October 28, 2025
A New Era of Strongman Rulers Is Upon Us
This article was originally published in The New York Times.
When President Trump and President Xi Jinping of China meet this week, the world will be watching to see if they can lock in a framework trade agreement and finally restore a sense of lasting stability and predictability to the world’s most consequential relationship.
Don’t count on it.
The consequences of strongman rule seep into the fabric of economies and everyday life.
Whatever rhetoric or handshake deals come out of their planned encounter at a regional summit in South Korea, they are unlikely to signify more than a momentary truce between two leaders unchecked by domestic or institutional constraints and free to change course on a whim.
Welcome to the new strongman era.
Read the full article in The New York Times.
More from CNAS
-
Ukraine's Command Shake-Up: Fedorov Out, Drapatyi In
Podcast
On July 15th, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed now–former Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, one of the architects of Ukraine’s technological transformation o...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor & Jim Townsend
-
Jul 24, ’26 Washington Roundtable
Podcast
On this week’s Defense & Aerospace Report Washington Roundtable, former DoD Europe chief Jim Townsend of the Center for a New American Security joins Defense & Aerospa...
By Jim Townsend
-
Hibernating Bear
Reports
Executive Summary Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, there have been several crises—in Syria, Nagorno-Karabakh, Venezuela, and Iran—where Russia did not intervene ...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Peter Schroeder & Kate Johnston
-
Brussels Sprouts LIVE | Forecasting the Future of the Axis of Upheaval: The View from Moscow
Podcast
Today’s episode of Brussels Sprouts comes from a virtual panel discussion that the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) held on July 14 to mark the release of a report ti...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor
