'Timely, laser-sharp and unsettling... A must read' - Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads

We are in a new era.

Authoritarian leaders have become a central feature of global politics. Since 2000, self-styled strongmen have risen to power in capitals as diverse as Moscow, Beijing, Delhi, Brasilia, Budapest, Ankara, Riyadh and Washington.

These leaders are nationalists and social conservatives, with little tolerance for minorities, dissent or the interests of foreign ...