How the Cult of the Leader Threatens Democracy around the World

The Age of The Strongman

**AN ECONOMIST AND THE TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR** 
 
'Essential and definitive' CATHERINE BELTON, author of PUTIN'S PEOPLE 
 
We are in a new era. 
 
From Trump, Putin and Bolsonaro to Erdogan, Xi and Modi, self-styled strongmen have become a central feature of global politics. At home, they claim to be standing up for ordinary people against 'globalist' elites; abroad, they posture as the embodiment of their nation. And everywhere they go, they encourage a cult of personality. 
 
How and why did this new style of authoritarian leadership arrive? How likely is it to lead the world into war and economic collapse? And what liberal forces are in place, not only to keep these strongmen in check but to reverse the trend? The Age of the Strongman explores these essential questions and offers a bold new portrait of our world. 
 
'TIMELY, LASER-SHARP... A MUST-READ' PETER FRANKOPAN 
 
'FORCEFUL... A BOOK WHOSE SIGNIFICANCE IS ENHANCED BY UNPREDICTABLE EVENTS' MISHA GLENNY 
 
'WIDE-RANGING AND ASTUTE' THE ECONOMIST

Essential reading... Recent events in eastern Europe and beyond make it all the more timely

Solidly constructed, engaging and factually sound... A penetrating distillation of the essential ingredients of the strongman

Timing is everything. Gideon Rachman has got his spot on with The Age Of The Strongman

Timely...Rachman... has a journalist's eye for the telling quote combined with a sharp analysis of the factors that enabled them to achieve power and hold on to it

This is a brilliant, unsettling portrait of our era

Rana Mitter, author of China’s Good War

When it comes to making sense of today's world, Gideon Rachman is in a league of his own. He is sharp, original and unsentimental.

Ivan Krastev, co-author of The Light that Failed

Essential and definitive... To understand the chilling stakes of the global Great Game defining this century - the battle between autocracies and democracies - you need only turn to Rachman's magisterial and deftly written book

Catherine Belton, author of Putin’s People

Timely, laser-sharp and unsettling. In telling us about strongmen who dominate politics around the world, Gideon Rachman paints a picture that is at turns illuminating and terrifying. A must read

Peter Frankopan, author of The New Silk Roads

A searing analysis... A superb and scintillating portrait, indispensable for understanding our crisis-riven age

Shruti Kapila, author of Violent Fraternity: Indian Political Thought in the Global Age

In a chaotic world where old definitions of left and right no longer hold, Rachman expertly and artfully surfaces the underlying political, economic and cultural patterns behind the new authoritarianism across the world

Peter Pomserantsev, author of This Is Not Propaganda

A carefully written analysis of strongman leaders all over the world and the threat they pose to liberal democracy... Rachman illuminates the common instincts, tactics and behaviour that link leaders as diverse as Trump, Putin, Xi and Modi

This readable book does an admirable job of providing the lay of the land and highlighting the importance of the battle of ideas for the future of our institutions and norms

Daron Acemoglu, coauthor of Why Nations Fail and The Narrow Corridor

Brilliant and profoundly alarming... a comprehensive survey, written with pace, clarity, and a superb, page-turning narrative fluency

Rachman... always prompt[s] deeper thought about how the West should be dealing with the challenge [of the strongman]... [a] lucid, well-argued book

Fascinating...Rachman uncovers a source of contemporary authoritarian thinking in many places

Wide-ranging and astute... Rachman's most powerful point concerns not the strongmen themselves, but Western politicians' and commentators' wishful thinking about them

This is a book whose significance is enhanced by unpredictable events... [A] pithy and forceful book

A series of fluent, well-informed essays about the global rise of authoritarianism

This brilliant and profoundly alarming book...offers a comprehensive survey, written with pace, clarity, and a superb, page-turning narrative fluency

[A] brilliant and profoundly alarming book... Gideon Rachman offers a comprehensive survey, written with pace, clarity, and a superb, page-turning narrative fluency

We are in a new era. 
 
From Trump, Putin and Bolsonaro to Erdogan, Xi and Modi, self-styled strongmen have become a central feature of global politics. At home, they claim to be standing up for ordinary people against 'globalist' elites; abroad, they posture as the embodiment of their nation. And everywhere they go, they encourage a cult of personality. 
 
How and why did this new style of authoritarian leadership arrive? How likely is it to lead the world into war and economic collapse? And what liberal forces are in place, not only to keep these strongmen in check but to reverse the trend? The Age of the Strongman explores these essential questions and offers a bold new portrait of our world.

War and Peace in the Asian Century

Easternisation

The West’s domination of world politics is coming to a close. The flow of wealth and power is turning from West to East and a new era of global instability has begun.

A masterly account ... the best survey of global affairs I have read for some time … Rachman’s book offers a first-rate primer to the world in which we live.

In his timely new book, Easternisation, Gideon Rachman articulates a clear and persuasive idea… [His] flair for rich anecdotes, clever writing, strong analysis and original insight are impressive… Easternisation hits its mark, with a wide range of arguments and prognostications that scholars and policymakers must contemplate as we consider the coming Asian century.

Rachman’s theme takes him on a most interesting and stimulating tour du monde. His discussion of the impact of China’s rise on south-east Asia, contrary to the great majority of accounts, is subtle and nuanced… A most informative, readable and interesting piece of work that deserves a wide readership.

A brilliant and engrossing account of the emerging power struggles of the twenty-first century. Gideon Rachman is one of the few journalists with a truly global perspective. His access to world leaders from Beijing to Washington provides a unique perspective on international politics.

A superb account… An absorbing and sobering study.

We are witness in this very decade to one of the greatest geopolitical shifts in the global power balances … This tale has many chroniclers and numerous exponents, but by far the most insightful, sensible, and compelling is EASTERNISATION. This really is one of those works where you can say you wished our political leaders would read and ponder upon its great implications.

[[Easternisation is] elegantly written and hugely informed… [A] cogent and wise book.

The West is in decline, the East is on the rise. Like too few others, Gideon Rachman grasps this fundamental and over-arching reality of our time, without which we cannot understand either the present or the future ... A highly readable and perceptive account of this irresistible truth.

Martin Jacques, author of WHEN CHINA RULES THE WORLD

What this book is really about, and is very good at describing, is the growing impact of China on its neighbours, on the world

Rachman offers a road map to the turbulent process that will define the international politics of the 21st century.

[Rachman’s] fine primer provides a first-rate road map to the new reality.

[It is] required reading for interesting times.

[Rachman] is surely accurate in his assessment that the wind is blowing in China's favour and the era of America's post-Second World War dominance is coming to an end. The soft power of popular culture and the arts, which goes hand in hand with money and military might, could, if Rachman's analysis proves correct, usher in a wholesale realignment not just of the world, but also of how we think about the world.

Rachman...has an eye for the telling statistic and for the memorable detail that makes it stick. He packs an enormous amount of information into a short book and opens windows of understanding for nonexperts

This sobering account of what may prove the most dramatic geo-political shift in history is essential reading for anyone interested in the future.

It is Gideon Rachman’s contention that after a generation of false alarms, the Asian century is finally at hand. His calm, lucid and authoritative book makes it clear that it will be as unpredictable, tense and potentially as bloody as any that preceded it.

Gideon Rachman is the chief foreign affairs columnist for the Financial Times. In 2016 he won the Orwell Prize for Journalism and was named Commentator of the Year at the European Press Prize awards. Previously he worked for The Economist for fifteen years, serving as a foreign correspondent in Washington, Bangkok and Brussels.

'A masterly account...the best survey of global affairs I have read for some time' Sunday Times 
 
WITH A NEW PREFACE BY THE AUTHOR 
 
The West’s domination of world politics is coming to a close. The flow of wealth and power is turning from West to East and a new era of global instability has begun. 
 
Easternisation is the defining trend of our age – the growing wealth of Asian nations is transforming the international balance of power. This shift to the East is shaping the lives of people all over the world, the fate of nations and the great questions of war and peace. 
 
A troubled but rising China is now challenging America’s supremacy, and the ambitions of other Asian powers – including Japan, North Korea, India and Pakistan – have the potential to shake the whole world. Meanwhile the West is struggling with economic malaise and political populism, the Arab world is in turmoil and Russia longs to reclaim its status as a great power. 
 
We are at a turning point in history: but Easternisation has many decades to run. Gideon Rachman offers a road map to the turbulent process that will define the international politics of the twenty-first century.

Gideon Rachman

If there is one person you absolutely need to read on where the world is going, it is Gideon Rachman. War is Interested in You is an urgent, beautifully written and rather terrifying book which makes clear that war is ever with us, ineradicable, and about to turn nastier than ever. I could not recommend it more strongly

Gideon Rachman is one the wisest, best-informed observers of our strange times. If he believes global order is breaking down, then listen to his warning

Simply brilliant. A masterful blend of contemporary history, incisive analysis, and insightful conceptualization

Brilliant … Rachman’s deep historical knowledge, flair for analysis and keen eye for detail, as well as his encounters with key players at critical moments, create an absorbing narrative that could not be more important or timely

Fiona Hill, author of There is Nothing for You Here

Full of insight from a journalist with superb access, Gideon Rachman is the best possible guide to today's unstable world

Gordon Corera, author of The Spy in the Archive

War is Interested in You is both a geopolitical masterclass and a warning … Drawing on decades of reporting and extraordinary access, this is a clear-eyed guide to a world ever closer to the brink

Few have better access to the people who start wars – and those who try to stop them – than Gideon Rachman. War is Interested in You is a must read

Ian Bremmer, author of The Power of Crisis

With his clear and informative style, Rachman paints a grim picture of a world controlled by all-powerful leaders operating with utter contempt for rules-based order. An important and fascinating book

Caroline Moorehead, author of A Sicilian Man

Remarkable. A fast-paced, readable reminder that peace is not the natural condition of mankind

Graham T. Allison, author of Destined for War

The Breakdown of International Order and the Threat of World War Three

A long period of peace and stable relations between the world’s most powerful nations is coming to an end. 
 
Major wars have broken out in Europe and the Middle East, tensions are rising in East Asia, world leaders have spoken publicly about the possibility of a third world war, and intelligence agencies have never seen the world in a more dangerous and precarious state. 
 
Making use of Rachman’s unique, unparalleled access to leaders in political and intelligence spheres around the globe and full of extremely well-informed and insightful analysis, WAR IS INTERESTED IN YOU explores how we got to this point in global affairs and, crucially, what happens next – in this case, the increasing risk of global conflict. 
 
As Leon Trotsky once put it – ‘You may not be interested in war. But war is interested in you.’

Gideon Rachman

Praise for War is Interested in You

If there is one person you absolutely need to read on where the world is going, it is Gideon Rachman. War is Interested in You is an urgent, beautifully written and rather terrifying book which makes clear th ...

Gideon Rachman is one the wisest, best-informed observers of our strange times. If he believes global order is breaking down, then listen to his warning

Simply brilliant. A masterful blend of contemporary history, incisive analysis, and insightful conceptualization

If there is one person you absolutely need to read on where the world is going, it is Gideon Rachman. War is Interested in You is an urgent, beautifully written and rather terrifying book which makes clear th ...

Gideon Rachman is one the wisest, best-informed observers of our strange times. If he believes global order is breaking down, then listen to his warning

Simply brilliant. A masterful blend of contemporary history, incisive analysis, and insightful conceptualization

If there is one person you absolutely need to read on where the world is going, it is Gideon Rachman. War is Interested in You is an urgent, beautifully written and rather terrifying book which makes clear th ...

Gideon Rachman is one the wisest, best-informed observers of our strange times. If he believes global order is breaking down, then listen to his warning

Simply brilliant. A masterful blend of contemporary history, incisive analysis, and insightful conceptualization

Books by Gideon Rachman

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