IN the May 14, 2018, issue of TIME magazine appeared an article titled “The ‘Strongmen Era’ Is Here. Here’s What It Means for You” by journalist and author Ian Bremmer.
Bremmer has a well-deserved reputation as a credible and objective journalist. It is unfortunate but typical that many of the negative comments about what he wrote were probably from people who did not bother to read the article.
Those who support President Duterte were quick to slam the piece as a “hit job.” Those against the current administration cited the article as “proof” that their worst fears have been vindicated. Both of these views are wrong. Bremmer highlights the leadership of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Philippines’s President Rodrigo Duterte, President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Bremmer writes: “In every region of the world, changing times have boosted public demand for more muscular, assertive leadership. These tough-talking populists promise to protect ‘us’ from ‘them.’ Depending on who’s talking, ‘them’ can mean the corrupt elite. Or disloyal politicians, bureaucrats, bankers or judges. Or lying reporters. Out of this divide, a new archetype of leader has emerged. We’re now in the strongman era.”
Further, “Perhaps the most worrying element of the strongman’s rise is the message it sends. The systems that powered the Cold War’s winners now look much less appealing than they did a generation ago.”
What Bremmer lays down is the reality that the people have become disillusioned with the results of what they were told was the dawning of a new and glorious age. But that dawning brought with it both the Asian and the global financial crises. While global poverty is down and the overall standard of living is up, far too many people justifiably believe that the future they see for their children is not as bright as they once hoped it would be.
Therefore they have turned to “The Strongmen” for leadership. Bremmer’s fear—also justified—is that this path could lead from the “Strongmen” to the “Authoritarians.”
The election this past week in Malaysia returning Mahathir Mohamad to power puts another “Strongman” in place. For 22 years—like his contemporary Lee Kuan Yew in Singapore—he ruled the country with an iron fist, arresting political enemies, stifling free press and undermining the judiciary. Mahathir once said, “We detain people as they are still thinking of committing a crime and even before they commit a crime.”
As to his views on foreign criticism, “Why is the West angry that we cut down our trees? They have already cut down all their trees and they have no forest left. So they want us to preserve our forest for their sake.”
If there was a subtitle to Bremmer’s article it might be “Your decades of policies failed the people and now here is the result.”
During the past five years, the people have clearly voiced their strongly held opinions by electing these men, among others, like
Donald J. Trump, and accepting no-term limits for China’s Xi Jinping. The traditional political parties are being marginalized as in France. Germany’s Prime Minister Angela Merkel’s approval is at the lowest in her 12 years of office.
Certainly, there is a warranted fear of too much power being given to and taken by The Strongmen. However, the people are willing to take that chance. Otherwise, none of these men would have been elected to office.