The Dictator Paradox

When Moral Certainty Collapses the Moment Power Changes Hands

There is something deeply unsettling happening in the public reaction to the arrest of Venezuela’s outgoing president, Nicolás Maduro—and it has very little to do with Venezuela itself.

For years, Maduro was described—accurately and repeatedly—as an illegitimate ruler. He was condemned by the international community, sanctioned by Western governments, de…