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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
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The Age of the Strongman
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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
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- Joseph
- 10-07-22
Fascinating, well written book
Paints in scary detail the scale of control and iron-fisted style leadership that “ strong men” are taking around the world. Gives a fascinating narrative to the similarities between each instance of this phenomenon and is so well written that I finished it very quickly and looked forward to reading it.
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- gudrid
- 28-07-22
Vital reading for our times
A useful summary and explanation for what is going wrong in so many countries at the moment.
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- Chitundu Phiri
- 31-05-23
Unexpected!
The book highlights what many have long suspected: democracy in advanced ecomonies is dying. Usually, stories about strongmen and dictators are written about Africa and other less developed regions. However, this book points directly at the developed world and exposes the deteriorating state of democracy in that world. It also exposes how fragile the concept of democracy is. Many strongmen use the very attributes of democracy that are supposed to support the idea to circumvent it.
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- Nicklas Sørensen
- 30-12-22
Will written and current
This is one of the most incisive and deep expositions yet of the machinations and thinking behind truly troubling political developments of our time. Well worth the time.
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- Andy
- 01-06-23
Informative
A well written and informative perspective on the strongman era. Only one criticism is the author views Brexit as a right-wing result, but ignores the reality of the EU (“democratic left”) ignoring the UK’s pleas for concessions, thus leading to the referendum. Brexit happened because Brussels were too firm, not because the UK ans Boris Johnson have parallels with 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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- David Halgoa
- 05-11-22
insightful
those who live in the shadow of contemporary leaders and persived democratic ideology, would find this book an opportunity to question their belief. For anyone else, this makes for an eye opener.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- C
- 15-12-23
Well thought-through and reasoned analysis
Fascinating setting-out of the strong-man model. Detailed discussion of each model and then v good strategic viewpoint of the political trend as a phase in global development. Apart from the hugely depressing chapter on the UK that was almost unbearable to listen to, it was a v enlightening book. Narrator slightly annoying, at times sounding like the smooth voice-over on Masterchef. Better when the author was speaking for parts of it.
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- Amazon Customer
- 02-02-24
Excellent overview and analysis
Amazingly written complimented by a great narrator that manages to convey the right amount of gravitas and malice of the characters. Have listened to other 'Strong Man' books but this is in a league of its own.
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- Graham Haynes
- 13-07-22
Who needs a strong man leader anyway?
A fascinating appraisal of the situation the world finds itself in. The author gives strong underpinning to cyclical theories ofgeo politics and history. The craving for 'strong leaders' hasn't been sated and the author suggests that the real hope for liberal democracy is the demise of the charismatic leader resulting in a chaotic political vacuum which liberal democratic ideas might be able to fill.
The narrations are excellent.
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