Dictatorship

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[[File:Kiss-EastSideGallery.jpg|thumb|right|165px|Nobody loves a dictator like a dictator. {{wpl|My God, Help Me to Survive This Deadly Love||,}} graffitied on the [[Berlin Wall]].]]{{politics}}
{{cquote|If you want to preserve — I'm very serious now — if you want to preserve democracy as we know it, you have to have a free and, many times, adversarial press. And without it, I am afraid that we would lose so much of our individual liberties over time. ''That's'' how dictators get started.|||US Senator [[John McCain]] (R-Arizona), 19 February 2017.<ref>[https://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/19/mccain-defends-a-free-press-thats-how-dictators-get-started.html McCain Defends a Free Press: ‘That’s How Dictators Get Started’]. ''CNBC.''</ref>}}
{{cquote|People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.|||Franklin D. Roosevelt<ref>[https://www.ushistory.org/documents/economic_bill_of_rights.htm The Economic Bill of Rights] by Franklin D. Roosevelt (January 11, 1944) ''UShistory.org''.</ref>}}

A '''dictatorship''' is a regime ruled by one or more [[authoritarian]] political leaders with very few (if any) checks on their legal power. These leaders are called '''dictators''', [[File:Dictator.gif]] and the relative lack of restraints placed on their rule tends to enhance their negative personality traits and desire for more power. Thus, the leadership of a dictator tends to begin with or devolve into corruption and brutality. They almost always benefit from the backing of some powerful group of people who benefit personally from their rule, especially if that group is wealthy. Dictators also typically use methods such as intimidation, imprisonment, or violence to silence opposition to their rule. While the pages of modern [[history]] are stained by the blood of the victims of dictators like [[Adolf Hitler]], [[Joseph Stalin]], [[Pol Pot]], or any other example you care to name, dictatorial government remains the way of life in much of the world. Dictators are usually considered distinct from [[monarchy|monarchs]], as dictators don't tend to inherit their power by being born at the right time but often have fewer restrictions on their power.<ref>[https://borgenproject.org/types-of-government-systems/ Democracy, Monarchy And Dictatorship: Types Of Government Systems]. ''Borgen Project.''</ref> Monarchs can be dictators (such as [[Mohammad bin Salman]]), or not (such as in the case of [[Constitutional monarchy|constitutional monarchies]]).

In the modern world, especially after [[World War II]], dictatorships and their rulers are typically seen as contrary to established international values. The [[United Nations]], for instance, counts most nations of the world in its membership and recognizes an International Day of Democracy, and sometimes warns against democratic backsliding.<ref>[https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/09/1126671 UN chief raises alarm over ‘backsliding’ of democracy worldwide]. ''United Nations News.''</ref> In response, most dictators have recognized that the ''appearance'' of democratic rule is actually useful to them, as it convinces the populace to view them as legitimate.<ref name="dicdemocrat">[https://english.elpais.com/elpais/2017/11/08/the_global_observer/1510145829_920511.html Why Do Dictators like to Appear Democratic?] ''El Pais.''</ref> Tactics for accomplishing the appearance of democracy include holding regular but unfree elections (a current favorite in [[Russia]]<ref>[https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/why-we-must-not-recognize-russias-fraudulent-election/ Why we must not recognize Russia’s fraudulent election]. ''Atlantic Council.''</ref> and [[Belarus]]<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/sep/17/election-belarus-russia-lukashenko-vladimir-putin-sviatlana-tsikhanouskaya Putin’s ally stole my democratic victory in Belarus. Now the west must help us fight back]. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. ''The Guardian.''</ref>), voicing support for democratic values and [[human rights]] in other countries (as [[China]] does frequently<ref>[https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/nanhai/eng/fyrbt_1/201704/t20170407_8526377.htm Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying's Regular Press Conference on April 7, 2017].</ref>), or just flatly insisting that they either still are or always have been democratic rulers (as in [[Uganda]]<ref>[https://www.independent.co.ug/i-dont-need-lectures-about-democracy-museveni/ I don’t need lectures about democracy -Museveni]. ''The Independent Uganda.''</ref> or [[Egypt]]<ref>[https://dawnmena.org/sisi-cant-disguise-egypts-dictatorship-as-a-new-republic/ Sisi Can't Disguise Egypt's Dictatorship as a 'New Republic']. ''Dawn: Democracy for the Arab World Now.''</ref>). The Chinese Communist Party, for its part, claims that its regime is more democratic than the [[United States]].<ref>[https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/12/7/china-claims-to-have-democracy-that-works-ahead-of-biden-summit China claims to have ‘democracy that works’ ahead of Biden summit]. ''Al Jazeera.''</ref> 

Dictatorships also often benefit from the support of more powerful nations, including those that consider themselves to be exporters of democracy. As part of the [[Cold War]], the former [[Soviet Union]], itself a highly authoritarian government for most of its history, supported dictators in its [[satellite state]]s who largely acted as Soviet [[puppet state|puppets]].<ref>[https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/cold-war-on-file/ussr-satellites/ USSR satellites]. ''The National Archives.''</ref> The United States also frequently supported dictatorships during the Cold War, such as the junta in [[Argentina]] or [[Augusto Pinochet]] in [[Chile]].<ref>[https://www.salon.com/2014/03/08/35_countries_the_u_s_has_backed_international_crime_partner/ 35 countries where the U.S. has supported fascists, drug lords and terrorists]. ''Salon.''</ref> Dictatorial American partners in the 21<sup>st</sup> century include Islam Karimov in [[Uzbekistan]]<ref>[https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/1903730/us-hopes-to-build-on-cooperation-with-uzbekistan/ U.S. Hopes to Build on Cooperation With Uzbekistan]. US Department of Defense.</ref> (who liked to boil people alive<ref>[https://eurasianet.org/uzbekistan-so-now-prisoners-are-frozen-instead-of-boiled Uzbekistan: So Now Prisoners are Frozen Instead of Boiled?] ''EurasiaNet.''</ref>), or Teodoro Obiang of Equatorial Guinea<ref>[https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/10/17/equatorial-guinea-teodoro-obiang-us-foreign-policy/ Equatorial Guinea Is Everything Wrong With U.S. Foreign Policy]. ''Foreign Policy.''</ref> (who has clung to power for more than 40 years<ref>[https://www.dw.com/en/5-surprising-facts-about-equatorial-guinea/a-56805760 5 surprising facts about Equatorial Guinea]. ''Deutsche Welle.''</ref>), or Egypt's Abdel Fattah al-Sisi<ref>[https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/10/14/al-sisis-western-benefactors-are-betraying-egypts-democratic-struggle Al-Sisi’s Western Benefactors Are Betraying Egypt’s Democratic Struggle]. ''Human Rights Watch.''</ref> (who came to power in a military coup and loves throwing journalists in prison<ref>[https://arabcenterdc.org/resource/five-years-after-sisis-coup-soul-searching-resistance-and-division/ Five Years after Sisi’s Coup: Soul Searching, Resistance, and Division]. ''Arab Center Washington DC.''</ref>). 

As part of [[RationalWiki|our Wiki's]] [[RationalWiki:Mission|mission]], dictators are a subject of great importance. They are the most honest embodiment of [[authoritarianism]], and have pretty much a free gateway into brutally curbstomping the rights of just about anyone, and creating an entire nation of misery. Given that the "[[End of History]]" was a severe miscalculation, and [[democracy]] ''can'' slide backwards into rule by a mad dictator, work must be done to understand how the dictatorship is formed, and fortify democratic values and institutions where necessary with this in mind.

==Types of dictatorship==
{{cquote|There is something desperately [[:Help:Bored|boring]] about despots and [[Plutocracy|plutocrats]]. And one of the frustrating consequences of an unequal society is that the rest of us have to care what is going on with them.|||Alexandra Petri<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/12/17/elon-musk-twitter-overkill/ Not another column about Elon Musk] by Alexandra Petri (December 17, 2022 at 8:35 a.m. EST) ''The Washington Post''.</ref>}}
Not all dictatorships are created equal, and many dictators end up hating each other over ideological or territorial reasons. Really, you can look at modern war and find at least a couple of fun examples of this. Classifying dictatorial regimes will be useful for at least noting some of the major differences between them, but one will run into the problem where some regimes fit multiple categories or don't cleanly go into any category at all.

===Military dictatorships===
[[File:247981191 639cd92921 o.jpg|thumb|right|275px|[[Thailand|Thai]] soldier directs a civilian in Bangkok, 2006.]]
Nothing like starting off with one of the ol' classics. Modern history is filled with images of tinpot dictators in uniforms saluting during some dumbass military parade. In these regimes, as you have surely guessed, political power is centered on the military while some figure associated with them serves as the figurehead of the regime.<ref name="mildick">[https://www.thoughtco.com/military-dictatorship-definition-and-examples-5091896 What Is a Military Dictatorship? Definition and Examples]. ''ThoughtCo.''</ref> In some cases, a group of military officials will hold power; this is known as a [[junta]]. These regimes almost always arise when the military overthrows a prior regime.<ref name="mildick"/> 

Since these regimes arise through military [[coup]]s, it's fairly easy to assess risk factors for such a regime rising to power. Young democratic governments without a means of restraining the ambitions of military leaders are common targets, and nations in geopolitically turbulent parts of the world tend to have militaries influential enough to pose a threat to their government.<ref name="militwhy">[https://www.nber.org/digest/jul08/theory-military-dictatorships A Theory of Military Dictatorships]. ''National Bureau of Economic Research.''</ref> Democratic governments attempting to reform their national military or restrain the power of its leaders often provoke a coup to prevent that from happening.<ref name="militwhy"/> [[Economic inequality]] also increases coup risk, as the military can appear more competent and its wealthy leaders wield outsized economic influence.<ref name="militwhy"/> This is the major reason why the United States has such stringent legal restrictions on its military, with its leadership under the control of civilians and it being expected to be apolitical.<ref>[https://www.militarytimes.com/opinion/commentary/2020/06/08/an-apolitical-military-is-essential-to-maintaining-balance-among-american-institutions/ An apolitical military is essential to maintaining balance among American institutions]. ''Military Times.''</ref> The US military, despite being the most powerful in the world, is firmly under control.

Military dictators were also common in post-[[colonial]] [[Latin America]], as charismatic military leaders who participated in ousting Spanish rule rose to fill the resulting power vacuum and became the infamous ''caudillos''.<ref>[https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199766581/obo-9780199766581-0141.xml 19<sup>th</sup> Century Caudillos]. ''Oxford Bibliographies.''</ref> 

An almost universal characteristic of military dictatorships is their reliance on [[martial law]] or a permanent state of national emergency, either of which allow the military to exercise extensive control over civilian life.<ref name="mildick"/> They use the maintenance of public security as a justification for their actions and their continued rule. Their emphasis on restoring and enforcing political stability is evident in the names these regimes often take, such as the "Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration" in Burkina Faso<ref>[https://www.africanews.com/2022/02/27/burkina-junta-says-country-will-return-to-constitutional-rule-only-when-strong/ Burkina junta says country will return to constitutional rule only when "strong"]. ''Africa News.''</ref>, or the "National Committee for the Salvation of the People" in [[Mali]]<ref>[https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/08/27/mali-transition-authorities-should-promote-justice Mali: Transition Authorities Should Promote Justice]. ''Human Rights Watch.''</ref>, or the "State Peace and Development Council" of [[Burma]] (which did not bring [[peace]]).<ref>[https://borgenproject.org/tag/state-peace-and-development-council/ Bipartisan Bill Helping Political Prisoners In Burma]. ''Borgen Project.''</ref>

In Burma, which had a classic military dictatorship during the 1980s, people lived in fear of being snatched off the streets for dissent and had to pay homage to leading generals of the country's junta.<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-55901067 Myanmar: What was it like growing up under military rule?] ''BBC News.''</ref> During the Cold War, military dictators across South America kidnapped and murdered tens of thousands of people, sometimes by throwing them out of helicopters and planes while still alive.<ref>[https://cja.org/where-we-work/chile/ Chile] ''The Center for Justice and Accountability''.</ref><ref>[https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/05/28/479824880/argentinas-last-dictator-sentenced-to-20-years-in-prison-for-cross-border-conspi Argentina's Last Dictator Sentenced To 20 Years In Prison For Cross-Border Conspiracy]. ''NPR.''</ref> Between 1964 and 1985, [[Brazil]]'s military dictatorship enforced martial law to close state legislatures and inflict [[torture]] and murder on hundreds of dissidents.<ref>[https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/12/13/no-justice-horrors-brazils-military-dictatorship-50-years No Justice for Horrors of Brazil’s Military Dictatorship 50 Years On]. ''ThoughtCo.''</ref> 

<center><gallery widths=225px heights=225px>
File:Augusto Pinochet y Lucía Hiriart.png|Chile's [[Pinochet]] with his wife and some lackeys, 1970. All-around classic dictator look. 
File:Idi Amin at UN (United Nations, New York) gtfy.00132.jpg|Uganda's [[Idi Amin]] at the UN, 1975. Slouching hurts the [[machismo]] a bit, but the dozens of medals are a nice touch.
File:Junta Militar argentina 1976.png|Argentine junta members watch a parade, 1976. Uniforms are flashy, but they look more bored than stoic.
File:2021 Myanmar Armed Forces Day 05.jpg|Burma's Min Aung Hlaing rides in a car during a military parade, 2021. Really nails the tinpot parade look.
</gallery></center>

===Personalist dictatorships===
[[File:Vladimir Putin rally in Sevastopol 2018-03-14.jpg|thumb|right|375px|A [[Putin]]ist rally in occupied Crimea, 2018.]]
Personalist dictatorships are regimes propped up by a single leader. While this individual almost always has powerful backers, actual political authority is wielded by and bestowed by the dictator alone. This is probably the most well-known form of dictatorship, as the destruction inflicted by personalist dictators can and does fill history books. Ubiquitous in these regimes are [[cult of personality|cults of personality]] in which the state makes an effort to enforce an idealized image of the dictator through [[propaganda]] and rallies.

Regimes centered on a single individual arise in environments in which institutions are too weak to restrain their ambitions. Unlike a military dictatorship, which arises when political power structures are weak, personalist dictatorships result when the military is ''also'' too weak to form institutions around them.<ref name="personali">[https://www.niskanencenter.org/putins-war-and-personalist-authoritarianism/ Putin’s War and Personalist Authoritarianism]. ''Niskanen Center.''</ref> These regimes also arise when the backers who sweep the dictator into power become less influential than the dictator or else rely on him to maintain their position. 

Due to a complete lack of checks on the dictator's power, personalist regimes are by far the most dangerous. They behave more brutally towards their own people and are more aggressive in foreign policy.<ref>Frantz, Erica; Kendall-Taylor, Andrea; Wright, Joseph; Xu, Xu (27 August 2019). "Personalization of Power and Repression in Dictatorships". ''The Journal of Politics.'' 82: 372–377. doi:10.1086/706049. ISSN 0022-3816. S2CID 203199813.</ref> They also fall victim to corruption more quickly and completely than other forms of dictatorship, as the leader's autonomy in delegating power allows him to favor loyalty over competence.<ref>Ezrow, Natasha M.; Frantz, Erica (2011). ''Dictators and Dictatorships: Understanding Authoritarian Regimes and Their Leaders.'' Bloomsbury. ISBN 9781441196828. p. 134–135.</ref> Having such compliant staffers and bureaucrats also means the dictator will tend to lack accurate intelligence, as these staffers will fear passing on negative news or reporting their own failures.<ref>[https://theconversation.com/why-the-best-way-to-stop-strongmen-like-putin-is-to-prevent-their-rise-in-the-first-place-179624 Why the best way to stop strongmen like Putin is to prevent their rise in the first place]. ''The Conversation.''</ref> This makes personalist dictators much more reckless and impairs their ability to address crises both systemic and urgent. 

The most infamous example of a personalist dictator in recent times is [[Vladimir Putin]] of [[Russia]], who tossed a big chunk of the world into [[chaos]] by invading [[Ukraine]]. While Putin is supported by Russia's wealthy [[oligarch]] class who prosper from his rule, these oligarchs have little to no influence on his actual political decisions.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/03/04/russian-oligarchs-lack/ Russian oligarchs don’t have the power — or inclination — to stop Putin]. ''Washington Post.''</ref> Putin's inner circle are loyal to him personally, and other oligarchs have seen their wealth and positions dependent upon Putin's goodwill.<ref>[https://www.vox.com/recode/22971179/russian-oligarchs-influence-putin-ukraine-war-sanctions-limits Can Russian oligarchs influence Putin’s war?] ''Vox.''</ref> Putin not only seized the reigns of Russia's post-Soviet government, but he also outwitted the oligarchs.

Another example was [[Saddam Hussein]] of [[Iraq]], who had images of himself placed on posters and statues across the nation<ref>[https://www.csmonitor.com/1995/0615/15014.html Iraq's Cult of Saddam Creates A Perfect Picture of Oppression]. ''Christian Science Monitor.''</ref> and then began the bloody [[Iran-Iraq War]] and the [[Gulf War]]. [[Kim Jong Un]], who still rules [[North Korea]] to this day, is another personalist dictator who benefits from the power structures established by his father and grandfather. Kim likes to demonstrate his authority over the North Korean government by purging officials like the ill-fated defense minister Hyon Yong-chol in 2015 or killing his own family members in the government like his uncle Jang Song-thaek in 2013.<ref>[https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/north-koreas-power-structure North Korea’s Power Structure]. ''Council on Foreign Relations.''</ref> Every member of the North Korean government is completely beholden to the whims of Kim.

Certainly the most well-known personalist dictator is [[Adolf Hitler]], who had his face plastered across busts, posters, postcards, matchbooks, playing cards, [[Christmas]] decorations, Wehrmacht and Hitler action figures, posters, you name it.<ref>[https://www.france24.com/en/20101017-exhibit-nazi-memorabilia-berlin-hitler-personality-cult-german-historical-museum-dhm Exhibit of Nazi memorabilia explores Hitler personality cult]. ''France24.''</ref> While Hitler wielded power through the [[Nazi Party]], he was in no way subordinate to its internal structures, and the major party figures were loyal to him personally. Also, his acts of geopolitical aggression plunged the world into [[World War II]] and resulted in Germany getting obliterated.

[[Xi Jinping]], the current president of China, also arguably fits here despite theoretically being the leader of a party-based regime. While he started off as a simple cog in the Chinese Communist Party, he used efficiency-based reforms and anti-corruption purges to stack the party with his loyalists and center its institutions around him.<ref name="xipower">[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-63210545 How Xi Jinping made himself unchallengeable]. ''BBC News.''</ref> His absolute rule became apparent when he emerged from the 2022 Party Congress having obtained a previously illegal third term in power as well as an amendment to the party [[constitution]] describing him as the "core" of the party.<ref>[https://www.npr.org/2022/10/23/1130771668/china-xi-jinping-third-term-leader China's Xi Jinping emerges from the Communist Party congress with dominance]. ''NPR.''</ref> 

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File:242-EB-6-43A - DPLA - 1efd121f86de82fe26546c98307d52fa.jpg|[[Adolf Hitler]] addresses the Reichstag, 1939. You can't have a dictator list without this guy.
File:Benito Mussolini Portrait.jpg|[[Benito Mussolini]] poses for propaganda. The helmet makes him look even goofier.
File:Saddam Hussein 1988.jpg|[[Saddam Hussein]] on a throne, 1988. Bonus points for his dictator moustache.
File:Secretary Pompeo and Chairman Kim Attend Working Lunch in Pyongyang (44240166245).jpg|[[Kim Jong-un]] having lunch in Pyongyang, 2018. Completely lacks machismo, but makes up for it with brutal reputation.
File:习近平 Xi Jinping 20221023 01.jpg|[[Xi Jinping]] addresses Chinese Communist Party leaders, 2022. Manages to look dictator-y even with the civilian suit.
</gallery></center>

===Party dictatorships===
As opposed to a military regime, a party dictatorship (branded by [[Communism|Marxist-Leninists]] as "[[Doublethink|dictatorship of the proletariat]]") exercises power over the nation through a single political party which has either banned other parties from elections, or less-frequently subordinated other parties as showpieces (as in China). These were most common during the latter 20<sup>th</sup> century due to the dominance of the [[Soviet Union]], which wanted other communist states to follow its model of a government run by a single communist party.<ref>Magaloni, Beatriz; Kricheli, Ruth (2010). "Political Order and One-Party Rule". ''Annual Review of Political Science.'' 13: 123–143. doi:10.1146/annurev.polisci.031908.220529.</ref> Party regimes are the easiest to disguise as being democratic, as the party will typically go through the motions of holding elections and incentivizing people to vote for its members. The Soviet Union, which serves as the primary example of such a government, had no legal opposition to its party but still encouraged people to cast votes and did their best to turn elections into festive occasions.<ref name="sovelec">[https://www.rbth.com/history/333022-elections-in-soviet-union-ussr Were there any elections in the USSR?] ''Russia Beyond.''</ref> Ballots were thus a simple yes-or-no on the single candidate offered, and blank ballots were counted as approval of the candidate.<ref name="sovelec"/> However, Soviet citizens could express their thoughts by writing messages on the ballots, something the Soviet government kept tabs on.<ref>[https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/elections-feedback-mechanism-the-soviet-union Elections: A Feedback Mechanism in the Soviet Union?] ''Wilson Center.''</ref> 

Party dictatorships are typically more politically stable than other kinds of dictatorships, a fact largely attributable to the veneer of legitimacy offered by the political party and the elections it holds.<ref>Aksoy, Deniz; Carter, David B.; Wright, Joseph (1 July 2012). "Terrorism In Dictatorships". ''The Journal of Politics.'' 74 (3): 810–826. doi:10.1017/S0022381612000400. ISSN 0022-3816. S2CID 153412217.</ref> This also makes party regimes more durable than other kinds of dictatorships, as the power structures will last beyond a single leader's death (a key problem of personalist regimes) and power isn't solely reliant on military force (a key problem of military regimes). 

On the much more negative side, a party dictatorship will still typically have the hallmark brutality and poor governance of other forms of autocratic rule. China, the world's current most influential example of a party regime, only has competitive national elections for the National People's Congress which in turn meets only a few times per year to confirm decisions made by unelected Communist Party officials.<ref name="chinadem">[https://freedomhouse.org/country/china/freedom-world/2022 China 2022]. ''Freedom House.''</ref> China's government routinely [[Capital punishment|executes]] people for [[drug]] offenses, [[censor]]s [[media]] and [[internet]] ([[Great Firewall of China]]), arrests dissidents, and persecutes ethnic minorities (e.g., [[Uyghur genocide]]).<ref>[https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/asia-and-the-pacific/east-asia/china/report-china/ China 2021]. ''Amnesty International.''</ref>

Additionally, party regimes frequently find their leaders crossing the line into personalist rule by enforcing cults of leadership and seizing control of party apparatuses. As discussed above, Xi Jinping has already managed this by stacking the party with his loyalists and purging anyone who opposed him.<ref name="xipower"/> The lack of checks on the party's power now means a lack of checks on Xi's power. Stalin also took control of the Soviet Union's ruling party by having his political opponents arrested and executed, and he went on to perpetrate some of history's most infamous crimes like the [[Holodomor]]<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2022/03/12/holodomor-famine-ukraine-stalin/ Cut off from food, Ukrainians recall famine under Stalin, which killed 4 million of them]. ''Washington Post.''</ref> and Soviet complicity in dividing [[Europe]] with [[Nazi Germany]]<ref>[https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/german-soviet-pact German-Soviet Pact]. ''United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.''</ref> and fueling the German war machine.<ref>[https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1940v01/d582 The Chargé in the Soviet Union (Thurston) to the Secretary of State]. US State Department Office of the Historian.</ref> Having so few barriers between party leaders and absolute rule is yet another critical flaw of a one-party dictatorship.

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File:Lenin.WWI.JPG|[[Vladimir Lenin]] giving a speech in the Red Square, 1919. His dictator posing game is on point. 
File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-R1029-0026, Berlin, Empfang Erich Honecker.jpg|Erich Honecker inspects troops in [[East Germany]], 1976. A classic dictator pastime.
File:JULIO-CESAR-HDZ-JCH 5058 (22417821628).jpg|Raúl Castro in [[Mexico]], 2015. Looks more ''abuelo'' than autocrat.
File:Thongloun Sisoulith (20-05-2016).jpg|Thongloun Sisoulith, current leader of [[Laos]]. Also lacks machismo.
File:President Trump's Trip to Vietnam (33352865778).jpg|Vietnamese leader Nguyễn Phú Trọng meets [[Donald Trump]], 2019. But look! Hồ Chí Minh wants to be in the picture too!
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===Absolute monarchies===
This is where the line between dictatorship and monarchy starts to blur. However, some points must be made. Firstly, many of history's monarchies were not absolute in the way we might consider today. [[Medieval]] monarchies, for instance, were quite decentralized under the system of [[feudalism]], where regional [[nobility]] had significant authority over their own lands and people.<ref>[https://medium.com/@marcusmagister/the-fall-of-rome-and-its-effects-on-post-roman-and-medieval-europe-11a888a98102 The Fall of Rome and its Effects on Post-Roman and Medieval Europe]. ''Medium.''</ref> Even the monarchs of the 17<sup>th</sup> century "Age of Absolutism" struggled to exercise their power without limitations. Louis XIV of [[France]], the quintessential absolute monarch of the era, had to deal with local nobles and the fact that towns and provinces had their own privileges and systems of law.<ref>[http://www.louis-xiv.de/index.php?id=30 Absolutism]. ''Louix XIV.''</ref> As American [[Renaissance]] historian William Bouwsma said, "Nothing so clearly indicates the limits of royal power as the fact that governments were perennially in financial trouble, unable to tap the wealth of those most able to pay, and likely to stir up a costly revolt whenever they attempted to develop an adequate income."<ref>Bouwsma, William J., in Kimmel, Michael S. ''Absolutism and Its Discontents: State and Society in Seventeenth-Century France and England.'' Transaction Books, 1988. ISBN 0887381804.</ref> The fact is, most pre-modern monarchies, being based on traditional rights and privileges, effectively limited monarchial power through extra-legal means. A monarch could only break with tradition to bolster their own power so much before the nobility started pushing back.

After [[World War I]], the world generally trended away from powerful monarchies even further. However, absolute monarchies still exist, and with the advantages of modern communications and theories of governance they are arguably more absolute than ever before. In [[Saudi Arabia]], for instance, all high-level government posts are appointed by the monarch and tend to be filled with members of the royal family.<ref name="saugov">[https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-hccc-worldhistory2/chapter/the-monarchies-of-the-middle-east/ Saudi Arabia]. ''Lumen Learning.''</ref><ref>[https://freedomhouse.org/country/saudi-arabia/freedom-world/2022 Saudi Arabia 2022]. ''Freedom House.''</ref> Even here, the king must comply with certain restrictions. His decrees must be in accordance with [[Islam]]ic law, and his government tends to consult with tribal leaders and important commercial families on major decisions to avoid alienating them.<ref name="saugov"/> [[Bahrain]], a fellow absolute monarchy, is slightly better in that it at least has an elected parliament, but candidates are vetted for loyalty to the crown and elected members are excluded from decision-making by the king's appointed cabinet members.<ref>[https://freedomhouse.org/country/bahrain/freedom-world/2022 Bahrain 2022]. ''Freedom House.''</ref>

A particularly interesting example of a monarch as a dictator is Emperor [[Napoleon Bonaparte]], who took his throne through a coup rather than succession. Napoleon was a true absolutist in that he made political decisions without consulting anyone else either noble or otherwise, and he was not bound by traditions due to having come to power in a [[French Revolution|time of upheaval]].<ref>[https://www.napoleon.org/en/history-of-the-two-empires/articles/the-empire-dictatorship-monarchy/ The Empire. Dictatorship? Monarchy?] ''Foundation Napoleon.''</ref> He also dodged the problems Louis XIV faced by forcibly standardizing French law with his Napoleonic Code in 1804.<ref>[https://www.crf-usa.org/bill-of-rights-in-action/bria-15-2-a-the-code-napoleon The Code Napoleon]. ''Constitutional Rights Foundation.''</ref> 

<center><gallery widths=225px heights=225px>
File:Painting of Napoleon Bonaparte by Jacques-Louis David, 1813.jpg|Emperor Napoleon in the Tuileries Palace, 1813. Damn is that some fine dictator swag.
File:His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, and Her Majesty Duli Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Hajah Saleha 2017.jpg|Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of [[Brunei]] and his wife greet crowds, 2017.
File:The President, Shri Ram Nath Kovind inspecting the Guard of Honour, during the Ceremonial Reception, at Lozitha Palace, in Swaziland, Shikhuphe on April 09, 2018. His Majesty Mswati III, the King of Swaziland is also seen.jpg|King Mswati III (in orange) of [[eSwatini]] inspects troops, 2018. Gets points for a unique take on dictator dress.
File:King Salman 2018.jpg|King Salman of Saudi Arabia, 2018. This grandpa likes chopping heads. 
</gallery></center>

===Theocratic dictatorships===
[[File:Ali Khamenei at Afsari University 2019 5.jpg|thumb|right|325px|Supreme Leader Khamenei inspects Iranian troops, 2019.]]
{{main|Theocracy}}

In a theocratic regime, [[God]] or whoever the government worships is theoretically in charge. In reality, God doesn't seem too keen on the day-to-day business of running a government (God also really likes taking [[Sabbath|Sundays]] off) so the real decisions are made by men who claim to speak for him. These men, you guessed it, typically have few limitations on their power and thus rule as dictators. These rulers are also unusually self-righteous and willing and eager to pry into people's personal lives. This kind of dictatorship is easily the rarest today, although that's little consolation for the unfortunate souls who live under them.

The obvious case example to study such a regime in the modern day is [[Iran]], which is ruled by Supreme Leader [[Ali Khamenei]] along with some who-gives-a-fuck president. The Supreme Leader is head of state, commander-in-chief of Iran's military, and has personal control over the criminal and morality police.<ref name="irangov">[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-57260831 Who is in charge of Iran?] ''BBC News.''</ref> While Iran's president is directly elected, he holds relatively little authority,<ref name="irangov"/> and election candidates are vetted and subject to disqualification by the religious "Guardian Council" who are appointed by the Supreme Leader.<ref>[https://www.hrw.org/legacy/backgrounder/mena/iran0605/2.htm Access Denied: Iran’s Exclusionary Elections]. ''Human Rights Watch.''</ref> 

Iran's morality police enforce a totalitarian dress code on Iran's women, using violent harassment and forced reeducation to bring the noncompliant back into line.<ref>[https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/21/middleeast/iran-morality-police-mime-intl Iran’s morality police have terrorized women for decades. Who are they?] ''CNN.''</ref> In 2022, national protests erupted after the morality police allegedly beat 22 year-old Mahsa Amini to death for having some hair showing from under her hijab.<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-62984076 Iran protests: Mahsa Amini's death puts morality police under spotlight]. ''BBC News.''</ref> The paramilitary group Basij Resistance Force also enforced morality standards by monitoring the activities of citizens, confiscating any material they consider "obscene", breaking up any female-male fraternization, and beating up critics of the government.<ref>[https://www.rferl.org/a/Irans_Basij_Force_Mainstay_Of_Domestic_Security/1357081.html Iran's Basij Force — The Mainstay Of Domestic Security] ''Radio Free Europe.''</ref> 

The [[Taliban]] in [[Afghanistan]] was (and sadly now is) also an especially brutal form of theocratic government. In the old pre-2001 regime, men were forbidden from shaving their beards, women had to cover themselves from head-to-toe, and attending daily [[prayer]]s was mandatory.<ref>Matinuddin, Kamal (1999). "The Taliban's Religious Attitude". ''The Taliban Phenomenon: Afghanistan 1994–1997.'' Karachi: Oxford University Press. pp. 34–43. ISBN 0-19-579274-2. Retrieved 8 July 2020.</ref> The Taliban is currently led by the Rahbari Shura, a leadership council chaired by the reclusive Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhundzada.<ref>[https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/taliban-afghanistan The Taliban in Afghanistan]. ''Council on Foreign Relations.''</ref> Other members of the Taliban regime are [[terrorist]]s wanted by the US and sanctioned by the UN.

==Weaknesses of dictatorship==
[[File:Mussolini e Petacci a Piazzale Loreto, 1945.jpg|thumb|right|275px|Mussolini's poor choices led him right here (second from the left).]]
{{cquote|And so we think, but we don’t know, that he [Putin] is not getting the full gamut of information. [[Confirmation bias|He’s getting what he wants to hear]]. In any case, he believes that he’s superior and smarter. This is the problem of despotism. It’s why despotism, or even just authoritarianism, is all-powerful and brittle at the same time. Despotism creates the circumstances of its own undermining. The information gets worse. The sycophants get greater in number. The corrective mechanisms become fewer. And the mistakes become much more consequential.|||Stephen Kotkin<ref>[https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/stephen-kotkin-putin-russia-ukraine-stalin The Weakness of the Despot: An expert on Stalin discusses Putin, Russia, and the West.] Interview by David Remnick (March 11, 2022) ''The New Yorker''.</ref>}}
{{cquote|The limits of tyrants are proscribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.|||Frederick Douglass<ref>[https://archive.org/details/ASPC0001937700/mode/2up?q=tyrants ''Two Speeches, by Frederick Douglass: One on West India Emancipation, Delivered at Canandaigua, Aug. 4<sup>th</sup>: and the other on the Dred Scott Decision, Delivered in New York, on the Occasion of the Anniversary of the American Abolition Society, May, 1857''] by Frederick Douglass (1857) C. P. Dewey.</ref>{{rp|22}}}}

While many people in democracies begrudgingly (or enthusiastically) seem to tolerate dictatorship because it seems to "work" better in times of emergency, dictatorships have numerous problems associated with them. 

===Dictators make dipshit decisions===
Time and time again, people fall into the trap of believing the "savvy evil genius" trope when it comes to the world's vicious dictators when the opposite is actually far more accurate. While dictators don't have to listen to polls or misguided public opinion, they do almost universally surround themselves with yes-men who give them flawed information for the sake of maintaining the dictator's goodwill.<ref>[https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/03/putin-dictator-trap-russia-ukraine/627064/ Vladimir Putin Has Fallen Into the Dictator Trap]. ''The Atlantic.''</ref> Brian Klaas, a politics professor at University College London uses the term "dictator trap" to refer to this phenomenon, which he describes as the consequence of a dictator "starting to believe in the fake realities they’ve constructed around themselves".<ref name="putinbadlead">[https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2022/3/24/22982864/vladimir-putin-russia-ukraine-war-brian-klaas How Putin became the victim of his own lies]. ''Vox.''</ref> Another contributing factor to the "dictator trap" is general repression of public discourse and the media, as less criticism of the government leads its members to decide against all [[evidence]] to the contrary that things are going fine. 

As a result of this, history is filled with examples of dictators making idiot blunders. Mussolini, for instance, declared war on [[Greece]] without allowing his generals to draw up a proper invasion plan or gather troops and supplies.<ref>[https://www.historynet.com/greek-tragedy-invading-greece-wwii/ Greek Tragedy: Mussolini's Disastrous Campaign in Greece.] ''History Net.''</ref> He was more concerned with making impressive headlines than he was in waging a competent campaign. As a result, the Greek campaign turned against the Italians and resulted in the [[Axis]]' biggest embarrassment during the early phases of World War II.<ref>[https://www.warhistoryonline.com/instant-articles/invasion-of-greece.html A Slippery Road: Mussolini’s Disastrous Invasion of Greece]. ''War History Online.''</ref>

Vladimir Putin also huffed his own supply leading to his decision to invade Ukraine in 2022. Putin believed that Russia could conquer Ukraine with only 150,000 military personnel and expected Ukraine's political leaders to flee rather than put up a fight.<ref>[https://ecfr.eu/article/lessons-for-the-west-russias-military-failures-in-ukraine/ Lessons for the West: Russia’s military failures in Ukraine]. ''European Council on Foreign Affairs.''</ref> This bad information, apparently fed to Putin by sycophantic advisors, led to the Russian military taking heavy avoidable casualties at the outset of the war and performing abysmally thereafter. 

===Dictators make incompetent governments===
{{cquote|I don't think that Putin is that strong because I've seen it all around Russia. His power, his government is quite ineffective. They are highly corrupted, and they cannot solve the easiest questions. I know regions where schools are left without electricity for weeks, and Putin's government cannot do anything with that.|||Nadya Tolokonnikova<ref>[https://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/18/politics/pussy-riot-nadya-tolokonnikova-putin-trump-russia/index.html Pussy Riot's Nadya Tolokonnikova: Authoritarianism is spreading like 'sexually transmitted diseases'], ''[[CNN]]'', 18 August 2017, retrieved 15 May 2024</ref>}}

Dictators are almost always keenly aware of the threat an internal coup poses to their power. They're right, too. Of the autocrats who lost power between 1946 and 2008, 68% were removed by a coup orchestrated by the political elite or with their support.<ref name="dickcoupthrt">[https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/sudans-uprising-the-fall-of-a-dictator/ Sudan’s Uprising: The Fall of a Dictator]. ''Journal of Democracy.''</ref> Since they mistrust their own government, dictators attempt to weaken the threat it poses to their power. The result is authoritarian governments tending to be filled with corrupt idiots who could barely be trusted to run a bath, never mind a region or government agency, and [[Kool-Aid|True Believers]] who prioritize ideology even over dealing with existential threats.

Omar al-Bashir of [[Sudan]], for instance, spent 25% of his country's budget on internal security and then turned around and fragmented that security apparatus by encouraging departments to compete against each other with overlapping areas of responsibility.<ref name="dickcoupthrt"/> Bashir also weakened his country's military by replacing meritocratic promotions with patrimonial norms of loyalty.<ref name="dickcoupthrt"/> All of this ended up being for naught. The Sudanese government became so weak and dysfunctional that the security apparatuses united amid a failing economy in 2019 and dumped Bashir's ass out of power.<ref name="dickcoupthrt"/> In trying to defend against a coup, Bashir destroyed his own government and turned the people and the elites against him.

Even China has fallen into this problem. Since coming to power in 2012, Xi Jinping ordered the arrest of 170 ministers and deputy minister-level officials on charges of corruption or violating party discipline, and an estimated 1.34 million lower-level officials have been punished as well.<ref name="xipurge">[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-41670162 Charting China's 'great purge' under Xi]. ''BBC News.''</ref> Xi has also sacked more than 60 Chinese generals, and in 2015 he had the third-most powerful man in China (security chief Zhou Yongkang) jailed for life.<ref name="xipurge"/> While it remains to be seen what kind of impact this will have on the Chinese government long-term (and it must be admitted there certainly was a lot of dead weight that needed to be trimmed), there are some serious warning signs that emerged after Xi solidified his dictatorial control in 2022. Senior Chinese Communist Party officials are now almost entirely Xi's yes-men, creating the exact kind of information bubble that leads dictators to bad decision-making, and Xi has also completely erased female representation in the Politburo.<ref name="xiyesmen">[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/23/xi-jinping-chooses-yes-men-over-economic-growth-politburo-purge-china Xi Jinping chooses ‘yes’ men over economic growth in politburo purge]. ''The Guardian.''</ref> Xi has also clamped down on anyone competent enough to be seen as a potential successor, and he has determinedly [[Gerontocracy|excluded younger officials from leadership]].<ref name="xiyesmen"/> This puts China on the path towards [[gerontocracy]] and makes a post-Xi succession crisis likely.

===Dictators can cause succession crises===
[[File:Antonio Tejero.jpg|thumb|right|165px|Paramilitary leader Antonio Tejero takes Spain's parliament hostage after Franco's death, 1981.]]
Speaking of China's potential succession crisis, this is another broader issue with many dictatorial regimes. While democracies typically have stable transitions of power (unless someone like [[Donald Trump]] happens), dictatorial succession is frequently the cause of bloody infighting or even outright governmental collapse. A dictator's love for power is only matched by their reluctance to consider their own mortality. The yes-men who surround the dictator certainly won't bring up the topic either, and the national media will be forced into silence on the matter. Therefore, dictatorships are almost always caught by surprise in the event their leader decides to leave office through the trapdoor to [[Hell]]. 

Putin, for instance, despite being no spring chicken (he was born in 1952), refuses to consider what will happen after his death and maintains that discussing this topic "destabilizes" Russia.<ref>[https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2021/10/14/putin-says-talk-of-succession-destabilises-russia-a75293 Putin Says Talk of Succession 'Destabilizes' Russia]. ''The Moscow Times.''</ref> Part of his rationale for avoiding the topic of succession must also be to avoid emboldening the ambitious. His regime featured rising stars like Chechen lunkhead [[Ramzan Kadyrov]] and paramilitary thug (and former hot dog vendor) [[Yevgeny Prigozhin]], both of whom made waves during the Ukrainian war by criticizing generals and government officials.<ref>[https://www.politico.eu/article/putin-kremlin-infighting-spills-into-the-open/ Putin’s endgame? Kremlin infighting spills into the open]. ''Politico.''</ref> Prigozhin is dead now after attempting a [[coup]] against Russia's military establishment.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/aug/23/prigozhins-death-would-leave-lasting-mark-on-russian-army-and-elite Yevgeny Prigozhin: A death that will leave a lasting mark on Russian army and elite]. ''The Guardian.''</ref> It is unclear what will happen when Putin dies, but internal back-stabbing/door-handle-poisoning is quite probable.

In [[Spain]], a succession crisis ensued after the famously lingering death of [[Francisco Franco]]. Franco's hastily-chosen successor, Prince Juan Carlos I, took the Spanish throne shortly after Franco's death in 1975 and promptly betrayed the dead dictator's memory by beginning the Spanish transition to [[democracy]].<ref>[https://www.euronews.com/2020/08/04/spain-s-ex-king-juan-carlos-from-hero-of-democracy-to-tainted-exile Spain's ex-King Juan Carlos: From hero of democracy to tainted exile]. ''Euro News.''</ref> Even this resulted in violence, though, as paramilitaries stormed the Spanish parliament and took it hostage for 18 hours in 1981 before surrendering.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/from-the-archive-blog/2021/feb/24/civil-guards-seize-spains-parliament-in-attempted-coup-archive-1981 Civil guards seize Spain's parliament in attempted coup – archive, 1981]. ''The Guardian.''</ref>

This also reveals an obvious problem with any theories of so-called "benevolent" dictatorship. Even if you could find a dictator who was competent and morally upstanding, unless that dictator happens to be [[Immortality|immortal]] that still leaves the problem of their successor. The brutal but well-meaning [[Vladimir Lenin]] famously wrote on his deathbed that Joseph Stalin would be a poor leader for the Soviet Union, and Stalin's actions vindicated him in the worst possible way.<ref>[http://www.historyguide.org/europe/testament.html Lenin's ''Testament'' 1922.]</ref>

===Dictators are bad at war===
[[File:Холодноярівці розбили техніку окупанта на Харківщині 08.jpg|thumb|right|250px|An abandoned Russian military truck in Ukraine, April 2022.]]
{{cquote|We are at war and the decision of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief in such a situation cannot be challenged.|||Pro-Kremlin journalist Andrey Medvedev accidentally explains why Russia did so poorly while invading Ukraine, 10 November 2022.<ref>[https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/10/russias-withdrawal-from-kherson-another-humiliation-for-putin.html Putin supporters left reeling by yet another Russian ‘surrender’ in Ukraine]. ''CNBC.''</ref>}}

Strength has always been one of the selling points of dictatorship. However, when push comes to shove, they typically underperform when it comes to using that strength on the battlefield. This is yet another symptom of dictators centralizing power around themselves and becoming isolated in a bubble of bad information. A leader trying to manage everything themselves while relying on faulty information from their lackeys is gonna fuck up a campaign a lot more than one who delegates properly. From 1921 to 2007, personalist dictators initiated far more conflicts than any other type of leader and lost 73% of the times they did so.<ref name="dickbadwar">[https://blogs.prio.org/2022/03/why-putin-is-losing-the-weakness-of-personalist-dictatorship/ Why Putin is Losing – The Weakness of Personalist Dictatorship]. Jens Koning. ''Peace Research Institute Oslo''.</ref> 

This is already obvious when looking at recent history. Putin's decision to invade Ukraine was a shitty move on its own, but he also botched it by focusing on shiny military toys and grand maneuvers than the boring work of logistics (e.g., feeding the troops decent food).<ref name="dickbadwar"/> Another source of failure was Putin's habit of using the military to hide his own corruption by funneling money to his own and his pals' bank accounts rather than weapons and training for Russian soldiers.<ref>[https://thehill.com/opinion/international/600230-ukraine-fighting-russian-goliath-why-dictators-are-so-bad-at-war/ Ukraine fighting Russian Goliath: Why dictators are so bad at war]. ''The Hill.''</ref> 

Failing at warfare despite aggression is another common thread to be found when looking at history's dictatorships. Adolf Hitler, for instance, wielded personal control over much of Germany's war effort during the Second World War and made critical blunders like betting everything on Stalingrad and then betting everything on Kursk and then betting everything on the 1944 Ardennes offensive,<ref>[https://www.historynet.com/hitlers-greatest-blunders/ Hitler's Greatest Blunders]. ''History Net.''</ref> and you see where we're going here (The Bunker Scene<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2fl-sHUwrc Downfall: Famous Bunker Scene] (Dec 1, 2008) ''YouTube''.</ref>). From the same time period comes the Red Army's abysmal performance during the opening stages of the German invasion, driven by Stalin's decisions to execute the Soviet Union's best military theorist (Marshal Tukachevsky) and purge some 30,000 officers from the military.<ref>[https://universitypressblog.ku.edu/uncategorized/rethinking-stalins-purge-of-the-red-army-1937-38/ Rethinking Stalin’s Purge of the Red Army, 1937-38]. ''University Press of Kansas Blog.''</ref>

===Dictators like to steal from the cookie jar===
{{main|Kleptocracy}}
{{cquote|[...]the entirety of Mobutu's reign was absolutely littered with corruption and embezzlement. It started off small and got worse and worse over the years. Mobutu himself was pretty open about it, once saying, "If you want to steal, steal a little in a nice way. But if you steal too much to become rich overnight, you will be caught." Very wise advice from the leader of a country. His strategy was essentially to skim a little off the top of the government's funds, slowly embezzling it to make himself rich. But even he failed to take his own advice, stealing more and more as he continued to get away with it. In 1970, it was estimated that he had stolen 60% of the nation's budget that year, and it only got worse.|||A Grain of Salt, on [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|Congolese/Zaïrean]] dictator Mobutu Sese Seko<ref>A Grain of Salt, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=049ZBP51aLs&t=292s The Greediest Dictator in Modern History]</ref>}}
While democratic governments have corruption problems, political corruption is a much greater feature of autocratic regimes. Taking state funds is a nearly irresistible temptation for someone with absolute power, and funneling money into the pockets of elites is a surefire way to make sure they continue to back the leader even when things start going wrong.<ref name="africacorrupt">[https://global-geneva.com/keeping-it-family-how-africas-corrupt-leaders-stay-in-power/ Keeping it Family : How Africa’s Corrupt Leaders Stay in Power]. ''Global Geneva.''</ref> Corruption is also useful to the dictator just for existing. If public support seems to be lagging, a nice anti-corruption campaign to punish the most inconvenient offenders can make positive headlines and win it back (even if nothing changes).<ref>[https://news.mit.edu/2021/authoritarians-anticorruption-support-0805 How authoritarian leaders maintain support]. ''MIT News.''</ref> 

Some dictators rank among the worst thieves in history. For instance, Ferdinand Marcos of the [[Philippines]] bought his wife 3,000 shoes with state money, Mobutu Sese Seko stole $12 billion in foreign aid from the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]], and Suharto stole as much as $35 billion from [[Indonesia]] during his time in power.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/mar/26/indonesia.philippines Suharto, Marcos and Mobutu head corruption table with $50bn scams]. ''The Guardian.''</ref> In the destitute nation of [[Haiti]], dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier stole at least $120 million from the government, which is a lot of fucking money to take from the coffers of the Western hemisphere's poorest country, only to pay [[French colonial empire|the Paris-centered hexagon]] even more.<ref>[https://apnews.com/article/7a015e845c6b2446ddbc44f2adfcb594 Justice Minister Says Duvalier Stole At Least $120 Million]. ''Associated Press.''</ref> Amid critical shortages of food and medicine in [[Venezuela]], authoritarian president Nicolas Maduro awarded government contracts to his cronies to pocket the cash and redirected food away from regions that opposed him.<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-49125575 Venezuela crisis: Vast corruption network in food programme, US says]. ''BBC News.''</ref> 

And stealing money from their nation really is a case of dictators screwing themselves in the long-term. Not only does it piss off the population, but it stunts the growth of their national economies and therefore hurts everyone.<ref name="africacorrupt"/> In the long-term they'd be even ''richer'' if they let a portion of that [[capital]] escape to their subjects. Though there is reason to doubt the money would ever get to the bottom: corruption at the top tends to percolate downward as underlings at each level need to pay 'gifts' to their superiors to maintain their positions. In Suharto's Indonesia, corruption affected every level of government down to the school teachers.<ref>''Indonesia Handbook'' by Bill Dalton (1991) Moon Publications. ISBN 0918373727.</ref>{{rp|26}}

===Dictators are bad for the economy===
[[File:Zimbabwe $100 trillion 2009 Obverse.jpg|right|thumb|275px|$100 ''trillion'' note from Zimbabwe. This bad boy was worth about $30 US.]]
{{cquote|We are all billionaires who can afford nothing. That is why I hate [[Robert Mugabe|that old man]].|||Moses Chikomba, interview in ''[[The Times]]'' (quoted in ''[[The New York Times]]'') about [[Zimbabwe]]'s severe hyperinflation<ref>[https://archive.nytimes.com/thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/03/zimbabwe-confident-after-losing-cash-machine/ Zimbabwe Confident After Losing Cash Machine], Mike Nizza, ''[[The New York Times]]'', July 3 2008, retrieved May 14 2024</ref>}}

When researchers from RMIT University and Victoria University in [[Australia]] analyzed the relationship between economic growth and national leadership between 1858 and 2010, they found that countries under dictatorial rule experienced economic growth very rarely.<ref>[https://studyfinds.org/bad-for-business-dictators-rarely-associated-with-strong-economies-study-finds/ Bad for business: Dictators rarely associated with strong economies, study finds]. ''Study Finds.''</ref><ref>[https://qz.com/1688397/data-proves-it-authoritarian-leaders-are-bad-for-the-economy 150 years of data proves it: Strongmen are bad for the economy]. ''Quartz.''</ref> This study was in response to the worldwide trend of populations looking for a strong leader to help them out of economic trouble. The truth is, dictators are even worse. 

Probably the most infamous example of a dictator mismanaging the economy is [[Robert Mugabe]] of [[Zimbabwe]], who managed to dump his country into the toilet during his years in power. Mugabe first did the classic move of paying off his political supporters, but he did so by printing cash and thus crashing the value of his currency by 72%.<ref name="econbadmugabe">[https://www.aljazeera.com/ajimpact/robert-mugabe-leaves-legacy-economic-mismanagement-190906163322986.html Robert Mugabe leaves a legacy of economic mismanagement]. ''Al Jazeera.''</ref> He then sent troops into the (non-adjacent) [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]] to intervene in their [[civil war]], a move which came with a price tag of $1 million per day.<ref>Meredith, Martin (2002). ''Our Votes, Our Guns: Robert Mugabe and the Tragedy of Zimbabwe.'' New York: Public Affairs. ISBN 978-1-58648-186-5. p. 148</ref> Then he paid off his cronies ''again'' by confiscating farmland from white farmers and handing the land out to kleptocrats who had no interest in agriculture.<ref>Dowden, Richard (2010). ''Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles''. London: Portobello Books. pp. 144–151. ISBN 978-1-58648-753-9.</ref> This tanked food production. And then ''on top of that'' Mugabe decided to have his thugs bulldoze tens of thousands of homes across the country in retaliation for [[poor]] people voting against him.<ref>[https://www.hrw.org/legacy/backgrounder/africa/zimbabwe0905/4.htm The Implementation of Operation Murambatsvina (Clear the Filth)]. ''Human Rights Watch.''</ref> The end result was one of the worst economic crises in known history. In 2009, [[hyperinflation]] became so absurd that Zimbabwe had to issue a $100 trillion note worth about $30 US.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7832601.stm Zimbabwe rolls out Z$100tr note]. ''BBC News.''</ref> In terms of percentages, inflation hit 59% in 2000, inflation then ran at almost 600% by 2003 and, in 2006, it hit the scarcely-believable rate of 1,200%.<ref name="zinflation">[https://news.sky.com/story/how-zimbabwes-economy-has-collapsed-under-mugabe-11127628 How Zimbabwe's economy has collapsed under Mugabe]. ''Sky News.''</ref> The following year it hit a rate of 66,200%, and by the end of 2008, it had hit nearly 80,000,000,000% (80 ''billion'' percent).<ref name="zinflation"/> What the fuck?! Mugabe's response to this, by the way, was banning inflation, a move which worked as well as you think it did.<ref name="zinflation"/>

===Sometimes dictators go batshit crazy===
[[File:Turkmenistan Niyazov gold statue.jpeg|thumb|right|250px|A gold statue of Turkmenistan's dictator Saparmurat Niyazov.]]
In the worst case scenario, a dictator will come to power and then go off the deep end. With no checks on their power and influential supporters growing rich from their rule, there really is no immediate way to put a stop to them. 

A relatively harmless example is Saparmurat Niyazov of [[Turkmenistan]], who declared himself "President for Life"<ref>[https://www.rferl.org/a/1092970.html Turkmenistan: Niyazov Named President For Life]. ''Radio Free Europe.''</ref> and then used that power to rename the months of the year after himself and his family members<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/apr/25/1 Turkmenistan to drop late dictator's month names]. ''The Guardian.''</ref> and had the state build a giant tripod topped with a 39ft (12m) [[gold]]en statue of himself that would always rotate to face the [[Sun]].<ref>[https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/arch-of-neutrality Arch of Neutrality]. ''Atlas Obscura.''</ref> To top it off, he had poor neighborhoods bulldozed to make way for a Niyazov-themed amusement park called the "Land of Fairy Tales".<ref>[https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/turkmenbashi-s-land-of-fairy-tales Turkmenbashi's Land of Fairy Tales]. ''Atlas Obscura.''</ref> The sheer audacious hilarity of Niyazov's antics obscure the human cost of his rule. During his time in power, the Turkmen people had to endure famines, arbitrary arrests, [[torture]], and the [[random]] bulldozing of entire neighborhoods to make way for vanity projects.<ref>[https://oklahoman.com/article/3016503/turkmenistan-seen-to-be-suffering Turkmenistan Seen to Be Suffering]. ''The Oklahoman.''</ref>

Idi Amin of [[Uganda]] was much worse. He ordered underground dungeons to be built under Uganda's cities where his political opponents would be ruthlessly tortured.<ref>[https://www.iwmf.org/reporting/ghost-stories-idi-amins-torture-chambers/ Ghost Stories: Idi Amin’s torture chambers]. ''International Women's Media Foundation.''</ref> His taste for murder began when he had [[Extrajudicial punishment#Execution|death squads]] massacre some 6,000 soldiers loyal to Uganda's old president and continued to have tens of thousands more people tortured to death in increasingly sadistic ways such as drowning or being fed to crocodiles.<ref name="idiamincrazy">[https://allthatsinteresting.com/idi-amin-dada Why Idi Amin Dada, ‘The Butcher Of Uganda,’ Should Be Remembered With History’s Worst Despots]. ''All That's Interesting.''</ref> He allegedly once had so many corpses dumped in the Nile that the remains clogged the intakes of Uganda's main hydroelectric plant.<ref>[https://www.cbsnews.com/news/idi-amin-dead/ Idi Amin Dead]. ''CBS News.''</ref> In 1976, Amin claimed to have [[Cannibalism|tasted human meat]], describing it as more salty than he had expected.<ref name="idiamincrazy"/> In 1978, he ordered the invasion of Tanzania on a whim, despite Tanzania being much larger than Uganda.<ref name="idiamincrazy"/> The war unsurprisingly went poorly for him and resulted in his downfall.

And then, there is [[Adolf Hitler]] who used his unlimited power to [[Holocaust|try to kill all of the]] [[Jews]], and he came close to succeeding, only to be stopped by the Allies in WW2. 

Even dictators who fall short of complete insanity can humor some strange obsessions. François Duvalier of Haiti associated himself with [[voodoo]] imagery in an attempt to terrify people, and he claimed to have put a death curse on [[John F. Kennedy]].<ref>[https://www.historyanswers.co.uk/people-politics/where-did-the-nazi-salute-come-from/ Papa Doc Duvalier: The Voodoo President who killed Kennedy].</ref> [[Romania]]n communist leader [[Nicolae Ceaușescu]] was obsessed with boosting birthrates; he banned all [[abortion]]s, punished childless couples, and mandated that women undergo monthly gynecological exams.<ref>[http://countrystudies.us/romania/37.htm Romania: Demographic Policy]. ''Country Studies.''</ref> Libyan dictator [[Muammar al-Gaddafi]] had a fantastically creepy crush on former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and rebels found a photo album of Rice in the dictator's compound after his 2011 downfall.<ref>[https://archive.nytimes.com/thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/25/photos-indicate-qaddafi-diplo-crush-on-rice/ Photos Reveal Qaddafi’s Diplo-Crush on Rice]. ''New York Times.''</ref>

==Followers and enablers==
{{Ctransquote|A dictator is generally a man who, starting from the bottom, throws himself into an even deeper hole. A curious phenomenon then occurs: everyone looks at him… and jumps into the void after him.|French|Un dictateur est en général un homme qui, parti de bas, vient se jeter dans un trou plus profond encore. Un phénomène curieux se produit alors: tout le monde le regarde… et saute dans le vide à sa suite.|||Charlie Chaplin<ref>''La Moustache d'Adolf Hitler'' by Alain Jaubert (2016) Gallimard. ISBN 2070197344.</ref>{{rp|16-17}}}}
The dictator is no one without his supporters, the immediate coterie who benefit directly from the largesse of corruption, the cheering crowds who are captivated by the perceived charisma and who may benefit from the [[privilege]] bestowed upon their [[social class]], [[gender]] or race.<ref name=benghiat>''Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present'' by Ruth Ben-Ghiat (2021) W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0393868419.</ref>{{rp|13-14}} Foreign financial enablers (Deutsche Bank, Swiss banks and other countries with bank secrecy) have benefited directly by making loans to corrupt states or authoritarians and hiding dictators' assets.<ref name=benghiat/>{{rp|14}}

==Resisting looming tyranny==
{{cquote|The tyrant will always find a pretext for his tyranny, and it is useless for the innocent to try by [[reasoning]] to get justice, when the oppressor intends to be unjust.|||Aesop<ref>[http://mythfolklore.net/aesopica/aesop1884/5.htm ''Aesop's Fables'' (1884): 5. The Wolf and the Lamb.] ''Aesopica''.</ref>}}
{{wpl|Timothy Snyder||,}} a Yale University history professor and expert on Hitler, Stalin, and the [[Holocaust]] wrote a small book, ''On Tyranny'', on ways to recognize and resist impending '''tyranny'''. He gives twenty lessons from history on ways that tyrants can take over a country:<ref>''On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century'' by Timothy Snyder (2017) Tim Duggan Books. ISBN 0804190119.</ref>
{{collist|2|
#"Do not obey in advance": "Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. … A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do."
#"Defend institutions": Institutions help to preserve decency but institutions do not protect themselves.
#"Beware of the one-party state": Support multi-party systems, vote in local and state elections while you can, run for office. Each election in an authoritarian government could be the last real one in your lifetime (Germany 1932, Czechoslovakia 1946, Russia 1990, Belarus 1994)
#"Take responsibility for the face of the world": Remove signs of hate where you see them in the [[real world]].
#Remember professional ethics: When you maintain professional ethics, you support the [[rule of law]] (particularly if you work in law or the government).
#"Be wary of paramilitaries": Paramilitaries have been used as an important tool by dictators to solidify power (e.g. the SA and [[SS]] in Nazi Germany). [[Militia movement|Militias]], private security (e.g., [[Blackwater]]), and [[private prison]]s are similarly organizations to be wary of.
#"Be reflective if you must be armed": In both the Holocaust and the Stalin's Great Terror ({{wpl|Great Purge}}), [[police]] played key roles in perpetuating atrocities.
#"Stand out": Do not concede to tyranny in advance. Stand out, as [[Churchill]] against the might of Nazi Germany, as {{wpl|Rosa Parks}} did against [[Jim Crow laws]], and as other lesser-known people have done.
#"Be kind to our language": autocrats often attempt to pervert the meaning of words for their own ends (e.g., Hitler's 'the people' used to exclude most people, Trump's use of 'libel' to mean anything negative that is said about himself). Falling into the [[autocrat]]'s linguistic trap should be resisted. Two useful books detail this behavior: [[Fahrenheit 451|''Fahrenheit 451]] and [[1984|''1984'']], and Snyder lists several other books that are worth reading for understanding the rise of authoritarianism.
#"Believe in truth": "To abandon truth is to abandon [[freedom]]." Snyder cites {{wpl|Victor Klemperer}} on the four modes in which truth dies:
##Open hostility to verifiable reality (e.g., 78% of Trump's factual claims were false during his 2016 campaign)
##'Shamanistic repetition' (a.k.a., the [[big lie]])
##'Magical thinking', meaning the open embracing of contradiction, not the usual meaning ([[magical thinking]])
##Misplaced faith: believing in the leader above all else, and self-[[God|deification]] of the leader (e.g., the [[Religious Right]]'s embrace of Trump, or Trump's "I alone can solve it."<ref>[https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/06/20/donald-trump-authoritarian-leaders-north-korea-russia-turkey-column/712221002/ Donald Trump has always expressed love for authoritarian leaders, but we failed to listen: How did the US end up with a president who hates the press and envies dictators like Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin?] by Kirsten Powers (June 20, 2018) ''USA Today''.</ref>)
#:"[[Post-truth]] is pre-[[fascism]]."
#"Investigate": "Figure things out for yourself. Spend more time with long articles. Subsidize investigative journalism by subscribing to print media. Realize that some of what is on the internet is there to harm you." This is not the same as '[[Do your own research|Do your own research.]]'
#"Make eye contact and small talk": "This is not just polite. It is part of being a citizen and a responsible member of society. … If we enter a culture of denunciations, you will want to know the psychological landscape of your daily life."
#"Practice corporal politics": "Power wants your body softening in your chair and your emotions dissipating on the screen. Get outside. Put your body in unfamiliar places with unfamiliar people. Make new friends and march with them."
#"Establish a private life": "Nastier rulers will use what they know about you to push you around. Scrub your computer of malware on a regular basis. Remember that email is skywriting."
#"Contribute to good causes": Be active in organizations, political or not, that express your own view of life. Pick a charity or two and set up autopay." This supports civil society and others to do good.
#"Learn from peers in other countries": "Keep up your friendships abroad, or make new friends in other countries. The present difficulties in the United States are an element of a larger trend. And no country is going to find a solution by itself. Make sure you and your family have passports."
#"Listen for dangerous words": "Be alert to the use of the words <nowiki>'</nowiki>''[[extremism]]''<nowiki>'</nowiki> and <nowiki>'</nowiki>''[[terrorism]]''<nowiki>'</nowiki>. Be alive to the fatal notions of ''emergency'' and ''exception''. Be angry about the treacherous use of patriotic vocabulary."
#"Be calm when the unthinkable arrives": "Modern tyranny is terror management. When the terrorist attack comes, remember that authoritarians exploit such events in order to consolidate power."
#"Be a patriot": "Set a good example of what America means for the generations to come. They will need it." This chapter is in part a scathing attack on a [[Donald Trump|nameless coward]]: "What is patriotism? Let us begin with what patriotism is not. It is not patriotic to dodge the draft and to mock war heroes and their families. …"
#"Be as courageous as you can": "If none of us is prepared to die for freedom, then all of us will die under tyranny." This chapter offers two brief critiques:
##Of the politics of inevitability ([[teleology]]), the idea that the past and present determines the (usually positivist) future, and
##Of the politics of eternity ([[good old days]]), that the past was better (as viewed through a fogged history of national victimhood).
}}

==See also==
*[[Authoritarianism]]
*[[Totalitarianism]]
*[[Democracy]]
*[[Junta]]

==External links==
*[https://archive.org/details/Despotis1946 Video of ''Despotism'', made in 1946 by Encyclopaedia Britannica Films]
*[http://wikihow.com/Become-a-Dictator How to Become a Dictator], WikiHow ([https://web.archive.org/web/20180106162227/http://wikihow.com/Become-a-Dictator Wayback Machine])
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vK6fALsenmw History Professor Answers Dictator Questions] by ''WIRED''

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

[[Category:Authoritarianism]]
[[Category:Government]]
[[Category:Dictators| ]]
[[Category:Political terms]]
[[Category:Forms of government]]
[[Category:Totalitarianism]]
[[Category:Government incompetence]]

Categories: Authoritarianism, Government, Dictators, Political terms, Forms of government, Totalitarianism, Government incompetence