Intelligence Squared

Putin and The Age of The Strongman, with Gideon Rachman

Apr 18, 2022

Gideon Rachman, Chief Foreign Affairs Columnist for the Financial Times, explores the troubling rise of strongman leaders like Putin and Xi Jinping. He discusses how they wield nationalism and enemy narratives to gain power, often manipulating truth through social media. Rachman highlights the simplistic allure of authoritarian rhetoric and examines the dangerous alliance between China and Russia. The conversation delves into historical roots and the need for vigilance against these figures that threaten democracy in today's geopolitical landscape.

01:00:46

Episode guests

Gideon Rachman

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Intro

5min

The Rise of Strongman Politics

23min

The Cynical Dance of Leadership in Modern Autocracies

3min

Manipulation of Truth in the Age of Strongman Leaders

4min

The Simplistic Allure of Authoritarian Rhetoric

2min

China-Russia Alliance: Politics and Paranoia

6min

Navigating Strongman Politics

15min

By launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Vladimir Putin has started the first war in Europe for a generation, defying the post-Cold War international rules-based order and inflicting great suffering on millions of civilians in the process. Gideon Rachman is chief foreign affairs columnist for the Financial Times and his latest book is The Age of the Strongman: How the Cult of the Leader Threatens Democracy Around the World. The book focuses on how we have arrived in an era in which figures such as Xi Jinping, Jair Bolsonaro, and, of course, Vladimir Putin, have managed to ascend to power and stay there. Hosting this discussion is Carl Miller, Research Director at the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media at the think tank, Demos.

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