more like him venting his frustration because things are not going the way he likes。 Chapters keep sounding like his mockery of the mandates given by the people， especially in democracies of the world。 Take India for example， about which he does not understand anything about。 He wants to fit India in his typical western template which is rat I'll just say this。 Gideon Rachman might be off his rocker。 In the book he talks like one of those typical woke liberals whom noone really likes。The book is more like him venting his frustration because things are not going the way he likes。 Chapters keep sounding like his mockery of the mandates given by the people， especially in democracies of the world。 Take India for example， about which he does not understand anything about。 He wants to fit India in his typical western template which is rather ridiculous being the world's largest democracy and all that。Well I'd say - deal with it！ 。。。more
Stephen King
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This is excellent - a comparative study of contemporary ‘strongmen’ （and they are all male） from Xi Jinping， to Putin， Erdogan and Duterte as well as lessor know threats such as Orban in Hungary and Bolsonaro。 The analysis is very strong and the prescience （particularly about Putin’s threat to Ukraine） is remarkable。 This is essential reading for anyone wanting to understand the conditions and patterns which give rise to the Strongman and the likely cyclical nature of this phenomenon。
Enda Hackett
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A great insight and overview of the evolving world of modern politics。
Reed Hasson
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Nothing special about this book。 Just reads like a rote history。 Doesn’t go into depth at all and just repeats a lot of the facts and claims
Robert
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A democratic recession is deepening， and will likely turn into a depression。Common characteristics of a strongman。1。 Creation of a personality cult （Putin riding bare-chested on a horse or Johnson being messy and mimicking Churchill。）2。 Contempt for the rule of law （often employ family members/friends）3。 Claim to represent the real people against the elites。4。 Adopt policies/beliefs driven by fear and nationalism。5。 Populists who offer “simplism” solutions。6。 Periods of no education （President A democratic recession is deepening， and will likely turn into a depression。Common characteristics of a strongman。1。 Creation of a personality cult （Putin riding bare-chested on a horse or Johnson being messy and mimicking Churchill。）2。 Contempt for the rule of law （often employ family members/friends）3。 Claim to represent the real people against the elites。4。 Adopt policies/beliefs driven by fear and nationalism。5。 Populists who offer “simplism” solutions。6。 Periods of no education （President Xi missing 10 years while in hiding）。7。 Personal adulthood volatility of their own making （Johnson and Trump’s many marriages or Modi not marrying and being celibate）。8。 Idolise and mimic historical figures （Johnson writing in his Churchill biography “Churchill threw his shirt on a horse calls Anti-Nazi – and it paid off” and deciding to support Brexit） or Trump’s obsession with low tax Regan and lawless Nixon。9。 Fear of losing power in the knowledge that if they resign they may either be imprisoned by their successor， or plunge their country into crisis with civil war。 There is however hope。 For strongman politics to continue – it must be successful or face being overthrown or outvoted。 Looking at Mexican and Brazilian politics （which tends to mimic American politics） both countries are poorer for electing their strongman leaders， and will hopefully be outvoted or overthrown。 France， looking at the mess of Brexit Britain and Russian， decided not to choose Le-Pen。 。。。more
John
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Rachman's study of modern autocrats and despots is a must-read。 It is timely and relevant in the wake of the Ukraine invasion。 As a seasoned foreign policy hand with several decades of experience writing about modern "strongmen"， Rachman provides the background and context for our current predicament。 If democracy is truly in a "recession"， as claimed by scholar Larry Diamond， this book focuses on the leaders who have driven that process。I confess a Rachman bias。 He is a very talented writer and Rachman's study of modern autocrats and despots is a must-read。 It is timely and relevant in the wake of the Ukraine invasion。 As a seasoned foreign policy hand with several decades of experience writing about modern "strongmen"， Rachman provides the background and context for our current predicament。 If democracy is truly in a "recession"， as claimed by scholar Larry Diamond， this book focuses on the leaders who have driven that process。I confess a Rachman bias。 He is a very talented writer and interviewer。 His weekly podcast "Rachman Review" is sharp， concise and focused with very knowledgeable guests。 His writing chops are solid， but then I note he apprenticed at The Economist。 。。。more
Roland Glotzer
，
It was an easy and interesting read to better understand the men who are behind the geopolitical tensions of our days。 The book shows their life and the evolution of their political trajectory e。g for some like Erdogan moving to an increasing level of autarky。
Konstantin
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Released just a couple of days after Spin Dictators: The Changing Face of Tyranny in the 21st Century， Rachman's book gives a much better and more objective overview of a phenomenon of an autocrat rise in the early 21st century。 Although I'm not totally agree on including some personalities to this book's list of the strongman， I really like the solid analysis on the ideological bases behind each character and also some personal experience。 Released just a couple of days after Spin Dictators: The Changing Face of Tyranny in the 21st Century， Rachman's book gives a much better and more objective overview of a phenomenon of an autocrat rise in the early 21st century。 Although I'm not totally agree on including some personalities to this book's list of the strongman， I really like the solid analysis on the ideological bases behind each character and also some personal experience。 。。。more
Adrian
，
A solid analysis of how the strongman style of leadership is prevalent in the emerging world order。 Award-winning journalist Gideon Rochman traces the roots of this phenomenon all the way to the dawn of the 21st century when Russian President Vladimir Putin rose to power and became the harbinger of a global trend。 Ever since， strongmen leaders have popped up all over the world， from Asia to Latin America to Africa to Europe to even the United States。 Riding on a wave of resurgent nationalism， po A solid analysis of how the strongman style of leadership is prevalent in the emerging world order。 Award-winning journalist Gideon Rochman traces the roots of this phenomenon all the way to the dawn of the 21st century when Russian President Vladimir Putin rose to power and became the harbinger of a global trend。 Ever since， strongmen leaders have popped up all over the world， from Asia to Latin America to Africa to Europe to even the United States。 Riding on a wave of resurgent nationalism， populist and authoritarian leaders have established a cult of personality and surrounded themselves with acolytes while consolidating power by exploiting public resentment and overriding democratic institutions。 They are “in revolt with the liberal consensus that reigns supreme since 1989” and have cultivated a personalized style of leadership bolstered by a cult of personality， macho posturing and rhetoric， hostility to liberalism， contempt for the media and political correctness， traditionalist views， xenophobia， intimidation of opponents， conspiracy theories， and nostalgia of a ‘glorious’ past。The author highlights how Trump’s success in the 2016 US Presidential Elections legitimized the strongman style。 Chinese President Xi Jinping is yet another leader who has solidified strongman rule。 Regarded as China's most powerful since Mao Zedong， Xi’s cult of personality is so massive that he has propagated his own political ideology across the emerging superpower。 Other strongman leaders discussed in the book include Orban， Kaczyński， Modi， Netanyahu， MbS， Bolsonaro， Duterte， AMLO， Abiy Ahmed， Erdogan， among others — the surprising addition to the list being British PM Boris Johnson。 The popularity of such leaders in politics has signaled a political shift away from liberal internationalism and towards strongman populism。 Though Western nationalism is driven by rising expectations and its Asian counterpart is driven by disappointed hopes， “the political outcome is surprisingly similar — a call to make the country great again。”What’s interesting is that strongman leadership is not confined to autocratic states like China and Saudi Arabia alone。 It’s also prevalent across semi-democratic and democratic states。 Most importantly， this phenomenon has resonated with both the left and the right。 In the words of the author， “The similarity between left and right populists is that they all claim to be representing the people against the globalist elite and they all promise simple solutions to complex problems。”As the author astutely notes， the pattern behind the emergence of strongmen is overwhelmingly the same:• A charismatic leader rises through the ranks with a radical vision。• The leader is initially hailed by the West as a liberal reformer。• He becomes increasingly authoritarian and falls from grace。• Those who once embraced him denounce him as an autocrat。Liberal internationalist leaders are projected as the antithesis to the ‘tough guy’ image of strongmen — like Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron， the latter who has now slightly moved rightward。 The strongman factor has shaped the global political climate， causing democratic recession。 The author observes that the battle between China and the US， between autocracy and democracy， will define the 21st century。Furthermore， the book sheds light on billionaire philanthropist George Soros， who has become the ubiquitous scapegoat of strongman leaders across the world for everything that goes wrong， and his philosophy of an open society。 In stark contrast， political theorist and Nazi sympathizer Carl Schmitt’s concept of an absolute enemy is also discussed。tGideon Rachman warns against dictator rule since it’s “an inherently flawed and unstable form of government。” He rightfully concludes by suggesting that “durable political systems ultimately rely on institutions， not individuals。 And successful societies are built on rules rather than charismatic leadership。” According to his prediction， strongman governments will “ultimately collapse in China and other places。”Only time will tell whether the age of the strongman will continue gaining prominence， or whether it will be consigned to the ash heap of history。 。。。more
Nancy
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