The Age of The Strongman

How the Cult of the Leader Threatens Democracy around the World

The Age of The Strongman
Gideon Rachman
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NZ$ 40.00
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NZ$ 32.00
Paperback
h234 x 153mm - 288pg
7 Apr 2022 UK
International import eta 7-19 days
9781847926425
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In The Age of the Strongman, Gideon Rachman finds global coherence in the chaos of the new nationalism, leadership cults and hostility to liberal democracy. 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 be standing 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. What' s more, these leaders are not just operating in authoritarian political systems but have begun to emerge in the heartlands of liberal democracy. While in the West the EU referendum and the election of Donald Trump in 2016 mark a watershed, the new era started at the beginning of the new 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 the world into war or economic collapse? And what liberal forces are in place not only to keep these strongmen in check but to reverse the trend? With the world in the grip of a global pandemic and on the verge of environmental catastrophe, their actions have consequences not just for their nations but for the whole planet. From Trump, Putin and Bolsonaro to Erdogan, Xi and Modi, Gideon Rachman pays full attention to the strongman phenomenon around the world and uncovers the complex and often surprising interaction between these leaders. In the process, he finds the common themes in our local nightmares and offers a bold new paradigm for understanding our world. Whilst others have tried to understand the emergence of these new leaders individually, The Age of the Strongman provides the first truly global treatment of the new nationalism, underpinned by an exceptional level of access to key actors in this drama- Gideon Rachman has been in the same room with most of these strongmen and reported from their countries over a long journalistic career.
Timely, laser-sharp and unsettling. In telling us about strongmen who dominate politics around the world, Gideon Rachman paints a picture that is at turns illuminating and terrifying. A must read -- Peter Frankopan, author of The New Silk Roads A carefully written analysis of strongman leaders all over the world and the threat they pose to liberal democracy. Drawing on a wide range of sources, and providing a truly global perspective, Rachman illuminates the common instincts, tactics and behaviour that link leaders as diverse as Trump, Putin, Xi and Modi -- Anne Applebaum Essential and definitive. Rachman' s gripping survey of the rise of strongmen leaders across the globe is the story of the dashed hopes of liberalism since the end of the Cold War. To understand the chilling stakes of the global Great Game defining this century - the battle between autocracies and democracies - you need only turn to Rachman' s magisterial and deftly written book -- Catherine Belton, author of Putin' s People A searing analysis. Liberal democracies across the world, as Rachman compellingly and brilliantly shows, are being challenged, remade and even undone by strongmen across the globe. A superb and scintillating portrait, indispensable for understanding our crisis-riven age -- Shruti Kapila, author of Violent Fraternity: Indian Political Thought in the Global Age The rise of populist politicians in democracies and autocracies is one of the most disturbing features of the post-2008 crash world. Gideon Rachman brings his deep knowledge, global perspective and astute judgements to this phenomenon, giving us compelling pen-portraits of the strongmen leaders of today, while showing the deeper forces that have led us to the current economic and social turmoil. This is a brilliant, unsettling portrait of our era -- Rana Mitter, author of China' s Good War ' In a chaotic world where old definitions of left and right no longer hold, Rachman expertly and artfully surfaces the underlying political, economic and cultural patterns behind the new authoritarianism across the world' -- Peter Pomserantsev, author of This Is Not Propaganda When it comes to making sense of today' s world, Gideon Rachman is in a league of his own. He is sharp, original and unsentimental. Where others see a new clash between democracy and authoritarianism, he describes the rise of strongman politics as a defining feature of both authoritarian regimes and many of the world' s largest democracies. And the bad news is that the global revolt against the separation of powers and liberal constitutionalism has good chances of succeeding -- Ivan Krastev, co-author of The Light that Failed
Gideon Rachman is the chief foreign affairs columnist for the Financial Times. In 2016 he won the Orwell Prize for Journalism and was named Commentator of the Year at the European Press Prize awards. Previously he worked for The Economist for fifteen years, serving as a foreign correspondent in Washington, Bangkok and Brussels.
Status: Active
ISBN-13: 9781847926425
Published: 7 Apr 2022
Published In: United Kingdom
Imprint: The Bodley Head
Publisher: Vintage Publishing
Format: Paperback
Height: 234mm
Width: 153mm
Spine: 30mm
Weight: 350g
Pages: 288

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