ABSTRACT
This concluding chapter offers an analytical summary of observations from each nation identified for our case studies. It draws parallels between the lessons learned from each country’s socio-political and socio-economic contexts that have shaped the rise to power of their authoritarian leaders. The chapter also outlines the parallels that have contributed to the growth of authoritarian populism under Modi, Erdoğan, Putin and Bolsonaro in their respective countries. It then analyses the associative relationship between neoliberal economic policies, their effect in stoking social and economic division between and within groups, and the creation of fertile ground for populist authoritarian tendencies to take root as a political alternative. In each identified nation state, it is further observed how instances of corruption contributed to a growing trust deficit in the state-citizen contract, eventually leading the majority of the electorate to gravitate towards, or make way for, perceived ‘outsiders’ – those seen to be outside the prevailing political class – to take their place as leaders.
