Summary
Highlights
Dictatorship and corruption are deeply intertwined, often leading to kleptocracy – a state of thieves. Leaders and their cronies steal from state agencies, expropriate private assets, and funnel money into offshore accounts. Examples include Gaddafi in Libya and Putin's Russia, where state-owned entities are plundered to enrich the dictator.
While dictators are often associated with expanding government, some, like Chile's Pinochet, implemented neoliberal policies by cutting social services and privatizing industries. While this initially boosted some sectors, it often led to widespread hardship, demonstrating that even when government size is cut, it doesn't always benefit the people long-term.
People support dictators because dictators are skilled at posing as saviors, creating or exploiting crises (economic, social unrest, fear of immigrants) and presenting themselves as the sole solution. They use narratives of national purity and threats to instill fear, leading people to betray others and themselves through self-censorship and blind loyalty.
Rallies are a characteristic of dictators and authoritarians, serving as platforms for adoration and demonstrating public loyalty. Figures like Hitler, through the strategic use of rallies, recognized the importance of crowd energy for their performance, a tradition continued by modern authoritarian leaders globally, showcasing power and omnipotence.
The internet is a double-edged sword. It empowers dissidents by providing new audiences for their messages, but also allows dictators to centralize and accelerate propaganda circulation. Savvy authoritarians have always adapted new media technologies (newsreels, radio, social media, holograms) to their advantage, massively increasing the volume and reach of their propaganda.
Victor Orban of Hungary exhibits fascist qualities adapted for the 21st century. He practices 'electoral autocracy' by manipulating elections through control of media, judiciary, and electoral systems. He also promotes nationalistic and homophobic policies, encouraging specific demographics to have more children and persecuting LGBTQ+ individuals, mirroring classic fascist ideals within a multi-party state framework.
Professor Ben-Ghiat rejects the concept of a benevolent dictator, as the definition of a dictator involves repressing popular will, suppressing free press, and imprisoning or killing opponents. Such actions cannot be considered benevolent.
Modern dictators, or authoritarians, hold elections to maintain a facade of legitimacy but rig them through various means, such as controlling media, jailing opponents, or refusing to recognize unfavorable results. This 'electoral autocracy' allows them to consolidate power while appearing to adhere to democratic processes.
Professor Ben-Ghiat describes Elon Musk's actions, where unelected individuals took control of government data and buildings, as a form of coup. This 'digital paramilitary' scenario, where elected officials are denied access while private actors commandeer state functions, is unprecedented but fits the definition of a power seizure outside legal channels.
Oligarchs aid dictators in gaining power through significant financial influence, leveraging 'authoritarian bargains' to legitimize the leader to the populace. However, once the dictator gains full control and the oligarchs outlive their usefulness, they are often discarded, jailed, exiled, or even eliminated, as seen with Putin and Russian oligarchs.
Dictators often cultivate support through grandiose infrastructure projects (e.g., Mussolini's railroads, Hitler's autobahn), projecting an image of modernity and efficiency. While these create an appearance of progress, the lack of a free press conceals corruption and true economic impacts, which only become apparent much later.
Dictators view relationships transactionally. If they 'love' Trump, it’s because they see him as a potential ally from whom they can gain benefit. For example, Vladimir Putin maintains a relationship with Trump while simultaneously allowing him to be mocked on Russian television as a 'useful fool,' demonstrating the utilitarian nature of these alliances.
Dictators create an 'existential dread' and 'survivalism' narrative, portraying their groups as victims and others (media, opposition, foreign countries, terror groups) as threats that must be eliminated for peace and safety. This justification allows them to attack certain groups, or even invade other territories, by claiming historical victimization and the need for self-protection. Examples include Mussolini, Xi Jinping, and Putin.
Yes, Xi Jinping is a dictator within China's Communist system. His rule shows classic signs of expanding dictatorship, including an increasingly prominent personality cult and efforts to rehabilitate past dictators like Mao to bolster his own image and authority.
Dictators crave more power, control, and exploitable natural resources due to corruption. They use narratives of national purity and unification to justify expansion, such as the Nazis' push into Austria, Xi Jinping's claims on Taiwan, and Putin's 'reunification' of Ukraine, presenting imperialist ambitions as defensive or restorative actions.
Some Americans, unaware of what dictatorship entails, have been influenced by media or figures like Donald Trump to view autocrats as superior leaders. Studies suggest about 30% of the population worldwide holds authoritarian leanings, making them susceptible to demagogues who promise order and strength.
Fascism is characterized as a one-party state with an all-powerful dictator, lacking separation of powers and an independent judiciary. Coined by Mussolini, it is expansionist, intrinsically linked to violence, and identifies an 'enemy' category for extermination. This system trains regular people to become vigilant informers, using violence themselves.
Putin's shirtless photos are a modern continuation of a fascist tradition, pioneered by Mussolini, to project an image of strength and dynamism. Dictators historically pose as macho figures to cultivate an image of superiority and create a climate of 'lawless masculinity' leading to increased misogyny and domestic violence, as seen under Berlusconi.
A dictator seeks absolute power, disregarding public welfare, engaging in corruption, and manipulating through propaganda. They centralize executive power, dismantling institutions and filling them with loyalists to create a state in their own image.
Authoritarianism is a political system often led by a dictator (civilian or military). Autocracy is another term for authoritarianism. Unlike democracies where leadership reflects the will of the people, autocracies prioritize the leader's power retention regardless of public opinion.
Dictators follow an 'authoritarian playbook' by discrediting journalists, spreading 'fake news', and using a 'fire hose of falsehood' (high volume of lies and conspiracy theories). They also create an atmosphere of terror and intimidation through physical violence, lawsuits, and smear campaigns to encourage self-censorship.
Both fascist and communist dictatorships share an all-powerful leader with a personality cult and use propaganda. The key difference lies in their targets: fascists target leftists and communists, while communists target 'counter-revolutionaries' who threaten the revolution's progress.
Tyrants are narcissists, charismatic, and skilled orators, focused solely on preserving their power. They are often paranoid, surround themselves with a loyal 'inner sanctum' (often family members), and become isolated, leading to poor decision-making. Dictators lack moral codes, forming alliances based on opportunism.
Dictators, despite huge egos, are insecure. They use personality cults with omnipresent imagery (statues, photos, rituals) to project godliness, omnipotence, and inescapable authority, forcing public submission and making themselves part of every social interaction.
Dictators can be appointed (Mussolini, Hitler), come to power through elections and then consolidate power (Putin), or through coups (civilian or military). Historically, 75% of 20th-century authoritarian regimes were established via coups.
A self-coup occurs when an incumbent leader refuses to leave office after losing an election or facing impeachment, often by declaring martial law. Examples include Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, Donald Trump's actions after the 2020 election, and attempts in South Korea and Peru, which were swiftly dismantled.
Hitler's failed Beer Hall Putsch in 1923 led to his imprisonment where he wrote Mein Kampf. Initially not taken seriously and even banned from public speaking, he capitalized on the Great Depression and social unrest, being appointed by German elites in 1933 who believed they could control him.
Many dictatorships criminalize abortion and promote high birth rates among specific groups, driven by fantasies of national purity or desired demographics. This is part of a broader trend where regimes restrict women's bodily autonomy and agency, considering women as 'enemies of strong men' alongside political opposition and LGBTQ+ individuals.