Donald Trump, Jair Bolsonaro, Rodrigo Duterte, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Narendra Modi, Viktor Orban — it still seems a bit startling to add the name of Boris Johnson, to that roll-call of “strongman” leaders from the US, Brazil, the Philippines, Turkey, India and Hungary. After all, the British prime minister has built his political career by marketing himself as a “good chap”, affable, well-read, a liberal at heart. What has he got in common with thugs like Mr Duterte or Mr Erdogan?
Quite a lot, as it happens. In recent years, strongman politics has flourished all over the world. It is no longer confined to authoritarian states such as China and Russia. As Mr Trump, Mr Orban and Mr Bolsonaro have all demonstrated, even democracies can elect leaders who revel in a cult of personality and delight in their willingness to trample over political and legal norms.
The strongman playbook is now well-established. Its key features include a willingness to bend or break the law; to fire public servants if they fail to demonstrate loyalty; and to delight supporters with “politically incorrect” comments on race and sex. The strongmen justify their contempt for liberal niceties by claiming that they represent the people against a corrupt and out-of-touch political class.