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GZERO Media

2022: The trouble with autocrats

The three big international politics stories of this year – Russia’s war on Ukraine, the uprisings in Iran, and China’s bid to lockdown COVID – have something basic in common: All are the result of authoritarian leaders who’ve painted themselves into dangerous corners, and they all sit atop political systems that make these kinds of crises inevitable.

Putin’s war

Russia’s Vladimir Putin has isolated himself from dissenting voices in his country and within his government, and it appears that many senior state officials and military leaders were surprised when he ordered the invasion of Ukraine last February.

Then, Putin himself was surprised to learn that billions supposedly invested in military modernization in recent years had been stolen or wasted, leaving his armed forces entirely unfit for purpose.

And because the Russian state sharply restricts the flow of accurate information within the country and criminalizes dissent, anxious Russians are now prey to every new rumor of a pending mobilization that might send more young Russians into a military meat grinder.

The result: The lack of accurate information flowing up or down the Russian system allowed Putin to start a war he can’t finish – with resulting damage to Russia’s economy, military, and political standing that will last for decades. Yet, the world pays a heavy price with the loss of Ukrainian and Russian lives, with higher energy and food prices triggered by the war, and with money and resources devoted to the conflict that might have been invested in human potential.

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PUPPET REGIME | GZERO Media

Putin signs up for MBS' Masterclass

How do you launch a destructive war, violate human rights, and still manage to be friends with the "West"? One man knows, and Russia's president wants answers.

Watch more PUPPET REGIME!

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Which Authoritarian Is “Best of the Worst”? | Gideon Rachman's Favorite Strongman | GZERO World

Which authoritarian is “best of the worst”? Gideon Rachman's favorite strongman

Gideon Rachman, chief foreign affairs columnist at the Financial Times, has just published a new book about autocrats, so Ian Bremmer puts him on the spot on GZERO World.

Which one appeals to you the most?

"That is difficult. I wouldn't say ... I'm running desperately through my head," says Rachman, before settling on one autocrat he's not a fan of but concedes is at least "an interesting figure."

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Ian Explains: How Bananas Demonstrate Globalization | GZERO World

How bananas demonstrate globalization

If globalization were a fruit, it might be a banana. But while bananas are still popular, globalization not as much lately.

In recent years, part of the pushback against globalization has been led by autocrats who reject things like free trade and the liberal international order.

For them, globalization means losing control, which they don't like one bit. But the world today remains more interconnected than ever, particularly in cyberspace.

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Why Strongmen Hate Minorities | GZERO World

Power from demonizing the “other”: the FT's Gideon Rachman on “strongmen”

Autocrats know resentment against minorities is always a good pitch to fire up the base.

Gideon Rachman, chief foreign affairs columnist for the Financial Times, explains this common tactic taken by strongmen leaders around the world, in a discussion with Ian Bremmer on GZERO World.
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The Politics of Resentment & How Authoritarian Strongmen Gain Power | GZERO World with Ian Bremmer

The politics of resentment & how authoritarian strongmen gain power

In recent years, part of the pushback against globalization has been led by autocrats who reject things like free trade and the liberal international order.

For them, globalization means losing control, which they don't like one bit. But the world today remains more interconnected than ever, particularly in cyberspace. So, do they want less globalization, or rather a version that fits their narrative?

On GZERO World, Ian Bremmer speaks to Gideon Rachman, the chief foreign affairs columnist for the Financial Times who knows a thing or two about Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, and Donald Trump, and has just written a book about strongmen.

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Podcast: How discontent with globalization has fueled authoritarian "strongmen"

Listen: As inflation, including as seen in rising food and commodity prices, destabilize global systems, strong leadership will appeal to more people. Part of the pushback against globalization has been led by autocrats who reject ideas like free trade and the liberal international order. Globalization is seen to equate losing control. But the world today remains more interconnected than ever. So, do those expressing discontent want less globalization, or rather a version that fits their narrative? And, after two years of unrelenting pandemic, continued rise in global temperatures, and a war in Ukraine that is not ending, has globalization benefited the world?

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Fighting for Democracy in Hungary and Hong Kong | GZERO World

Fighting for democracy in Hungary and Hong Kong

Former Obama adviser Ben Rhodes sees parallels between Hungary's politics and what happened in the US under Trump, and believes the EU has been too lenient towards Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's autocratic tendencies. Rhodes, who met with democracy activists in Hungary and Hong Kong when researching his book, "After the Fall: Being American in the World We've Made," observes that Hungary's opposition groups have been strengthened by banding together to form a united front against corrupt politicians. There's less reason for hope in Hong Kong, says Rhodes, and one reason is that the US never made it a priority. "At every stage of the last 30 years, a commercial interest, or a security interest, or a geopolitical interest was always above what our interests were on an issue like Hong Kong," Rhodes tells Ian Bremmer on GZERO World.

Watch the episode: Is American democracy in danger?

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