Strongmen heart this pandemic

Every crisis creates an opportunity for somebody, and a global pandemic can be a great one for strongmen (or aspiring ones.) Around the world, states of emergency, lockdowns, and restrictions on information are creating a perfect opportunity for big power grabs, particularly in countries with weak or non-existent democracies.

So, let's say you, on this fine pandemic Wednesday, are an autocrat — or at least an aspiring one. Here are a few reasons why you might be excited about the pandemic, and few things to worry about before summoning your lackeys for a crackdown party.

Pandemics can boost your power, and fast. Controlling the spread of a disease naturally requires broad state powers to restrict movement, commerce, and information. You can now push through new emergency laws that give you virtually unchecked power. And if you're smart, like Hungary's "illiberal" Prime Minister Viktor Orban, you'll leave them open-ended.

Here's a good excuse to stifle criticism. Fake news is a killer during public health crises, when people need timely and accurate information about outbreaks and government responses. But "fakeness" is often in the eye of the beholder. Stiff new penalties for spreading vaguely-defined "panic" or "misinformation" in Russia, Turkey, the Philippines, and Hungary have sent a chill through the press in those countries more broadly.

Protests are less likely and easier to control. Who wants to be with thousands of shouting people right now? Six months ago, protest movements were sizzling all over the world – now it's crickets in the streets. All but your hardiest or most creative opponents will stay home. And you can use (real) public health concerns to prohibit or quash any demonstrations.

What's this about contact tracing and surveillance? Needless to say, you are very excited about using contact-tracing and facial recognition tools to do more than just track a virus. Even the world's leading democracies are going down this path – with privacy guardrails that are less of a concern for you — and it's a great excuse to build out better ways to surveil and control your people (and your opponents).

All that said, a national health emergency also poses real risks for you. Consider:

The buck really stops with you. Those coronavirus numbers aren't going to reduce themselves. If they rise too high, you can try to blame subordinates or outsiders. But in the end, the more power you assume, the more you're on the hook if things go badly.

Cracking down on speech or journalists is a double-edged sword. If you stifle the flow of accurate, widely-sourced information about outbreaks and your government's response, you can end up making dumb mistakes – or bad recommendations - like the president of Belarus.

How competent are your lackeys again? To tackle a health crisis you need capable bureaucrats to execute complex plans. But if you – like most strongmen – have chosen your ministers and governors more for loyalty than competence, they'll quickly face problems that force them to choose between protecting the public's health and protecting the leader's authority.

In short, a pandemic offers you great opportunities – but how lucky do you feel?

More from GZERO Media

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks on tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 2, 2025.
REUTERS/Carlos Barria

During a speech in the White House Rose Garden on Wednesday, Donald Trump announced a universal 10% tariff on all US imports, 25% tariffs on foreign-made cars and parts, as well as a naughty list of trading partners that were hit with “reciprocal tariffs” on top – to the tune of 20% for the EU, 54% for China, and 46% for Vietnam, to name a few of the hardest-hit.

Palestinians travel in vehicles between the northern and southern Gaza Strip along the Rashid Road on April 2, 2025.

Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto via Reuters

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israel was seizing more territory in Gaza to “divide up” the besieged enclave. He spoke as Israeli forces increased the intensity of their assault on Hamas in Gaza, which resumed two weeks ago after phase one of the ceasefire agreed to in January ended.

Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha Vance, tour the US military's Pituffik Space Base in Greenland on March 28, 2025.
JIM WATSON/Pool via REUTERS

How much would it cost for the United States to maintain Greenland as its territory? And what are the revenue possibilities from the Arctic island’s natural resources? Those are two questions the White House is reportedly looking into in the surest sign yet that Trump’s interest in Greenland is genuine.

Protesters demanded the ouster of South Korean President Yoon in central Seoul on March 29, 2025.
Lee Jae-Won/AFLO via Reuters

South Korea’s Constitutional Court will tie the legal bow on what has been a tumultuous period for the country as it rules Friday on whether to formally dismiss or reinstate impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol.

After voters elected her to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, liberal candidate Judge Susan Crawford celebrates with Wisconsin Supreme Court Judge Ann Walsh Bradley at her election night headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin, on April 1, 2025.

REUTERS/Vincent Alban

Republicans expanded their lean House majority after a pair of special elections in Florida, but a conservative candidate lost badly in a Wisconsin judicial race — despite a huge cash injection from Elon Musk.