"The hard truth is that Trump was not exceptional. He was just another amoral Western businessman, on..." — Anne Applebaum

In Belarus, the government is a kind of presidential monarchy with no checks, no balances, and no rule of law.

Birtherism surely increased Americans' distrust of politics, though in ways that are hard to pin down. By contrast, when anti-vaxxers persuade parents not to vaccinate children, the result can be sickness and even death.

The anti-European Tories were a fringe group - until they took over their whole party.

Political leaders in Belarus are routinely repressed, and their voices are muffled: Tsikhanouskaya was running for president because her husband, Siarhei Tsikhanouski, was arrested before he could start his own presidential campaign.