Ruth Ben-Ghiat

I didn’t expect it, but this book broke my heart.
I think it’s highly important reading, although in my privilege I wish I could unlearn some things it contained (specifically in the harrowing chapters about sex and torture).

Benito Mussolini, Francisco Franco, Augusto Pinochet, Viktor Orbán - there have been too many authoritarian strongmen in the past century, ruling their countries for a few years or many, grabbing as much of their nations' wealth as they can, leaving no room for people's hopes or needs. Ben-Ghiat, a professor of history and Italian studies at New York University, has summarized the stories of seventeen of these men (always men), from Mussolini to those still with us now, including Putin and show more Trump. Communist rulers are not included here, for reasons not explained.

The book's chapters follow the arc of a strongman's career, alternating between the stories of her subjects. In the first of three main sections, the great man ascends to rule. Getting to Power came via Facist Takeovers in the early 20th Century, more commonly Military Coups later on, and today we have New Authoritarian Ascents - elections now often bring the new ruler to power. Control of the news media helps here.

Once in place the authoritarian employs his Tools of Rule to stay, per the second main section. In A Greater Nation the populace must be told that the greatness of their nation requires a return to a golden past, via the strongman, making America - or Italy, or Russia - great again. Colonies are wanted here. Lest people miss the point, Propaganda is essential to remind them of what they should think. Mussolini had radio; Trump has Twitter. The strongman's fitness for rule is underlined by showing his Virility. He boasts of his prowess with women; his bare-chested body is displayed for the crowd's admiration if that will work - Putin, also Mussolini before him. The strongman usually wants to enjoy his virility, regardless of anyone's consent. Here, Donald Trump could never (or never yet?) equal Mussolini and Muammar Gaddfi, both of whom had entire government departments supplying them with women, and warning the women to stay silent about what happened. Corruption is a must, to pay off underlings and cronies - and enrich the strongman himself, of course. This happens even as promises to eradicate already-existing corruption are given. Mussolini literally said he would drain the swamp, meaning the Pontine Marshes near Rome. The actual prosperity of the country is nothing next to the authoritarian's wants.

The last part of this second section concerns Violence. To me, this sickening chapter feels like the heart of the book. The corrupt state cannot exist without brutality against anyone who fights back. Ben-Ghiat outlines the torture and murder visited upon Pinochet's opponents, then goes on to the other nations of her story, ending with the Trump regime's ICE and CBP. Don't read this chapter unless you're ready for stories almost too terrible to bear.

The third main section is Losing Power. Resistance is always a possibility, if at the cost of the resisters' lives. Resistance may be by speech, or by bombs or guns aimed at the strongman. Finally, Endings come eventually to all, if only a peaceful death in old age, as was Franco's lot. Mussolini and Hitler died just one day apart, by murder and suicide. That many strongman stories end unhappily for the strongman is little consolation for the damage they do.

Ben-Ghiat supplies footnotes and an extensive bibliography.

The book shows that these stories are all, drearily, horribly, the same story. Strongmen all use the same playbook, differing only in the amount of damage they do. If only every citizen in every country could learn this lesson in time. show less

I read this as part of an online book group through Faithful America - a nationwide organization of people who are concerned about and opposed to the direction our country has taken since Trump's return to office. It is chilling to see the parallels between 16 dictators/authoritarian leaders of the 20th century and our own situation, and you don't have to look hard. Though this was originally published in 2020, Trump made the list then with other notables (deplorables) like Pinochet, Hitler, show more Hussein, Gaddafi. Now he is back to fully embody the role and every day brings another news item that furthers this outlook. Like him, 7 others came to power through elections (Putin, Modi, Duterte, Berlesconi, Bolsonaro, Erdogan, Orban), which dispels the idea that 'democracies' cannot be impacted by fascism. But this book isn't about that. It is meticuously researched historical record of the regimes of these leaders: their personality traits, their outlooks, and most irrefutably their actions - that delivered power solely into their hands by issuing decrees (exceutive orders), controlling the military (not just overseeing, as the American tradition has been), singleing out people to villify and turn into scapegoats, promising economic prosperity while hoarding resources or swindling the treasury, controlling information, silencing naysayers or just other points of view, imposing his will on valued institutions through manipulation and threats, making his image ubiquitous - posters, statues, and now we could add merch, and hoodwinking the public into believing he is 'saving' them from something, and so many more, if this wasn't enough to paint the common portrait. There is also the imprisonment and murder of hundreds of thousands of people, both foreigners and citizens. Narcissim also factors heavily, and thankfully is typically the tragic flaw of these subverted 'heroes.' Ben-Ghiat did not write this specifically to out Trump, but if the shoe fits....Hers is a global perspective about how nations turn away from democracy and the ruinous results. Note that all of these are men. No women in positions of power have ever bent the government to their perverse will, save monarchs of old - which is why we rejected them in the Age of Reason. I defy anyone to read this book and assert that we are not in a constitutional crisis. Unless there is some intervention, we are destined for the annals of history as yet another formerly great country undone by a vile megalomaniac. show less

Ruth Ben-Ghiat is a professor of history and Italian studies at NYU. She specializes in authoritarianism and more specifically Italian fascism. Strongmen is her book for general audiences. It is well-researched (end notes and bibliography take up 75 pages in my edition) and fairly easy to read. At the same time, it is very difficult to read in the year 2025.
In this book Ben-Ghiat covers what she feels are the defining traits of strongmen by discussing the similarities between them. She show more concentrates on Berlusconi, Franco, Gaddafi, Hitler, Mussolini, Pinochet, Putin, Seko, and yes, Donald Trump. She also brings in any number of others, Idi Amin, Jair Bolsonaro, Recep Erdogan, Modi, etc., etc.
This is an intense book, and she doesn’t avoid difficult topics, so if you are triggered by rape and torture, you should not read this book.
The book is divided into 3 parts and a conclusion: Getting to Power, Tools of Rule, and Losing Power. It is interesting to see her discussion of how each strongmen took power-it has generally changed over the years—and the means for spreading propaganda, such as newspapers and radio early on, then television, and finally the internet and social media. Of course, one thing that help preserve the rule of strongmen was the help of the American government and American business leaders.
The book didn’t give me much hope. Basically, it ended when Biden took office and there is no discussion regarding Donald Trump’s reelection, and I believe Ben-Ghiat held out hope for the US. I don’t know what she would believe now.
Anyway, this is an important book for our time, though a more accurate title would be Strongmen: Mussolini to Trump.

p. 23 of my edition “Mussolini prepared the script used by today’s authoritarians that casts the leader as a victim of his domestic enemies and of an international system that his cheated his country”
and
P. 24 [Mussolini] denounced negative e coverage of him, and Fascism as “criminal.”
And so much more show less