From Putin to Erdogan: Why masses everywhere are electing demagogues

A lazy, moralising rhetoric about democracy has dominated political discourse since the beginning of the cold war

The reelection of Recep Tayyip Erdogan as president of Turkey ratifies the worldwide appeal of authoritarian leaders. Not even the poor recent performance of the Turkish economy diminished Erdogan’s aura. As the New York Times put it, “many Turkish voters appeared to have accepted Mr Erdogan’s argument that powerful centralised authority was essential to forge a strong state and guard against the threat of terrorism.”

Erdogan promised political order against a background of overwhelming, often violent, change. Other strongman leaders, from Russia’s Vladimir Putin to India’s Narendra Modi, have made similar offers to their citizens. There’s little point in lamenting