Munk Dialogue with Gideon Rachman
Munk Dialogue with Gideon Rachman
The Age of the Strongman
2022 was not a great year for the world’s so-called “strong men”. The defeat of Bolsonaro in Brazil, the political isolation of Donald Trump, the military miscalculations of Putin and the disastrous COVID policies of Xi Jinping has weakened the hold these men had over their parties and institutions. On this episode of the Munk Dialogues, we’re joined by chief foreign affairs columnist for the Financial Times, Gideon Rachman, whose latest book, The Age of the Strong Man, was named one of the top books of 2022 by The Economist and Foreign Affairs Magazine.
He argues that while the trend towards autocracy has slowed, and the people living in autocratic regimes like Iran and China have shown a desire for freedom, the spread of communications technology is making overthrowing dictators much more difficult.
“A lot of what Orwell had as science fiction is reality now…I worry that the Orwellian nightmare is coming true”
-GIDEON RACHMAN
You may also like
September 3, 2025
– Listen
Munk Dialogue with Andrew Coyne: A public display of friendship between China, Russia, and India is a searing indictment of Trump’s foreign policy
September 10, 2025
– Listen
Munk Dialogue with Andrew Coyne: Trump is stuck in a dangerous spiral feedback loop and Rudyard and Andrew debate Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker program
September 24, 2025
– Listen
Munk Dialogue with Andrew Coyne: Carney’s Palestinian statehood recognition comes without conditions and the powerful companies benefiting from Trump’s authoritarianism
October 2, 2025
– Listen
Munk Dialogue with Andrew Coyne: Trump’s military speech ramblings should concern every Canadian
October 7, 2025
– Listen
Munk Dialogue with Andrew Coyne: Trump sends in the National Guard (again) and Mark Carney goes to Washington
October 16, 2025
– Listen
Munk Dialogue with Andrew Coyne: Trump’s Middle East diplomacy and why Canada should re-evaluate its auto sector subsidies
October 21, 2025
– Listen
Munk Dialogue with Andrew Coyne: Putin’s hold over Trump and Pierre Poilievre makes a stunning accusation
December 3, 2025
– Watch
Two-State Solution Debate
October 28, 2025
– Listen
Munk Dialogue with Andrew Coyne: Trump’s trade tantrum and will Mark Carney’s first federal budget meet the moment?
November 6, 2025
– Listen
Munk Dialogue with Andrew Coyne: an uninspiring budget and Carney’s government inches closer to a majority
November 19, 2025
– Listen
Munk Dialogue with Andrew Coyne: The MAGA coalition is coming apart and Mark Carney’s government underwhelms voters
November 25, 2025
