“The powerful men of the 21st century are a global phenomenon that comes in many shapes and forms,” write Ulrich Breukling, Dorna Savayan, and Nikola Spakovsky in their introduction to the issue. Middle Way 36 On a very familiar figure in our time.
Political strongmen may be charismatic, democratically elected leaders of populist movements and parties, and if they do not succeed in disrupting the opposition through electoral manipulation or constitutional amendments (Erdogan), they will be voted out again (Trump, Bolsonaro). But they may also be rulers in authoritarian (Putin) or one-party (Xi) regimes.
“Even if they do not all display the same characteristics to the same degree, what unites them is a disruptive style of politics that upsets historically formed alliances, that breaks existing routines of self-representation and political habits, as well as sowing seeds of mistrust in state institutions. Powerful politicians represent a diagnosis distinct to the political sphere, which is given a heroic tone. The transgressive violation of norms belongs to their repertoire as much as the polarization of sociopolitical discourse and the narrowing of political processes to a single decision-maker. They depict a hostile world full of enemies, where only those who master all the tricks and follow Their interests are merciless. With few exceptions like Marine Le Pen or Giorgia Meloni, powerful politicians are in fact men. They leave no doubt about this fact and practice an aggressively sexual masculinity with misogynistic and homophobic elements.
Cultural sociologist Brookling describes powerful men as “personal points of fusion of social energies,” and traces the profile of male politicians by studying their networks of relationships. Referring to Paul DiMaggio and Walter Powell's concept of mimetic sameness, Brookling understands the mutual imitation that constitutes this global social character in terms of copying a successful political model.
Strongmen, including aspirants, “keep a close eye on each other, asking propaganda and fabrication specialists to analyze which topics and media appearances, which techniques of mobilization and repression, which transgressions they can adopt…And most of all, they like to imitate transgressive moments, and what they are called A spiral of extremism in order to attract public attention.
Putin's prospects
Political scientist Fabian Burckhardt describes how Russia's democratic institutions have been replaced by Putin's personal networks. To the extent that he was able to order the attack on Ukraine without any internal resistance, Putin has proven his strength. But the concentration of power that underpins this power goes hand in hand with weak government and an irregular decision-making process. The war did not go as planned and revealed weaknesses in the Russian system.
However, there are no signs of Putin's authority being eroded. Even defeat in Ukraine may not necessarily damage him, as is generally assumed. Research based on previous examples shows that autocrats are very likely to remain in power after military defeat. Given the potential for nuclear escalation if the United States or NATO attempts regime change, the chances of Putin remaining in power are high regardless of the outcome of the war, Burkhart says.
Reasons why
Xi Jinping's rule in China is an example of the personalization of the one-party system, writes China scholar Nikola Spakovsky. Xi's self-presentation fits with the image of the nation, which occupies an increasingly important role in the regime's claim to legitimacy. Drawing on Confucian and Social Darwinist traditions, Xi plays the role of a paternalistic leader and representative of the “strong nation.” But despite the Russian leader's many admirers in China, Xi does not embrace Putin's hyper-masculine style, which would undermine his win-win diplomacy around the world.
“In the Ukraine war, Xi has not sided with Putin unconditionally,” Spakovsky writes, “and it can be assumed that unlike Putin, Xi is rationally evaluating his country’s foreign policy options rather than blindly following the influences of the ultranationalist camp.” Conclusions about the geopolitical alliance between the “saboteurs” as well as the personal “friendship” between Xi and Putin are therefore superficial, because they ignore the differences, rivalries and asymmetries between China and Russia as well as between the two strongmen Putin and Xi.
Le Pen accounts
Political sociologist Dorit Geva discusses the issue of the lone woman among powerful men. Marine Le Pen, who conveys a traditional matriarchal but anti-patriarchal image, is mainstreaming far-right politics in France and beyond, Geva writes.
Since her election to the party leadership in 2012, Le Pen has decisively moved her party's official platforms away from reactionary conservatism on gender, sexuality and women's rights. While she is reluctant to describe herself as a feminist, like Italy's far-right Giorgia Meloni, she decisively articulates the image of a strong leader, an unmarried mother with unbridled ambitions for herself and her party, and a political leader who genuinely cares about women's rights. “Freedom” and needs. While post-socialist Central and Eastern European far-right parties espouse paternalistic and homophobic views, Marine Le Pen has made a very simple calculation that in order to come to power in France, it is necessary to reshape the far-right from the men's club. To a party that attracts female voters.
