Thank you to NetGalley and Columbia Global Reports for this reader's copy. In exchange, I am providing an honest review.

This review is basically going to be the same review I wrote for The Populist Explosion. It was thoroughly researched and well-written but I am pretty sure I didn't understand very much of it. :) But I understood just enough...I think. Ha. Peer, a native of India, takes us through the political history of both India and Turkey since the early 1900s. Tracing the threads of the breakdown of possible democracy. Published in early 2017, Peer was actively writing and editing this during the last few months of the 2016 American elections and the disastrous results. He references Trump a few times throughout the book and the references are appropriate and right in line with his discussion of Modi's India and Erdogan's Turkey and the slow backward slide into authoritarian states. Which is exactly where Trump wanted to take America and where America is headed with recent Supreme Court rulings despite Trump no longer being in office. Were Peer to revise his book and add in a third democratic nation and its strongman, I suspect he could, and would, easily add America and Trump. Peer's discussion doesn't offer solutions, I suspect he is too modest to offer up any, it is meant to be a cautionary tale for other democratic nations. Perhaps it should be required reading for all Americans.

Given the rise of nationalism in many Democratic countries, this book proved to be an interesting case study in the way it can harm democracy. It looks at recent happenings in the politics and leadership of Turkey and India to provide insight into the dangers of "strongman" power plays. It was an interesting topic, and one could definitely draw parrallels to other current events in places like the US and Britain. However, the book was a bit repetitive and sometimes difficult to follow.

A really fascinating account of the recent history of these two countries and how their politics have lately turned to authoritarianism and aggressive nationalism. This is self-evidently relevant to those of us under Trump or May as well; I've been making comparisons between Modi and Trump ever since the latter became a political candidate, and Peer clearly agrees with me.

The book is divided into two sections, the first on India and its current Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, who was elected in 2014; the second on Turkey and its current president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who was elected Prime Minister in 2003 and then, when he could no longer extend his term there, switched to president in 2014, rewriting the laws to make that position more political, powerful, and active. Each chapter is a bit of a self-contained essay, with topics ranging from the broad (the history of the BJP, Modi's political party) to the individual (the suicide of a Dalit PhD student after being ignored and disadvantaged by his school). I'm more familiar with India's current political scene than with Turkey's, but even the stuff I already knew came with very recent updates or insightful analogies. Overall the chapters convey a well-researched, thoughtful, and thorough picture of each country's politics.

If world politics remotely interest you, I highly recommend this book – though to be honest, it is quite depressing. I put off reading it myself for months because I needed more lighthearted material, but I'm glad I finally got to it. I only wish I could have read this before the July 2016 coup in Turkey. Of course it wasn't out yet, and though given its so-recent occurrence Peer is only able to address the topic briefly in his afterword, but I feel like I now understand much more of the dynamics and players involved.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2022832042

Good insights and history in to the rise of these so-called democratic leaders. Interesting how the rise of Trump parallels these 2 situations and the US is following the same path as these other countries. I just wish the book presented some point of view beyond a repetition of facts.

When I first picked up this title I imagined it would pull back from the detail and micro-angle on nationalist movements cropping up around the world and draw some larger conclusions. It doesn't get that far, but it does raise the questions. Peer gives a detailed timeline of events that led to the embrace of the authoritarian leaders in India (Narenda Modi) and Turkey (Recep Tayyip Erdogan).

Author Bashir Peer points out that those two countries are not alone, and names Russia (Vladimir Putin), Egypt (Abdel Fatteh ed-Sisi), Hungary (Viktor Mihály Orbán), Chad (Idriss Déby) Belarus (Alexander Lukashenko), Cambodia (Hun Sen), Singapore (Lee Hsien Loong). Somewhat oddly, I thought, he pairs Aung San Su Kyi (Myanmar) and Rodrigo Duterte (The Philippines) and names them as illiberal, if not outright autocrats along with Paul Kagame’s (Rwanda) regime, all of which have silenced critical voices, and have not stood up against political and religious persecution. When you look at all those names spread out like that one does have to wonder--what's happening?

What Peer does in this book is follow events that led to the rise of Modi in India, showing his aggression in the suppression of Muslim and Dalit rights. Dalits are India’s lowest caste, and many have benefitted from government attention to their plight in society. However, being admitted to university apparently doesn’t mean Dalits actually have professors willing to mentor them or recommend them or promote their work, somewhat reminiscent of oppressed classes in any society attempting to take advantage of their legal rights. Modi began his political career working for a Hindu supremacist organization.

What may seem remarkable about Modi’s rise was his support from the intellectual, overseas-educated, and business elite. Not so strange when you think that “inequality in India is now growing at a faster rate than in other developing countries like China, Brazil, and Russia.” His biggest electoral challenges were traditional opposition of lower and middle castes to his party, which he managed to overcome with a robust twitter and get-out-the-vote campaign. After he won as prime minister in 2014, he talked a good game about putting caste and religious divisions away but was unable to prevent the country’s descent into violence the following year, probably because he was unwilling to act against this party.
“Modi’s victory in 2014 had legitimized hate speech and physical aggression against real and perceived opponents. Words that couldn’t be uttered at the dinner table were blared in the public sphere.”
It might be worth noting some barely-there shadow outlines of a comparison forming between Modi and Trump. It is worth noting what made Modi popular, how he sustained that popularity, and how quickly taboos against hate talk and violence evaporated.

In Turkey, the period of instability Peer describes starts a little earlier, in 2006. Erdogan took over in 2003 and pushed democratic reforms to make Turkey appealing to the European Union, and trying to lessen tensions with its Kurdish minority through negotiations. Healthcare, affordable housing, and infrastructure improved, but it was the loosening of the non-secularist creed, expanding collective bargaining rights, increasing welfare provisions for children, the disabled, and the elderly and allowing Muslims with headscarves into the governing body that had long banned them. Erdogan was loosening the control of the Kemalist military.

The July 2016 coup attempt in Turkey is covered in great detail, and Peer discusses the Muslim preacher Muhammed Fethullah Gülen, the cleric living in Pennsylvania in the U.S. who, once an ally of Erdogan, opposed to his rapprochement with the Kurds. Gülen’s very powerful group with tentacles worldwide--and especially in the Turkish police--was supposedly responsible for the coup attempt, or was blamed for it, in any case. The detail here is rather more than I was expecting, and less at the same time. I could be interested, but somehow connecting threads were missing in this discussion and I got lost in the details. For someone seeking details, however, this is a good view.

This is not a long book but I had a hard time getting a grip on this material and wished it had a greater amount of overview or boldface marking what we are meant to take away. Neither of these countries are my area of expertise, but it was difficult to pick out a few big ideas. It may be a better read for someone that already has a basic understanding of the culture and government in these two countries to take advantage of Peer’s providing the timeline of conflict for the past couple of years.

It may be worth pointing out that one country's specific experiences are probably not going to be immediately relevant to a worldwide theory. One would have to pick and choose details and immediately then one's conclusions become suspect of pointing. It is also perhaps worth noting that authoritarian regimes are nothing new. The author needs to remind us why this moment is different.

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When I picked this book, I was not sure what to expect. i l knew it would be political but did not know to what extent.

It details how the democratically elected leaders of India and Turkey were elected/ rose into power; and how certain elements are used to divide voters (i.e. religion, caste system, social standing etc).

The stories told are quite sad in some cases. in other cases, they stir up some anger in me. How are people manipulated in such a way to cause untold harm and destruction all in the name of a belief/system/politics?

Rating: 3.5/5

Favourite Quote: “Nationalism is used to stifle all thinking…The culture of collective narcissism to stifle all individuality, the promulgation of uncontested definitions of nationalism to pre-empt all debate over genuine national interest, the constant hunt for contrived enemies of the nation, is suffocating thought.”

The author has provided an in-depth discussion of the rise to power of Modi in India and Erdogan in Turkey and how they have used religious and ethnic differences to gain power and suppress opponents. If you pay attention to world events, a number of the individuals, political parties and events will be familiar to you, but the author has provided greater insight through his observations of events, interviews with people impacted by policies and repressive actions by Modi and Erdogan, and interviews with supporters and opponents of Modi, Erdogan, and their respective political parties. He discusses the authoritarian/illiberal rule of these leaders and how they are making India and Turkey less democratic, especially through repression of the media and dissent. The author is from the disputed territory of Kashmir, which allows him to provide a deeper insight into India and how the Indian government under both major parties has treated the Kashmiri people and minorities in general. This book is well worth the read for anyone interested in India, Turkey, or increased authoritarianism.

an interesting look at the return of strongmen in India & Turkey, it wasn't exactly what I expected - I think going into this I expected more on the leaders themselves & their policies - but instead this actually gives a great overview of the current situation and background and how these contribute to the rise of these democratically elected strongmen, which I actually enjoyed reading far more than I though I would.

Excellent look at how two democracies (India and Turkey) were twisted and perverted by duly elected strongmen. Anyone who worries what the future may hold for the US under our own duly elected strongman needs to read this book. It can happen here and may have already begun.