They both have access to weapons of mass destruction and it's realistic to believe that any of the people in the list could start conflicts for more than debatable reasons. It doesn't seem that the article implies anything else.

You don't need a super power to start a war, post ww1 germany was pretty weak and still managed to kick-start ww2.

I don't understand why journalists do things like these. The only conclusion seems to be that the don't want to seriously discuss an issue but instead to just pander to their existing fanbase.

Both have access to nukes, which is a credible argument they are "just as powerful as any emperor in history"

    > What do they all have in common? They have too much power and 
    > display autocratic tendencies when exercising it.