The school of demagoguery

What helps the rise of the strongman leader? Carl Schmitt was principal legal adviser to the Nazi regime for a time, and in the current political landscape, his name is approaching a commonplace. David Dyzenhaus, a professor of law and philosophy and holder of the Albert Abel Chair of Law at the University of Toronto, looks in Aeon magazine at how legal arguments propel strongman leaders to power — and what we can learn from it today.