RUTH
BEN-GHIAT

Ruth Ben-Ghiat is a professor of history and Italian studies at New York University. She is the author and has edited several books revolving around authoritarianism, fascism, propaganda, and the threats these present to democracies around the world.

Born in the U.S. to a Scottish mother and an Israeli-born Sephardic father. She earned a degree in history at UCLA and went on to receive a PhD in comparative history at Brandeis University, where she submitted her thesis “The formation of fascist culture: the realist movement in Italy, 1930-1943.”

Her most recent book, “Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present,” describes over a century of authoritarian tyranny in the Americas, Europe, and Africa. It is the first book to examine the Trump administration with the perspective of 100 years of authoritarian history.

She has called our current era that of the “strongman,” describing heads of state who damage or destroy democracy, using masculinity as a tool of political legitimacy. Such rulers now govern across the globe, promising law and order while, at the same time, using propaganda, virility, corruption, and violence to stay in power.

Using historical examples, she demonstrates how this mode of governance, which legitimizes lawless behavior, is inherently unstable, unsustainable, and inevitably devolves into chaos and destruction. Through her other books and writings, she explores the appeal of strongmen to collaborators and followers and how their fascist regimes use propaganda in constructing alternate realities.
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Her insight into the authoritarian playbook has made her an expert source for television, radio, podcasts, and events around the globe. Ruth’s perspective on how these rulers think, who and what they depend on, and how they can be opposed is increasingly important as we navigate the uncertainties ahead.