Why the world should be worried about the rise of strongman politics

[Matilda]

From Australia's "The Conversation", an online site put together by academics.

"Back in 2016, The Financial Times’ Gideon Rachman advanced the view in a commentary for The Economist that the “strongman” style of leadership was gravitating from east to west, and growing stronger. “Across the world – from Russia to China and from India to Egypt – macho leadership is back in fashion,” Rachman wrote.

"In light of subsequent developments around the world, he understated the “macho” phenomenon, driven by rising populism and growing mistrust of democratic systems.

"That commentary was published before Donald Trump prevailed in the US presidential election and turned upside-down assumptions about how an American president might behave.

"Whether we like it or not, the most powerful country in the world – until now, an exemplar of Western liberal democracies and global stabiliser in times of stress - is ruled by an autocrat who pays little attention to democratic norms."


https://theconversation.com/why-the-world-should-be-worried-about-the-rise-of-strongman-politics-100165

[ariadne0614]

1. The rise of both strongman rule and overt misogyny are connected.

IMHO, we are experiencing a severe backlash against the growing participation of women in the decision-making process provided by democratic societies. No democracy, no pesky, non-compliant women. Easy-peasy.

[Lucky Luciano]

2. Yup. Probably the only exception would be Myanmar and their strong-woman dictatorship. nt

[olegramps]

3. The horse that they ride in on is demagoguery.

The most important factor is the loss of manufacturing jobs. The demagogues latch on to this issue blaming immigration and outsourcing as the cause and make ridiculous promises to restore an age gone past. The fact is that 85% of the loss jobs is associated with manufacturing is attributable to automation. Unfortunately, demagogues like Trump can make totally impossible promises to people who can be easily mislead to believe that the Industrial era with its labor intensive jobs can be recreated. Not only is this a ridiculous, but the age of automation is undergoing a even more substantial change with the advent of artificial intelligence. It will be an age of thinking machines that can create machines, diagnose and treat, write novels, and do things beyond our present imagination. Too bad that I won't be around to see what is going to happen, but it is assured to stagger the imagination and create more upheaval then even the Industrial Age.

[appalachiablue]

4. Growing all over the world. Related, "Trump's History w/ Authoritarians, Strongmen"

https://thinkprogress.org/trump-credulous-with-dictators-35a3f9f7d337/