Strong Men from Mussolini to Trump

Strongmen now rule over some of the most populous countries on earth. This talk looks at the character and appeal of these authoritarian rulers, at press policies, strategies of repression, personality cults, and masculinity. Previewing her next book, Strongmen: How They Rise, Why They Succeed, How They Fall, Ruth Ben-Ghiat argues that the way to understand Donald Trump is not through psychiatric diagnosis but by looking at him in the context of a century of authoritarian rulers from Mussolini onward.

Ruth Ben-Ghiat is Professor of History and Italian Studies at New York University. The recipient of Guggenheim, Fulbright, and other fellowships, she’s an expert on fascism, authoritarianism, and propaganda. She writes frequently for the media on those topics and on Donald Trump. Her next book is Strongmen: How They Rise, Why They Succeed, How They Fall (Norton).