When looking back on history, there’s one specific type of government that brings dictators to light: communism (or very strongly inspired socialism). Four of the top five deadliest dictators all shared this communist thought process. Stalin and the USSR, Mussolini and Italy (described as an authoritarian communist), Mao Zedong and the Chinese Communist party, and Kim Il-sung and North Korea. The only exception in this top five was, of course, Adolf Hitler and the theory of Nazism. Of course, through history there have been countless others, just as terrible (Pot, Castro, Hussein, etc.). As I was planning this article, I thought to myself, is there a single “good” dictator?
As a self-proclaimed “history buff”, I’ve spent countless hours in the classroom and outside of it studying historical reigns. I’ve looked into “successful” governments (successful is subjective), such as Switzerland’s declaration of armed neutrality and Franklin D. Roosevelt’s handling of WWII and the Great Depression. When it comes to politics, it’s extremely easy to overlook the positives and focus on the negatives. I think it’s much easier to divide (and when provided, someone who feeds off of hate speech) than come together, which is why we’ve seen a complicated split in recent years. We can look into history and see what has gone wrong, what has succeeded and base our world off of that alone.
There’s a well circulated quote, of which the origin is unknown: “the only good dictator is a dead one”. Everybody knows about the household names in Hitler, Stalin, Mao, and the Kim family. Even a select majority may recognize the catastrophes by Castro (no pun intended), Pot, and Hussein. What about Choibalsan, Micombero, and Sindikubwabo? Authoritarian regimes like dictatorships are such an interesting concept, of how they can come to be through manipulation, coups, and segregation.
Seven Steps to Leadership
In 2019, author Ece Temelkuran published a book called “How to Lose a Country: The Seven Steps from Democracy to Dictatorship”. In this nonfiction book, Temelkuran does exactly that: lists seven steps in how a democracy can turn into a dictatorship. The most obvious example is Germany pre-WWI, which was a constitutional monarchy, generally considered a form of democracy. Turkey, now named Türkiye, was a democracy for over sixty years until Erdoğan (declares himself as a president) took over, ruling the nation more as an elective dictatorship. For all intents and purposes, these steps aren’t straight from the book, although I highly recommend it to anyone looking for an educated read.
Step 1: Through nepotism and corruption, build a power base with trusted ones.
After fleeing his native province, Mao Zedong moved to Guangzhou. He became the acting head of the propaganda department of the Nationalist party. Instilling himself in the head of any position, but the propaganda department no less, Mao was able to insert himself in a meaningful role within the Nationalist party. Daniel Ortega, leader of Nicaragua since 1984, started as the son of a shoemaker. He joined the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) as a teenager in the 1960s, was tortured and imprisoned for his doings, and exiled to Cuba. He returned, and the Sandinistas took power in 1979. Ortega was able to gain favoritism through his peers in the FSLN, and used the former (Somozas) dictatorship to attain leadership.
Step 2: Create a place where force is available and public protest is not.
This happens a lot in military dictatorships, or dictatorships run by former military heroes of the nation. As soon as they can turn the force on the population, and they have people who are willing to fight for them, public protest will be met with violence or immediate stoppage. Augusto Pinochet, former dictator of Chile (1974-90), was a Chilean military officer before taking the reins to the country. Using the military Junta established to remove President Salvador Allende, Pinochet was appointed as head of the nation. He then had the same support for years after, until the election of 1988 in which 56% of Chileans voted him out.
For a more modern look, we can turn to Sudan. In October 2021, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, a Sudanese army general, assumed control of Sudan after dissolving the Sovereignty Council. The Sovereignty Council’s purpose was to act as a collective head of Sudan. After dissolving this council, al-Burhan was able to reconstitute it with new, selected leadership, keeping himself as chairman. Currently, in 2024 at the time of this article, al-Burhan is still fighting the RSF with his own SAF. By dissolving the original Sovereignty Council, he eliminated the threat before it even had a chance to occur.
3. Build trust by giving goods efficiently, liberally, and helpfully.
In 1994, the world saw one of the worst genocides, taking place in Rwanda in just over one hundred days. Since then, there’s been three presidents. One lasted only 102 days in office before being ousted, and did over five and a half years of service. One name stands out, and it’s the current president who has been in office since 2000: Paul Kagame. He’s a Western darling, but Rwandans and refugees from surrounding nations argue Kagame is still a dictator. He took over a Rwanda still suffering effects of the 1994 genocide, which at the time, helped him garner trust. Many people claim free speech is not allowed, and any resentment against the current government could end in trouble.
Lewis Mudge, the Central Africa Director at Human Rights Watch claimed in an interview with CNN back in 2022, “Rwanda is a safe country for Rwandans if you keep your head down”. One of the greatest goods Kagame gave Rwandans was a government that wouldn’t execute them because of their religion. He did grant them a government that allowed them to live as they are, but they may not criticize.
4. Rid yourself of political enemies.
One of the most famous dictators that rid himself of his political enemies was Saddam Hussein. Labeled the Ba’ath Party Purge, Hussein had executed 21 members of the Ba’ath Party, accused of collaborating with Syria. There were also 68 arrests. This all happened on the night of July 22nd, 1979, and in just this one night, Hussein became all the closer to full power in Iraq.
In 1972, six whole years of Michel Micombero in leadership in Burundi, a rebellion took place. The main conflict in Burundi at this time was the religious segregation of Tutsis and Hutus. The rebellion, taking place in Rumonge, which (indirectly) ended in 1,000+ Tutsis being killed. This further triggered a genocidal rampage unleashed by Micombero, in which it is reported around 100,000 Hutu were killed, and the former king, Ntare, was one of the deaths. Micombero was able to keep himself in power after a scare for his throne by using the power and trust instilled in him to rid himself of any political entities that may try to take him down.
5. Create, and defeat, a common enemy.
The most obvious example of segregation and creating of an “other” we have in history is that of Adolf Hitler. His idea of Nazism (although it wasn’t technically “his” idea, he is just the highest leader to use it as a platform) aimed for nationalism, racial supremacy, and most importantly, antisemitism. The antisemitism preached by the Nazi party was the largest factor in Hitler’s rise. By creating the common enemy, in which this case was the Jews, he was able to unite the majority of his people. He put out anti-Jewish propaganda, boycotted their economy, marking them with Stars of David, and stuffed them into ghettos. The rest of the story is already well known.
More often than not, the “enemy” is not one defined religious group. Pol Pot, former dictator of Cambodia, was a part of the Khmer Rouge, a radical communist movement. The Khmer Rouge’s policies were guided by its belief that the citizens of Cambodia had been tainted by exposure to outside ideas, especially the West. They targeted educated minds, such as doctors, lawyers, members of the police and military. Pot wanted to establish a commune lifestyle, where everyone was at a similar playing ground. For Pot, his enemy was the educated.
6. Through manipulation of heart and mind, acquire power.
The easiest way to manipulate is by silencing the media. Regulating what can and cannot be said in a government makes it easy for anything negative said about a dictator to be erased. In some cases, even the reporter may be “erased”. In more recent times, we can observe Vladimir Putin’s control over Russia to be a dictatorship. Russia’s government controls the media through newspaper, television, radio, and the internet. On May 7th, 2022, months after their invasion of Ukraine, the Russian government passed a law criminalizing independent war reporting. The law was an attempt at stopping the spread of fake news, although it was more than likely passed to limit free speech.
7. Create or force an ideology that justifies the power.
Henry VIII, most known for having six wives in a time when polygamy was sin, created his own religion when the Pope refused to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. Then again, Henry VIII was considered more of an absolute monarch, a tyrant, rather than a dictator. He created “The Church of England”, a distinctly different sect than the Roman Catholic Church.
People of dictatorships typically won’t lay down and just let a dictator run rampant in their country. There almost always is an ideology that the dictator has, one that can convince a body of people to follow. Francisco Nguema, the brutal dictator from Equatorial Guinea, had a strong anti-European ideology, especially towards Spain (their former colonizer). With fear of Spaniard spies, he offered rewards to anyone who discovered such spies. He targeted the town of Santa Isabel and the Bubi people, as well as the Annobónese. He believed they had affection for Spain, and harassed them for just that thought. Anyone caught speaking Spanish would be heavily punished.
Is the United States dictator-proof?
With an upcoming election, it’s worth asking ourselves: Is the United States of America dictator-proof? It seems like a silly question, unfathomable if we were to ask ourselves forty years ago. To Americans who witnessed the collapse of the Soviet Union, the question may even come off as sarcastic. How could a country, one that preaches democracy so proudly, ever succumb to an authoritarian?
The closest America has ever been to a dictatorship is up for debate. Each president has had their scandals and questionable decisions. Franklin D. Roosevelt created internment camps for the Japanese-American population, and served for over three terms, dying in his fourth. Woodrow Wilson heavily restricted free speech during WWI, passing the Espionage Act of 1917 (made it illegal to give information that could hurt the war effort) and the Sedition Act of 1918 (imposed penalties for hate speech towards government or military). Abraham Lincoln suspended the Writ of Habeus Corpus and arrested dissident reporters and shut down dissident newspapers.
An American Dictator
Let’s review the steps to becoming a dictator, and see how (or if) someone could ascend to totalitarian levels in the US. Step one is building a power base with trusted ones. Either have a lot of money, or begin building trust by promises. Give out bribes if need be. Establish connections with people in seats of power, in hopes some will trickle downwards. Make friends in high places. Step two, utilize your police force and military and don’t allow dissidents or criticism. If you feel insulted, insult them right back.
Step three, give out goods and earn trust with the common people. Start to promise those around you you’ll be the answer to their problems, a solution in a time of need. Step four, rid yourself of your political opponents and enemies. Threaten to send your former political opponent to jail, kick out the opposite party’s members and replace them with your own. Control the senate, control the house, control the supreme court. Step five, create a common enemy. Use a minority that already exists, like Black Americans, or Muslims, or begin generalizing, and say “all” immigrants, “all” Muslims.
Step six, using manipulation of the heart and mind, acquire power. Make up a lie to tell the people, and pray they’ll believe it. Say something emotional, something sure to trigger the pathos. Then say something about the job market, and how it’s dwindling and only you can fix it. Finally, step seven, force or create an ideology that justifies the power and control. Does any of this sound familiar?
Today’s article includes sources from Britannica, Psychology Today, Business Insider, WorldAtlas, Carnegie.org, Wikipedia (many times), CNN, The Conversation, HolocaustExplained.org, NPR, ConsitutionCenter.org. The cover photo is of Saddam Hussein during his infamous Ba’ath Party Purge, July 22nd, 1979.