The recent rise of the phenomenon of autocratic nostalgia in numerous countries worldwide has brought to the fore rabble-rousers and incendiary demagogues styling themselves to the disaffected as viable alternatives to traditional neoliberal figures of power. That such traditional leaders are seen as guilty of exclusivism, ineptitude, and malversation that has fed—and continues to feed—decades-long systemic corruption is being utilized by opportunistic firebrands to capture the imagination of the disillusioned populace who are seeking change in the form of unwavering, resolute leadership. This seemingly irreconcilable tension between ‘old’ (read: traditional, decadent, ineffective) and ‘new’ (read: progressive, revolutionary, better) spheres of authority belies a reductive approach to the dialectics of power and influence.