Strongman: The Extraordinary Leaders of India and the Philippines

Abstract

Both Narendra Modi and Rodrigo Duterte stand out as leaders that epitomise their respective reigns in ways that previous leaders did not. A juxtaposition of their political personae allows us to investigate a contemporary political phenomenon, that of the elected strongman leader. This article makes three points from this juxtaposition: (a) They presided over a period of ‘democratic backsliding’. (b) They came with social media. (c) They are their own message and that message is that they are extraordinary leaders, above ordinary constraints. This article concludes that they represent strongman politics—where they as their people’s representative engage in acts symbolic of the people’s sovereignty. In an age of discontent with democracy, new and social media have allowed them to portray themselves as true defenders of ‘the people’.