{"href":"https://api.simplecast.com/oembed?url=https%3A%2F%2Frsa-podcasts.simplecast.com%2Fepisodes%2Fdissecting-the-modern-strongman-FVg71K_M","width":444,"version":"1.0","type":"rich","title":"Dissecting the modern 'strongman'","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_url":"https://image.simplecastcdn.com/images/83c51ce7-bd83-46d7-b0e0-263aed249931/4f994d61-d60f-4a38-b4a9-e39ac4a13239/conversations.jpg","thumbnail_height":300,"provider_url":"https://simplecast.com","provider_name":"Simplecast","html":"<iframe src=\"https://player.simplecast.com/2ef37f9b-aa4f-4938-8ee5-6cd2f3001207\" height=\"200\" width=\"100%\" title=\"Dissecting the modern &apos;strongman&apos;\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"></iframe>","height":200,"description":"Have the last 15 years seen the most sustained decline in political freedom around the world since the 1930s? Chief Foreign Affairs columnist for the Financial Times, Gideon Rachman, believes so. And he points the finger of blame squarely at the rise of the modern 'strongman'. From Putin to Erdogan, Orban to Bolsonaro, liberal democracy, Rachman argues, is at risk of being eroded by the ego-driven antics of this new crop of global leaders. But could Putin's war in Ukraine bring about the end of the era of the strongman? Can liberal democracy survive the 21st century?"}