Not long ago, the world's strongmen were only tinpot dictators of tinpot countries. Parts of the world, we knew, remained in the doldrums of despotism. But this formed no particular threat to the West and its ideals. Liberal democracy seemed unassailable in its appeal. Strongman politics, the consensus was, thrived on social and intellectual torpor. Sooner or later the rest of the world would wake up and follow our example.

Today, history looks far less certain, less linear. Bullish confidence in the Western model, commonplace once, has become a curiosity. The strongmen are on the rise in Asia, Africa and even in the West itself. And rather than tinpot countries, they now run some of the world's wealthiest and most powerful states. The technological and military resources the strongmen command collectively, and in some cases individually, exceed those of European and other liberal states by far. The time when strongmen needed to pose as democrats to gain international acceptance is over. It suffices to win the respect of other strongmen.

For Europe, the repercussions of this new balance of power are vast. Since the Second World War, Europe has stood for an idea of global order, on which it also staked its future. According to this idea, multilateral rules can be found that serve the interests of all people, and peace and prosperity come about when those rules are upheld by global institutions of governance. It remains a powerful vision, one that has bought the continent the security and unity it needed. But as a conception of order, rules are no longer the only game in town. The strongmen have their own idea about how the world should be organized. And at the heart of this language of politics and order lie not rules but an idea of strength.

Coming to terms with the politics of strength, with the “grammar of power”, as French President Emmanuel Macron has called it, is one of Europe's biggest trials. It is also the central objective of this book. For while the politics of strength continues its rise in the world, our understanding of it lags behind. Dictators, tyrants and despots have always existed, of course.