Selfie politics: If Donald Trump can do it, Kim Kardashian can do it better
New paths to power have been opened by social media and disillusionment with traditional elites has helped
Amid the dysfunction and polarisation of today’s global politics, where disillusioned electorates are desperately searching for alternatives to the status quo, unconventional heroes and villains have emerged.
The convergence of politics, media and technology has given rise to an intriguing new phenomenon — the political celebrity. From businessman-cum-reality TV star Donald Trump to Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian comedian turned president; from Imran Khan, cricketer turned prime minister in Pakistan, to George Weah, former world footballer of the year turned president of Liberia — celebrities across the world have hacked the conventional political ladder, exploited a leadership vacuum and leveraged their popularity to ascend to power. Their success has defied traditional political wisdom and has now fanned speculation over whether we are witnessing the early stages of a new political phenomenon...
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