by Ruth Ben-Ghiat | Jan 22, 2017 | Forecasts
The Atlantic, January 22, 2017 In The Captive Mind, Czeslaw Milosz tells a story about a man who ventures out in the immediate aftermath of the fall of a regime. Papers full of state secrets lie in the streets, their knowledge less important for the moment than...
by Ruth Ben-Ghiat | Jan 17, 2017 | Forecasts
CNN.com, January 16, 2017 n less than a week, America will embark on a new political experience: rule by an authoritarian President. Donald Trump won the Electoral College but lost the popular vote by nearly 3 million. So, for every American who looks forward to...
by Ruth Ben-Ghiat | Nov 14, 2016 | Forecasts
CNN.com, November 14, 2016 Anyone who is surprised at the appointment of right-wing guru Steve Bannon as the Donald Trump administration’s chief strategist and counselor has been living in an alternate universe, the universe in which President-elect Trump would...
by Ruth Ben-Ghiat | Aug 10, 2016 | Forecasts, Global Authoritarianism
The Atlantic, August 10, 2016 Fascism has been back in the news with Donald Trump’s candidacy for the American presidency. His populist claim to speak for the white everyman, along with his menacing leadership style, have brought forth comparisons among this... by Ruth Ben-Ghiat | Mar 3, 2016 | Forecasts
CNN.com, March 3, 2016 Donald Trump this week retweeted, and then defended, an Italian popular saying made famous by Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini: “It is better to live one day as a lion than 100 years as a sheep.” Questioned about retweeting the...
by Ruth Ben-Ghiat | Jan 15, 2016 | Forecasts
Huffington Post, January 15, 2016 Cults of personality: the term might evoke dictators like Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, Benito Mussolini, Adolf Hitler, and Kim Jong-un today. Yet cults of personality can flourish in a variety of political contexts, as long as there is...
