The "Score" is based on the leaders' ranking on those lists- 10 points for a 1st place finish on a list and so on, then the total score divided by 10. "on List" is the number of times a leader made the top ten list. Only Xi, Kim, and Putin made the top ten list each time. "High" is the leader's highest rank on any one list and "low" is the lowest rank. Since only three leaders made the list each time, the other leaders' low was off the list indicated by a dash.
| Rank | Leader | Country | Score | On List | High | Low |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Xi Jiangping | China | 10 | 10 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Kim Jong-un | North Korea | 8.1 | 10 | 2 | 6 |
| 3 | Vladimir Putin | Russia | 6.1 | 10 | 2 | 10 |
| 4 | Moon Jae-in | South Korea | 4.8 | 8 | 3 | - |
| 5 | Ali Khamenei | Iran | 4.7 | 7 | 3 | - |
| 6 | Emmanuel Macron | France | 3.7 | 6 | 3 | - |
| 7 | Mohammed bin Salman | Saudi Arabia | 3 | 7 | 4 | - |
| 8 | Donald Trump | United States | 2.7 | 9 | 6 | - |
| 9 | Abiy Ahmed | Ethiopia | 1.9 | 4 | 5 | - |
| 10 | Theresa May | United Kingdom | 1.4 | 2 | 2 | - |
| 11 | Narendra Modi | India | 1.3 | 3 | 5 | - |
| 12 | Benjamin Netanyahu | Israel | 1 | 2 | 4 | - |
| 13 | Abdul el-Sisi | Egypt | 0.8 | 2 | 7 | - |
| 14 | Angela Merkel | Germany | 0.7 | 2 | 7 | - |
| 15 | Lee Hsien Loong | Singapore | 0.7 | 1 | 4 | - |
| 16 | Shinzo Abe | Japan | 0.6 | 1 | 5 | - |
| 17 | Paul Kagame | Rwanda | 0.6 | 2 | 6 | - |
| 18 | Recep Erdogan | Turkey | 0.6 | 2 | 8 | - |
| 19 | Sauli Niinisto | Finland | 0.4 | 2 | 9 | - |
| 20 | Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic | Croatia | 0.4 | 1 | 7 | - |
| 21 | Mahathir Mohamad | Malaysia | 0.3 | 2 | 9 | - |
| 22 | Carlos Alvarado | Costa Rica | 0.3 | 1 | 8 | - |
| 23 | Justin Trudeau | Canada | 0.2 | 1 | 9 | - |
| 24 | Abdullah II | Jordan | 0.2 | 1 | 9 | - |
| 25 | Hassan Rouhani | Iran | 0.2 | 1 | 9 | - |
| 26 | Pedro Sanchez | Spain | 0.1 | 1 | 10 | - |
| 27 | Imran Khan | Pakistan | 0.1 | 1 | 10 | - |
| 28 | Muhammadu Bahari | Nigeria | 0.1 | 1 | 10 | - |
1. China was indisputably the most influential country in 2018 as the United States looked inward. Many countries jumped at the chance to do business with China, and Xi consolidated his power within his party this year.
2. Kim transformed his international image from crazy despot to a shrewd and legitimate leader on the world stage. For some reason, the hundreds of thousands of people in concentration camps and the rampant starvation inside North Korea didn't matter as much in 2018.
3. Putin oversees an autocratic kleptocracy in Russia. But he won an election convincingly in 2018 and had the President of the United States eating out of his hand.
4. Though his popularity in South Korea started to turn downward a bit, Moon's relentless efforts toward peace ont he Korean peninsula were tremendously admirable/
5. Aytollah Khamenei and the hardliners inside Iran were emboldened when the United States pulled out of the JCPoA rendering the moderates' attempts at rapprochement with the West a waste of time.
6. Macron did his damnedest to uphold the liberal order and seemed to be succeeding early in 2018. But by the end, Macron was forced to concede on some of his domestic principles as protesters filled the streets. His efforts to keep the United States in the JCPoA and the Paris Climate Accords failed.
7. MBS was initially touted as a reformer inside of Saudi Arabia and a player on the international stage. The U.S. turned even more pro-Saudi and anti-Iran in 2018. But by the end of the year, MBS's reformer image largely dissipated, his war in Yemen was an utter disgrace, and he became a pariah after ordering the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
8. Despite leading the most power country in the world, Trump has done everything in his power to erode the United States's credibility and prestige on the world stage. His foreign policy is a mishmash of ideas from whomever was the last person he talked to on a given day. he seems to have committed crimes as a presidential candidate and many of his advisers have pleaded guilty during the ongoing Mueller investigation. According to the country's preeminent journalist and an anonymous senior adviser, his advisers within the administration actively work to thwart his most dangerous impulses. Now part of the American government is shutdown because Congress won't fund a wall on the border with Mexico that he promised Mexico would pay for.
9. Ahmed has begun to transform Ethiopia into a more liberal and democratic country. He's faced assassination attempts in doing so, so you know he's on the right track. Ahmed's leadership has been a rare bit of good news in 2018.
10. Theresa May managed to crack the top ten despite having an even worse year than Donald Trump. He had a good week when she stood up to Putin after it was determined the Russians poisoned people on British soil. But Brexit has been a disaster and she nearly was outed from office over her proposed deal. Britain continues to make themselves less relevant under May's watch.
11. Modi oversees an improving economy in India, but he couldn't seem to stay on the top ten list consistently because of his Hindu nationalist ideology. India has the second largest Muslim population in the world, and Modi's record with Muslims has been poor.
12. Netanyahu briefly entered the top ten when Trump backed out of the Iran nuclear deal. It was a win for Netanyahu, but a loss for Israel as it made an Iranian nuclear bomb an inevitable reality. he also managed to convince Trump to shift the embassy to Jerusalem in order to stir the pot a bit.
13. Sisi's main highlight from 2018 were that goofy orb picture with MBS and Trump, winning an election with 105% of the vote (+/- 8%), and according to a report, overseeing a populace that actually believes the government has the best interest of the people at heart.
14. Merkel didn't have a good year. Her battle in favor of immigrants finally seemed to sap her political capital. She announced that this would be her last term as German chancellor.
15. Lee's moment in the sun came when Trump and Kim met face to face in Singapore.
16. Trump still believes it's the 1980s and is taking out his anti-Japanese fervor on Abe. But Abe managed to forge a major trade deal with the EU int he summer.
17. Kagame is a technocratic autocrat. Rwanda has one of the highest female representation in parliament in the world. You don't want to get on his bad side, but he won't drop you into a tank of man-eating sharks or anything.
18. Erdogan has become more dictatorial as the Turkish economy plummets. But he's trying to help refugees and stood up to MBS during the Khashoggi murder.
19. Niinisto made the list twice. he hosted the summit between Trump and Putin and then later denied that Finland prevents forest fires with rakes.
20. Grabar-Kitarovic entered the global stage during the World Cup. She came across has a humble and passionate advocate for Croatia.
21. Mahathir became the oldest leader in the world this year, he also tried to stamp out corruption in Malaysia.
22. Alvarado became president of Costa Rica this year and is hoping to push through tax reforms.
23. Trudeau seemed posed to take command of the liberal order, but a couple of minor gaffes hurt his standing. he stood up to Saudi Arabia briefly putting him in the top ten.
24. Abdullah II was honored as an advocate for inter-religious harmony and peace.
25. Rouhani and the Iranian moderates managed to improbably find some common ground between the United States and the Persian nation. But Rouhani was neutered when Trump tore up the JCPoA and emboldened the Revolutionary guard and its allies.
26. Sanchez allowed a ship filled with refugees into Spain, which gave some hope that he would take over the pro-immigrant lead in Europe.
27. Imran Khan completed his unlikely journey from cricketer to Pakistan's prime minister in 2018. As with every Pakistani prime minister, he came in with high hopes behind him which were quickly dashed.
28. Many people in Nigeria believed President Buhari had died and was replaced be a look alike. Turns out he's alive.
No comments:
Post a Comment