Dictator's template

Lukashenko even reneged on the existing limits to Presidential terms as he rewrote the constitution through referendums that allowed him unlimited terms. His initial spiel was to root out endemic corruption that he claimed was holding the country 'hostage' from realising its potential – the masses had fallen for the promises hook, line and sinker. Later, he was to gag the entire governance system to perpetuate his own rule

- BHOPINDER SINGH

A few decades back, a decreasing number of countries were given taints of autocracies and dictatorship (even though many were under undemocratic monarchies). Most of those pariahised nations were the last surviving legacies of the Soviet-led side of the Cold War era e.g., North Korea, Cuba, Zimbabwe, Venezuela etc.

On the opposite side was the growing comity of the so-called 'Free World' (participative democracies) countries that stood against repression, intolerance, and illiberal tendencies of yesteryears.

Later, owing to various metastasized reasons, the so-called 'Free World' too started generating its own strain of intolerance and illiberality with the advent of far-right, conservative, and revisionist preferences that started approximating the autocracies of the past.

Now the citadel of the 'Free World' sensibilities i.e. the proverbial 'West' is also reeling under the surge of extremist right-wing populism. From the fringe to the centerstage of politics, their spectacular rise is emerging in the capitals of Italy, Finland, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, the Czech Republic, and now with Donald Trump, in the United States of America yet again.

Traditional and tactical efforts to keep these hardliners and 'strongmen' away from power with tactics such as cordon sanitaire (firewall) in countries like France, Netherlands, Sweden etc. are almost crumbling.

What unites them beyond seeking absolute control of the supposed institutions of checks and balances are things like 'othering' of minorities, anti-immigration, majoritarianism, lack of concern towards issues like climate change, feminism and pathological dislike of the LGBTQ populace.