The Strongmen: European Encounters with Sovereign Power

by Hans Kribbe

Seven decades after the liberation of Europe, the strongmen of global politics are back, dominating not only the headlines but international relations, the global economy, and the world's security. The strongman has a style and strategy of leadership that is anathema to the liberal democratic norms and practices of Europe. He (it is always he) challenges principles of consensus and collaboration, willingly tears up trade agreements, invades territory, and seeks to provoke and disrupt the status quo in order to achieve advantage. Such behaviour confounds and frustrates his counterparts abroad and yet, as this book shows, it can be anticipated, even understood, offering hope for dealing with and neutralizing it. Hans Kribbe draws on a range of political ideas to provide insight into the strongman's seemingly irrational and idiosyncratic behaviour and to better understand how he wields power and to what end. With the world's largest economies, including Europe's key ally, as well as strategic neighbouring states controlled by strongmen - Xi Jinping, Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and Recep Tayyip Erdogan - Europe must learn to adapt and respond if it is to beat them at their own game.

Genres: Politics

320 pages, Hardcover

Published October 22, 2020

Reviews

[Florian, Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Strongmen" is a fascinating and extremely relevant analysis for everyone interested in foreign affairs. As authoritarian leaders such as Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jingping and others come to power across the globe, the European Union faces a fundamental challenge: The EU is built on norms of international cooperation, consensus and multilateralism - values that the "strongmen" no longer endorse. This puts the EU at a significant disadvantage when dealing with these leaders. In the first part of the book, Kribbe defines what he means by "strongman" and what makes them so different to the European heads of state. In the second part, Kribbe analyses strategies how the EU can effectively deal with these strongmen, based on past encounters with them. With the second Trump administration coming in in 2025, this book provides European leaders with a playbook for the next years.

[Joje · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is going slowly, but the ideas and examples linger for obvious reasons these days: "Foreign affairs specialist Tom Nichols of The Atlantic wrote: “Letting Ukraine fall because of [Republicans’] cultish loyalty to Trump will be a betrayal that will stain America forever—and probably end
up pulling us into a fight for Europe later. This is one of the rare moments when the path to disaster is clearly marked and avoidable.”' Cited in Jan 5th Cox-Richardson newsletter. I have got through all the preparation in history and research to help examine what has been going on now, though it doesn't explain yet why the creep gets so much support other than through threats and flim-flam behavior, but that is discussed too, of course.