September 20, 2024
The Origins of Elected Strongmen: How Personalist Parties Destroy Democracy from Within
This week, CNAS hosted the book launch for The Origins of Elected Strongmen: How Personalist Parties Destroy Democracy from Within, a new book by Dr. Joseph Wright, Dr. Erica Frantz, and Dr. Andrea Kendall-Taylor. Moderated by Susan Glasser, this event discusses how democracies around the world are being weakened by the actions and efforts of their elected leaders, and how the rise of personalism in democratic politics has become the key culprit for democracy’s ills. Even in democratic systems, leaders are taking on outsized influence relative to the parties that support them to dismantle institutional checks on the executive, deepen political polarization, and weaken supporters’ commitment to democratic norms of behavior leading to democratic backsliding and collapse.
Susan Glasser is a Staff Writer at The New Yorker, where she writes a weekly column on life in Washington, D.C. Prior to this, she served as the founding editor of POLITICO Magazine, the editor of POLITICO, and the editor-in-chief of Foreign Policy.
Erica Frantz is an Associate Professor in Political Science at Michigan State University, where she focuses on authoritarian politics and the security and policy implications of autocratic rule.
Joseph Wright is a Professor of Political Science at Pennsylvania State University. There, he examines how international factors influence autocratic rule and democratization.
More from CNAS
-
Trump's Vision for America and the World
Podcast
On Monday, January 20th, Donald Trump took office as the 47th president of the United States. Now in his second term after a four-year hiatus, his inauguration heralds a new e...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Jim Townsend & Dr. Robert Kagan
-
Trump’s Clash with National Cathedral Bishop
Video
In this episode of Global News Today, presented by Tom Burges Watson, they speak with Jim Townsend, an adjunct senior fellow in the CNAS Transatlantic Security Program, about ...
By Jim Townsend
-
Sharper: Trump's First 100 Days
Commentary
Donald Trump takes office in a complex and volatile global environment. Rising tensions with China, the continued war in Ukraine, and instability in the Middle East all pose s...
By Charles Horn
-
Address NATO at the Munich Security Conference
Commentary
President Trump has an opportunity to address tensions with NATO at the Munich Security Conference.While he should articulate his grievances, he also should lay out his requir...
By Jim Townsend
