Essays & Op-Eds
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- Cultural Criticism
- Donald Trump and American Democracy
- Fascism and the Global Right
- Gender Politics and #MeToo
- Propaganda
- The Authoritarian Playbook
- War
RBG revolutionized the world for women. We should listen to her
She was sexually harassed in college. When she finished law school, at the top of her class, she only found a clerkship when her professor promised the prospective employer that …
Beware of President Trump’s Nefarious Language Games
The strongman knows that it starts with words. He uses them early on to test out his plans to expand and personalize executive power on political elites, the press and …
Obama is right: US democracy is fragile
Former President Barack Obama was right to speak out Thursday at the Economic Club of Chicago to warn Americans about the fragility of our democracy. Signs abound that our freedoms …
No, Trump is not a madman — because he knows exactly what he’s doing
Many have sought to diagnose President Trump’s mental health from afar, depicting him as delusional, narcissistic or a madman. Such an approach is understandable, since many of us struggle to make sense of his …
Strongmen are riding high — and headed for a fall
It was a prank when Navy pilots — for whatever reason — traced a giant penis and testicles in the sky recently in Okanogan County, Washington, but an apt one for …
Trump’s ‘trial balloons’ test our commitment to freedom
How does a democratic political culture turn into something more authoritarian? How do leaders persuade people to accept their repressive agendas, scapegoat targeted groups and disrespect democratic norms? In the …
Being Trump’s Mouthpiece Is Risky for Fox News — and Democracy
Fox News may be enjoying large audiences right now, partly because of its close relationship with the president, but the network is taking a real risk — both to itself …
I monumenti fascisti restano in piedi
Quando Benito Mussolini, alla fine degli anni trenta, si preparava a ospitare l’Esposizione universale del 1942 a Roma, commissionò la costruzione di un nuovo quartiere a sudest della città che …
Why Are So Many Fascist Monuments Still Standing in Italy?
In the late nineteen-thirties, as Benito Mussolini was preparing to host the 1942 World’s Fair, in Rome, he oversaw the construction of a new neighborhood, Esposizione Universale Roma, in the southwest …
Trump’s authoritarian playbook — what’s next?
Just before Donald Trump took office, I argued that our new President would likely follow the “authoritarian playbook,” an approach toward governance that privileges executive power and makes the leader’s …
Ruth Ben-Ghiat’s essays and op-eds translate her vast knowledge of the logic of power and the authoritarian playbook into analyses of the operation and endgame of the global right today, including in Donald Trump’s America. Her writings on hate speech, leader body politics, and the power of symbols reveal how propaganda works and remind us of power of images to shape opinion and feeling. Her op-ed on photographs of the Trump-Putin summit was one of CNN’s “Top 10” for 2018, and her 2017 New Yorker essay on the persistence of Fascist monuments in Italy sparked an ongoing international debate on the legacy and memory of Mussolini’s regime.
Ruth Ben-Ghiat’s essays and op-eds translate her vast knowledge of the logic of power and the authoritarian playbook into analyses of the operation and endgame of the global right today, including in Donald Trump’s America. Her writings on hate speech, leader body politics, and the power of symbols reveal how propaganda works and remind us of power of images to shape opinion and feeling. Her op-ed on photographs of the Trump-Putin summit was one of CNN’s “Top 10” for 2018, and her 2017 New Yorker essay on the persistence of Fascist monuments in Italy sparked an ongoing international debate on the legacy and memory of Mussolini’s regime.
