Living in a democracy can be very frustrating at times. The current dysfunction in the U.S. House of Representatives is creating one of these times. The majority of Senators and Representatives are in favor of continued support for Ukraine in its struggle against the invading Russian forces, but a small number of right-wing Republicans and a few left-wing Democrats are blocking the bill from reaching the floor of the House for a vote. This blockage, along with other competing public policy issues, such as the security of our country’s southern border, are not getting resolved because of the polarization that prevents our leaders from working together to solve difficult issues. It is no wonder that many Americans are searching for a strong leader, a leader who can break through these log jams that are causing hardships on both Americans and our allies.
A recent survey of 24 countries conducted by the Pew Research Center reported that 26% of Americans think “a strong leader can make decisions without interference from parliament or the courts” and this was a “very good” or “somewhat good” way of governing their country. In eight of the 22 countries, the share of respondents who say “rule by a strong leader is a good way to govern” has gone up. Among American allies in Western Europe, such as France, Netherlands, and Sweden, 86% to 94% express strong opposition to rule by an autocracy – as opposed to 72% in the United States.
Among friends and family, I am hearing comments about the need for strong leadership, and the right-wing of the Republican Party has openly identified with some of the world’s autocrats, Vladimir Putin in particular. My experience working in Moscow for 25 years convinced me that autocracy was a dangerous choice of governance. While Americans I worked with in higher educational reform in Russia in the early 1990s were warmly welcomed and supported, the mood in Moscow changed after Yeltsin was elected president of Russia. He quickly abandoned his democratic image – which was created by his opposition to the coup in August 1991 that attempted to strip Gorbachev of his power – and began governing like previous Soviet leaders, no longer identifying with the democratic groups who supported his election.
When I started my work in Russia in 1990, I was told that “nothing is as it seems in Russia” and that “double talk” was the way things operated. Corruption was pervasive and top-down control from the Kremlin once again became normal in Russia. The American Ambassador in the mid-1990s described Russia as a “mafia state,” and that was my experience as well. When I was robbed at a busy Metro stop by Moscow police, my staff was angry but could do nothing about it. When Vladimir Putin came to power, domestic repression of any government opposition became a harsh reality, and today’s political analysts describe life in Russia as comparable to life during Stalin’s most repressive years.
Professor Timothy Snyder from Yale University has considerable expertise in autocracy – much more than I have – as well as experience living in eastern Europe. In a recent essay entitled “The Strongman Fantasy,” he laid out some insights that we all need to hear – not only about governance in Russia and Ukraine, but also about calls for a strongman, or a dictatorial leader in the United States, which a significant number of Americans want. This is a minority view right now, but its supporters appear to be growing in numbers. This is a movement that will have serious repercussions, including the election of leaders who will threaten or employ the use of violence to achieve their goals.
In response to Americans who increasingly like the idea of strongman rule, Professor Snyder addressed the question: “Why not a dictator who will get things done?” Here is a summary of his principal insights:
“Strongman rule is a fantasy. Essential to it is the idea that a strongman will be your strongman. He won’t . . . The whole point is that the strongman owes us nothing. We get abused and we get used to it.”
“Another pleasant illusion is that the strongman will unite the nation. But an aspiring dictator will always claim that some belong, and others don’t . . . Fear is the essence of life. The politics of us-and-them, once begun, never ends.”
“At least, the fantasy goes, the strongman will get things done. But dictatorial power today is not about achieving anything positive . . . The strongman is really the weak man; his secret is that he makes everyone else weaker.”
“Unaccountable to the law and to voters, the dictator has no reason to consider anything beyond his own personal interests . . .To enrich himself and to stay out of prison, the strongman dismantles the justice system and replaces civil servants with loyalists . . . Quickly corruption becomes normal, even unquestioned.”
“When you vote for a strongman, you vote out the rule of law.”
“Everyone (except the dictator and his family and friends) gets poorer . . . Anyone hoping for prosperity will have to seek the patronage of the official oligarchs.”
There is much more to Snyder’s analysis, and I would encourage you to subscribe (free or paid) to his newsletter “Thinking about . . .” on Substack. He is one of America’s top scholars on Ukraine and Russia, and he offers a free online Yale course on Ukraine’s history. He also made this telling summary comment about Russia: “The elite have stolen all the money, all the laws are corrupted, and there’s almost no social mobility or possibility of change in most Russians lives.” This is where strongman rule leaves you – not where I want America to end up.
Helpful Resources:
Timothy Snyder, ”The Strongman Fantasy,” (Thinking about . . . March 17, 2024, Substack)
John A. Bernbaum, “Putin’s Autocracy: A Failed State,” (Reflections on World Politics, July 22, 2023, Substack).