The nature of despotism
Subtitle: from Caligula to Mugabe, the making of tyrants
By: Tom Ambrose
Publisher: New Holland
Published: 2008
Place of publication: London
Language: eng
Number of pages: 232
ISBN-13: 9781847730701
Subjects: Despotism; History; Dictators; Psychological aspects; Tyrann; Despotie
Description: The difference between a strong ruler and a despot can be defined by gratuitous cruelty in excess of the need to retain power, but what is it that drives a ruler to this extreme? The tyrants discussed in The Nature of Despotism share common backgrounds, behaviours and motivations that, when viewed together, can be seen as forming the character of the despot. From more predictable origins, such as violent, miserable childhoods, to those that seem more surprising, such as frustrated artistic impulses, each aspect of despotic cause and effect is examined in detail. The book covers the lives and careers of such despots as Nero, Genghis Khan, Vlad the Impaler, Robespierre, Stalin, Hitler, Papa Doc Duvalier, Pol Pot, Saddam Hussein and Kim Jong Il. With chapters on the use of ceremony and scapegoats to distract their people, the importance of building a personality cult, the pretension to, and control of, culture and the myth of efficiency, The Nature of Despotism is an indepth study of what it is that makes a tyrant and offers predictions for the future of despotism in a world where international bodies increasingly intervene in a country's affairs.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: The coming of the despot; title: A terrible childhood; title: Murderous revenge; title: The imperative of cruelty; title: The need of a support group; title: Finding a scapegoat; title: Seducing the masses; title: Building a personality cult; title: The pursuit of a big idea; title: A pretension to culture; title: The enlightened despot; title: The promise of efficiency; title: Despotic groups; title: Are despots mad?; title: The future; title: Exceptions that prove the rule.