New York author and historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat is this semester's Dan and Maggie Inouye Distinguished Chair in Democratic Ideals at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. The New York University professor is also a contributor for The Washington Post, CNN and MSNBC.
Her book, "Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present," looks at illiberal democracies and the political climate in Benito Mussolini's Italy, Vladimir Putin's Russia, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's Turkey, the United States under Donald Trump and more. It also examines the use of "masculinity as a symbol of strength and a political weapon."
She spoke to The Conversation about current global tensions as we look at the history of authoritarians and try to make sense of present-day headlines.
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Her public lecture, "Strongmen: How Illiberal Leaders Consolidate Power and How They Can Be Defeated," is on Thursday, March at 6:30 p.m. at the Mānoa campus. Click here for more information.
This interview aired on The Conversation on March 1, 2023. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.
