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The Age of the Strongman
- How the Cult of the Leader Threatens Democracy Around the World
- Narrated by: Gideon Rachman, John Hopkins
- Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Politics & Social Sciences, Politics & Government
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Summary
Brought to you by Penguin.
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?
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. 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.
What listeners say about The Age of the Strongman
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Amazon Customer
- 14-06-22
Trying to dictate a narrative
I’m not a fan of Trump or Boris or any of the leaders mentioned in this book but it goes too far and at any point where it’s speaking about a leader doing something wrong it just compares it back to Trump
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- Parissa
- 18-05-22
Essential reading for everybody
This book is an absolute must for anyone who would like to understand contemporary politics. It is a very easy listen, succinctly written and beautifully read.
If everyone could recognise the patterns of the « strong man rule », hopefully less people would vote for autocratic rulers or fall for their campaigns of disinformation.
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- Ms Reader
- 17-05-22
Highly recommend
Really well written and interesting. Far better than his others books in my opinion. Genuinely enjoyable read.