Political strongman
In
Functions
A strongman can be either a civilian or a military leader and can exist in both democracies and autocracies.[2] Military dictatorships ruled by military strongmen differ from military juntas as the strongman rules alone and does not have to negotiate with other military officers to rule.[3]
Political scientists Brian Lai and Dan Slater identified strongmen as ruling in an autocratic way which exercises power through the military; typically, strongmen do not share power collectively and do not rely on a
Regimes led by strongmen are less likely to transition to democracy than military juntas as the strongman is more likely to fear imprisonment or death as a consequence for their actions once out of office more than a collective of military officers likely would.[8][9] Some scholars described the "strongman's dilemma" as the process of establishing a successor once out of office without creating a political rival.[8] Strongmen typically appoint family members to important government positions,[2] but appointing family members as a successor is also a way to ensure themselves that they would not be imprisoned upon leaving office. Meanwhile, some strongmen attempt to remain in power indefinitely but face the risk of being removed once their health diminishes and rivals seek an opportunity to seize power.[8] Even when overthrown, regimes previously led by strongmen are likely to be continued by another strongman.[9]
Strongmen can assume political office either via democratic institutions or through a forceful seizure of power, such as a coup d'état or a revolution.[10][11] In situations where a new government is formed democratically, strongmen typically erode a country's democratic institutions to consolidate power through democratic backsliding.[8] In situations where a new government is formed by force, strongmen typically manifest gradually rather than immediately upon assuming power, especially following military coups.[10]
Politics
Strongmen are typically
Strongmen generally express contempt for the rule of law,[12] however, they also utilize the law as a weapon against their political opponents, such as launching investigations into alleged crimes or outright imprisoning their opponents. To exert this authority, strongmen appoint loyalists to the country's judiciary and purge those who the strongman sees as disloyal or as a threat.[17] Strongmen frequently criticize journalists and the press; they dismiss negative press and information contrary to their rule as "fake news" and label those who report said information as the "enemy of the people"[18] and even counter such information through manipulation or with their own reporting.[16] Strongmen utilize social media to reach out to their supporters.[19]
History
Historically, authoritarian leaders, commonly referred to as
Vladimir Putin is commonly cited as one of the first cases of a modern political strongman,[16] with British journalist Gideon Rachman describing Putin as "the archetype and the model for the current generation of strongman leaders" in his 2022 book The Age of the Strongman.[1] Rachman outlined that Putin began his presidency by portraying himself as respective of Russia's democratic institutions but slowly consolidated his power over the course of the 2000s and 2010s.[20] Other post-Soviet leaders have also been described as strongmen, such as Ilham Aliyev,[21] Alexander Lukashenko,[22] and Nursultan Nazarbayev.[8]
Similar to Putin, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan began his rule of Turkey as a liberal reformer, but gradually consolidated his power throughout his premiership and later his presidency.[23] In Latin America, state leaders such as Nayib Bukele,[24] Hugo Chávez,[8] Andrés Manuel López Obrador,[25] and Manuel Noriega have been described as strongmen.[4]
See also
References
Citations
- ^ a b Rachman 2022a, p. 25.
- ^ a b Rachman 2022a, p. 11.
- ^ Geddes, Frantz & Wright 2014, p. 160.
- ^ a b Lai & Slater 2006, p. 116.
- ^ Geddes, Frantz & Wright 2014, pp. 157–158.
- ^ Lai & Slater 2006, p. 118.
- ^ Geddes, Frantz & Wright 2014, pp. 158–159.
- ^ a b c d e f Fisher 2022.
- ^ a b Geddes, Frantz & Wright 2014, p. 149.
- ^ a b Geddes, Frantz & Wright 2014, p. 153.
- ^ Rachman 2022a, p. 9.
- ^ a b Rachman 2022a, p. 8.
- ^ Rachman 2022a, pp. 10 & 13.
- ^ a b Rachman 2022a, p. 10.
- ^ Rachman 2022a, pp. 8 & 13.
- ^ a b c d Triesman & Guriev 2023.
- ^ Rachman 2022a, pp. 12–13.
- ^ Walker 2018.
- ^ Rachman 2022a, pp. 21–23.
- ^ Rachman 2022a, pp. 26–28.
- ^ Foy 2017.
- ^ Hopkins 2023.
- ^ Rachman 2022a, p. 41.
- ^ Freeman 2023.
- ^ Rachman 2022b.
Bibliography
Books
- LCCN 2021052765. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
Journals
- Geddes, Barbara; Frantz, Erica; Wright, Joseph G. (2014). "Military Rule". .
- Lai, Brian; Slater, Dan (2006). "Institutions of the Offensive: Domestic Sources of Dispute Initiation in Authoritarian Regimes, 1950–1992". JSTOR 3694260.
Web sources
- Fisher, Max (7 January 2022). "Behind Kazakhstan Unrest, the "Strongman's Dilemma"". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
- Foy, Henry (21 February 2017). "Azerbaijan Strongman Ilham Aliyev Names Wife as Vice-President". Financial Times. Moscow, Russia. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
- Freeman, Will (16 February 2023). "Nayib Bukele's Growing List of Latin American Admirers". Americas Quarterly. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
- Hopkins, Valerie (25 June 2023). "One Big Winner of Kremlin-Wagner Clash? The Dictator Next Door". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
- Rachman, Gideon (19 December 2022). "The Year the Strongmen Stumbled". Financial Times. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
- Triesman, Daniel; Guriev, Sergei (27 April 2023). "On the Tactics of Modern Strongmen". Princeton University Press. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
- Walker, Tony (24 July 2018). "The Rise of Strongman Politics". La Trobe University. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
Further reading
- Bremmer, Ian (3 May 2018). "The "Strongmen Era" Is Here. Here's What It Means for You". Time. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
- Cliffe, Jeremy (10 May 2023). "As Strongman Leaders Around the World Begin to Fall, Has Authoritarianism Peaked?". New Statesman. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
- "Strong Leader & Strongman". European Center for Populism Studies. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
- Waxman, Olivia B. (10 November 2020). "Historian: Today's Authoritarian Leaders Aren't Fascists—But They Are Part of the Same Story". Time. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
- Weeks, Jessica L. (2012). "Strongmen and Straw Men: Authoritarian Regimes and the Initiation of International Conflict". S2CID 154400613.