Minxin Pei is professor of government at Claremont McKenna College and a nonresident senior fellow of the German Marshall Fund of the United States.
Strongman leaders get a lot worse after a decade in power

Diplomatic isolation has forced Putin into China's arms. © AP
Minxin Pei is professor of government at Claremont McKenna College and a nonresident senior fellow of the German Marshall Fund of the United States.