How Idi Amin's Demagoguery Established Him as a 'Liberator'—A Tactic That Persists Today

Fifty years ago, Ugandan leader Idi Amin proposed an audacious idea to Commonwealth nations: he should replace Queen Elizabeth II as the organization's head. Amin argued that a faltering U.K. economy rendered it unfit to lead, emphasizing that the “British empire no longer existed” due to decolonization. Concurrently, he pushed for the relocation of the United Nations headquarters to Uganda’s capital, Kampala, claiming its central position among global continents. My latest book, “A Popular History of Idi Amin’s Uganda,” demonstrates Amin’s efforts to cast Uganda—a remote, landlocked nation—as pivotal in the global fight against racism and imperialism. This self-propagated perception enabled him to sustain an oppressive regime for eight disastrous years from 1971-1979. Even his harsh policies, like the 1972 expulsion of the Asian community—which he termed the “Economic War”—were framed as liberatory acts. Nevertheless, Amin’s disastrous governance ultimately serves as a cautionary tale about the seductive nature of demagoguery.

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