Big Caesars and Little Caesars - From Julius Caesar to Boris Johnson (Hardcover)

Who said that dictatorship was dead? The world today is full of Strong Men and their imitators. Caesarism is alive and well. Yet in modern times it's become a strangely neglected subject. Ferdinand Mount opens up a fascinating exploration of how and why Caesars seize power and why they fall. There is a comforting illusion shared by historians and political commentators from Fukuyama back to Macaulay, Mill and Marx, that history progresses in a nice straight line towards liberal democracy or socialism, despite the odd hiccup. In reality, every democracy, however sophisticated or stable it may look, has been attacked or actually destroyed by a would-be Caesar, from Ancient Greece to the present day. Marx was wrong. This Caesarism is not an absurd throwback, it is an ever-present danger. There are Big Caesars who set out to achieve total social control and Little Caesars who merely want to run an agreeable kleptocracy without opposition: from Julius Caesar and Oliver Cromwell through Napoleon and Bolivar, to Mussolini, Salazar, De Gaulle and Trump. The saga of Boris Johnson and Brexit frequently crops up in this author's narrative as a vivid, if Lilliputian instance of the same phenomenon. The final part of this book describes how and why would-be Caesars come to grief, from the Gunpowder Plot to Trump's march on the Capitol. The book ends with a thought-provoking road map of the way back to constitutional government.

General

Imprint:	Bloomsbury Continuum
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Release date:	July 2023
Authors:	Ferdinand Mount
Dimensions:	234 x 153 x 25mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Hardcover
Pages:	288
ISBN-13:	978-1-399-40971-1
Categories:	Books > Humanities > History > European history > 1750 to 1900 Books > Humanities > History > History of specific subjects > Military history Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > Political structure & processes > Political leaders & leadership Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > Political structure & processes > Totalitarianism & dictatorship Books > Social sciences > Warfare & defence > War & defence operations > Battles & campaigns Books > History > European history > 1750 to 1900 Books > History > History of specific subjects > Military history
LSN:	1-399-40971-9
Barcode:	9781399409711

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