Viral Authoritarianism
In the rush to mitigate a public-health emergency like the COVID-19 pandemic, illiberal governments around the world are testing the limits of civil rights and democratic checks and balances. As history has shown time and again, there is no better moment than an emergency for aspiring strongmen to consolidate power.
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NEW YORK – “God and the people are the source of all power … I have taken it, and damn it, I will keep it forever,” declared Haiti’s François “Papa Doc” Duvalier in 1963. And so he did, remaining president until his death in 1971, whereupon he was succeeded by his son, Jean-Claude (“Baby Doc”), who extended the dictatorship another 15 years.