This book consists of over 11 biographies of more or less dictatorial leaders, including Putin, Xi, Bolsonaro, Erdogan, Orbán as well as analyses of former strongmen such as Boris Johnson, Donald Trump and Netanyahu, all ably done. There are also chapters on how more democratic leaders such as Biden, Merkel and Macron are/have been attempting to counteract the actions of these strongmen. Finally, the author offers his own insights regarding why this age of the strongman seems to be stronger than ever, since what may be seen as its inception in the early part of this century, and with the fraction of democratically run countries falling steadily over the last 15 years. The author also makes use of the counterpointing doctrines of Soros (liberalism, globalism, open society) versus Bannon (nationalism) to highlight this battle between autocracies and democracies.
The author, Gideon Rachman, chief foreign affairs columnist for The Financial Times since 2006, previously with The Economist, and educated at Cambridge, is uniquely qualified to write a book with this focus, and what he has done is brilliant, succinct and original. Hats off to the author!
So, what seems to characterize such strongmen? Typically, they are nationalists, cultural conservatives, with strong stances against immigration, tending to stand up against the (liberal) elites of capitals (major cities), rather than building on support from their nations’ countryside. And they tend to have strong personality traits. Also, they are prone to committing to restore their countries to past glory. Law and institutions seem to be less respected than in typical democracies, to the point that acknowledgements of election losses might be disputed, even rejected.
The author tries to address the following five questions through his biographical analysis: First, why did this strongman tendency take hold? Answer: Putin took office at the beginning of this century, and the bulk of his thought disciplines cover the ensuing 10 – 15 years. Second, what are its main characteristics? Answer: we have already attended to this, but it might perhaps be added that many of these strongmen typically play up their own importance. As Trump said: “Only I can save the US”. And third, why did it happen? Clearly this had a lot to do with what many saw as the “downfall” of the formerly predominant system, as it was manifested by the financial crisis of 2008 (there was no such crisis in China!), and perhaps too much perceived arrogance, even elitism, now and then found within the then ruling circles. The relatively ineffective handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in several western countries may also have contributed, but later on (800,000 deaths in the US versus the officially reported 5000 deaths in China; many deaths in several European countries too, as well as in countries such as Brazil, Mexico, and so on).
Fourth, what is strongmen policy? Answer: I have already highlighted many of the key aspects of this but shall add: the importance of the singling out of a specific (group of) enemy(ies), and not to hesitate in “smearing” such an enemy, often with excessive, even totally incorrect arguments. Manipulation of facts, denial of truths, seem to be common additional ways of operation for the strongman.
This brings us to the fifth and final main question that the book raises. Why is the strongman phenomenon on the rise? We have partly already touched upon this also. However, it should be added that since many strongmen seem to be hanging onto their positions for long periods of time (longer than their opponents who are democratically elected officials), often first perceived as relatively liberal reform-orientated leaders, but typically becoming more and more authoritarian as time goes on, there is a “cumulative” phenomenon at work. The number of strongmen tends to rise, and their abusive profiles frequently become more dominant over time.
It should be pointed out that while some strongmen are, in effect, installed without credible election processes (Xi, Putin, …) others might initially have come to power through relatively democratic elections (Orbán, Modi, Bolsonaro, …). Still others may indeed have been voted out of office (Trump, Johnson, …). Some readers may argue that it may perhaps be a little bit too farfetched to classify relatively democratic leaders such as Trump or Johnson in the same category as Putin or Xi. The author convincingly argues, however, that all of the so-called strongmen leaders seem to be characterized by a number of common nationalistic inspired factors.
Rather than reviewing in detail each of the chapters on the strongman leaders, since this would simply make this book review too long, let me now merely provide one particularly characteristic factor for each. My readers shall, of course, realize that many of those factors actually also apply to the other strongmen leaders. There is a crisis in liberalism, and it is clear— economic, social technological and geographical:
· Putin: Speed of consolidating his power.
· Erdogan: Imprisonment of “dangerous” opponents.
· Xi: Personality cult.
· Modi: Make Hindus great again.
· Orbán: Zero tolerance against immigrants.
· Johnson: Take back control (Brexit).
· Trump: Endorse big lies!
· Mohamed bin Salman (MBS): Growing intolerance for opposition and dissent.
· Bolsonaro: Shocking rhetoric, to make himself stand out.
· Ahmed: From liberal hero to despotic strongman.
As pointed out initially, there was of course a struggle against the strongman, between nationalism and globalism, exemplified perhaps by leaders such as Merkel, Macron, and Trudeau. They, and others, saw globalism as an opportunity, in contrast to the nationalistic traits of the strongmen. This might perhaps also be seen as a battle of ideas. The author contrasts the successful investor, George Soros (with his concept of open society) with Steve Bannon (extreme nationalism, more than implied criticism of globalism).
In the book’s final chapter, Rachman sets the clock on today’s events, focusing on how Biden seems to be handling the increasingly long list of strongmen. His position with Putin and Xi looks to be non-compromising. However, with other strongmen such as Erdogan or MBS he appears to have been more willing to accept certain compromises. The prospect of Biden’s term being only relatively short, four years, seems to be real, with the emergence of someone with strongman leaning after the next presidential election (Trump or another).
In summary, after studying this book, this reviewer is left with a strong sense of appreciation to the author for having put together this well-documented, thoroughly researched, well-written publication. Clearly, we are in a democratic recession, and the strongman epoch is likely to continue for quite some time. It is therefore paramount that we should know more about these strongmen, who definitely will be playing central roles in shaping this world’s political picture. This book is highly recommended for many of us. A must read!