For Frank Dikötter, the main point that unites current and 20th century dictators is the argument that the will of the majority can only be achieved when power is in the hands of a single person. This, by the way, would be the hook between leaders like Adolf Hitler, the Chinese Xi Jinping and the North Korean Kim Jong-un. “While they call themselves democratic, they question Western democracy and say that it is false,” says the Dutch historian. Late last year, for example, Beijing released a 23-page report outlining aspects of so-called “socialist democracy”. Titled “China: Democracy That Works”, the...