Military dictatorship A military dictatorship is a form of government wherein the political power resides with the military . It is similar but not identical to a stratocracy , a state ruled directly by the military . A military dictatorship may have political rather than military leaders where they are appointed and kept in place by the military . Like any dictatorship , a military dictatorship may be official or unofficial . It consequently may not actually qualify as stratocratic . Mixed forms also exist , wherein the military exerts a very strong influence without being entirely dominant . Types . Since 1945 Latin America , Africa , and the Middle East have been common areas for all military dictatorships . One of the reasons for this is the fact that the military often has more cohesion and institutional structure than most of the civilian institutions of society . The typical military dictatorship in Latin America was ruled by a " junta " ( derived from a Spanish word which can be translated as " conference " or " board " ) , or a committee composed of several officers , often from the military ' s most senior leadership , but in other cases less senior , as evidenced by the term " colonels ' regime , " where the military leaders remained loyal to the previous regime . Other military dictatorships are entirely in the hands of a single officer , sometimes called a " caudillo " , usually the senior army commander . In either case , the chairman of the junta or the single commander may often personally assume office as head of state . In the Middle East and Africa , military governments more often came to be led by a single powerful person , and were in addition to military dictatorships . Leaders like Saddam Hussein , Idi Amin , Sani Abacha , Muammar Gaddafi , and Gamal Abdul Nasser worked to develop a personality cult and became the face of the nation inside and outside their countries . Creation and evolution . Most military dictatorships are formed after a " coup d ' état " has overthrown the previous government . One very different pattern was the one followed by Saddam Hussein ' s regime in Iraq and Kim Il - sung ' s regime in North Korea , both of which began as one - party state s , but over the course of their existence turned into military dictatorships as their leaders donned uniforms and the military became closely involved in the government . Conversely , other military dictatorships may gradually restore significant components of civilian government while the senior military commander still maintains executive political power . In Pakistan , ruling Generals Muhammad Zia - ul - Haq ( 1977 – 1988 ) and Pervez Musharraf ( 1999 – 2008 ) have held singular referendums to elect themselves President of Pakistan for additional terms forbidden by the constitution . Justification . In the past , military juntas have justified their rule as a way of bringing political stability for the nation or rescuing it from the threat of " dangerous ideologies " . For example , in Latin America , the threat of communism was often used . Military regimes tend to portray themselves as non - partisan , as a " neutral " party that can provide interim leadership in times of turmoil , and also tend to portray civilian politicians as corrupt and ineffective . One of the almost universal characteristics of a military government is the institution of martial law or a permanent state of emergency . Past cases . Note : due to the large number of historic regimes that could arguably be classed as military dictatorships , this list is limited to those administrations in power from the 19th century onwards . Also , some regimes such as Nazi Germany or Fascist Italy , while they could arguably be listed below , and while they pursued considerable aggressive and expansionist strategies , were not strictly run by the military .