Putin bares the flaws of autocracy for world to see

President Joe Biden has often said that the struggle of our age is democracy versus authoritarianism. If that is the case, in Russia’s cruel war against Ukraine it is the autocrats who so far have been diminished and discredited.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s gross underestimation of Ukraine’s ability to fight, NATO’s will to resist, and his own army’s unreadiness are the obvious examples of this. But China also seemed unprepared for the geopolitical turmoil that followed Russia’s invasion. Far-right populist politicians in the West with Russian ties, such as France’s Marine Le Pen and Italy’s Matteo Salvini, are rushing to distance themselves from Mr. Putin and his Ukraine adventure.

This dynamic could change. The war in Ukraine is only three weeks old. But in that brief time the sense that in this historical era authoritarians are on the march – that they have more energy, vision, and vitality than democratic counterparts – may have been defeated, says