2022 was not a great year for the world’s so-called “strong men”. The defeat of Bolsonaro in Brazil, the political isolation of Donald Trump, the military miscalculations of Putin and the disastrous COVID policies of Xi Jinping has weakened the hold these men had over their parties and institutions. On this episode of the Munk Dialogues, we’re joined by chief foreign affairs columnist for the Financial Times, Gideon Rachman, whose latest book, The Age of the Strong Man, was named one of the top books of 2022 by The Economist and Foreign Affairs Magazine. He argues that while the trend towards autocracy has slowed, and the people living in autocratic regimes like Iran and China have shown a desire for freedom, the spread of communications technology is making overthrowing dictators much more difficult.

 

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Senior Producer: Ricki Gurwitz