Dictatorship

Dictatorship, form of government in which one person or a small group possesses absolute power
without effective constitutional limitations. The term dictatorship comes from the Latin title dictator, which
in the Roman Republic designated a temporary magistrate who was granted extraordinary powers in
order to deal with state crises. Modern dictators, however, resemble ancient tyrants rather than ancient
dictators. Ancient philosophers’ descriptions of the tyrannies of Greece and Sicily go far toward
characterizing modern dictatorships. Dictators usually resort to force or fraud to gain despotic political
power, which they maintain through the use of intimidation, terror, and the suppression of basic civil
liberties. They may also employ techniques of mass propaganda in order to sustain their public support.

With the decline and disappearance in the 19th and 20th centuries of monarchies based on
hereditary descent, dictatorship became one of the two chief forms of government in use by nations
throughout the world, the other being constitutional democracy. Rule by dictators has taken several
different forms. In Latin America in the 19th century, various dictators arose after effective central
authority had collapsed in the new nations recently freed from Spanish colonial rule. These caudillos, or
self-proclaimed leaders, usually led a private army and tried to establish control over a territory before
marching upon a weak national government.

A dictatorship is a form of government that has the power to govern without consent of those
being governed (similar to authoritarianism), while totalitarianism describes a state that regulates nearly
every aspect of public and private behavior of the people. In other words, dictatorship concerns the
source of the governing power and totalitarianism concerns the scope of the governing power. In this
sense, dictatorship (government without people’s consent) is a contrast to democracy (government whose
power comes from people) and totalitarianism (government controls every aspect of people’s life)
opposes pluralism (government allows multiple lifestyles and opinions).

The wave of military dictatorships in Latin America in the second half of the twentieth century left
a particular mark on Latin American culture. In Latin American literature, the dictator novel challenging
dictatorship is a significant genre. There are also many films depicting Latin American military
dictatorships.

Characteristics of Dictatorship

Dictatorship has the following characteristics:

1. No Genuine Constitution

The dictators do not consider constitutional rights and assume mi ±e powers in the government.
There is no freedom of speech and expression. People are not supposed to disagree with the
government. All the decisions are taken by a. few powerful individuals and everybody is expected to
follow them.

2. Monopolization of Power

In a dictatorship, all the powers are vested in a single person or in a group of people. They direct
all the policies and programs for society. Views, interests, and opinions of the masses are not, generally
considered.
3. Complete Control over the Propaganda Machinery

Dictators do not allow mass media to discuss ideas that would go against the government. They
allow no freedom of speech, expression, thought and strict censorship is exercised over the media.

Types of Dictatorship

The following are the major types of dictatorship:

 Military dictatorships
 Single-party dictatorships
 Personalist dictatorships
 Monarchic dictatorships
 Hybrid dictatorships

Military dictatorships

Military dictatorships are regimes in which a group of officers holds power, determines who will
lead the country, and exercises influence over policy. High-level elites and a leader are the members of
the military dictatorship. Military dictatorships are characterized by rule by a professionalized military as
an institution. In military regimes, elites are referred to as junta members, who are typically senior officers
(and often other high-level officers) in the military

Single-party dictatorships

Single-party dictatorships are regimes in which one party dominates politics. In single-party
dictatorships, a single party has access to political posts and control over policy. In single-party
dictatorships, party elites are typically members of the ruling body of the party, sometimes called the
central committee, politburo, or secretariat. Those groups of individuals control the selection of party
officials and "organizes the distribution of benefits to supporters and mobilize citizens to vote and show
support for party leaders"

Current one-party states include China, Cuba, Eritrea, Laos, North Korea and Vietnam. The
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, which is not recognized by the UN, is also a one-party state.

Personalist dictatorships

Personalist dictatorships are regimes in which all power lies in the hands of a single individual.
Personalist dictatorships differ from other forms of dictatorships in their access to key political positions,
other fruits of office, and depend much more on the discretion of the personalist dictator. Personalist
dictators may be members of the military or leaders of a political party. However, neither the military nor
the party exercises power independently from the dictator. In personalist dictatorships, the elite corps are
usually made up of close friends or family members of the dictator. These individuals are all typically
handpicked to serve their posts by the dictator.

As such, dictators favor loyalty over competence and in general distrust intelligentsia. Members of
the winning coalition often do not possess professional political careers and are often ill-equipped to
manage the tasks of the office bestowed on them. Without the dictator's blessing, they would never have
acquired a position of power. Once ousted, chances are slim they will maintain their position. The dictator
knows this and therefore uses such divide-and-rule tactics to keep their inner circle from coordinating
actions against them. The result is that such regimes have no internal checks and balances, and are thus
unrestrained when exerting repression on their people, making radical shifts in foreign policy, or even
starting wars (with other countries.

Monarchic dictatorships

Monarchic dictatorships are in regimes in which "a person of royal descent has inherited the
position of head of state in accordance with accepted practice or constitution." Regimes are not
considered dictatorships if the monarch's role is largely ceremonial, but absolute monarchies, such as
Saudi Arabia, can be thought of as hereditary dictatorships. To be considered a dictatorship, political
power must have been promised to the people but in reality, is exercised by the monarch for regimes, but
since the power of the government was never promised to the people in the first place it is not a
dictatorship but an authoritarian government. Elites in monarchies are typically members of the royal
family.

Hybrid dictatorships

Hybrid dictatorships are regimes that blend qualities of personalist, single-party, and military
dictatorships. The most common forms of hybrid dictatorships are personalist/single-party hybrids and
personalist/military hybrids.

Theories of dictatorship

Mancur Olson suggests that the emergence of dictatorships can be linked to the concept of
"roving bandits", individuals in an atomic system who move from place to place extracting wealth from
individuals. These bandits provide a disincentive for investment and production. Olson states that a
community of individuals would be served less badly if that bandit were to establish himself as a
stationary bandit to monopolize theft in the form of taxes. Except from the community, the bandits
themselves will be better served, according to Olson, by transforming themselves into "stationary
bandits". By settling down and making themselves the rulers of a territory, they will be able to make more
profits through taxes than they used to obtain through plunder.

By maintaining order and providing unsolicited protection to the community, the bandits will create
an environment in which people can increase their surplus which means a greater taxable base. Thus a
potential dictator will have a greater incentive to provide an illusion of security to a given community from
which he is extracting taxes and conversely, the unthinking part of the people from whom he extracts the
taxes are more likely to produce because they will be unconcerned with potential theft by other bandits.
This is the rationale that bandits use in order to explain their transformation from "roving bandits" into
"stationary bandits"

Differences between Democracy and Dictatorship

Democracy Dictatorship

The head of the country in a democratic One individual is the sole authority of
government is the one who gets the most support the country with no institution to keep
in the form of votes in a general election. They its power in check.
also have the additional responsibility of ensuring
the welfare of the electorate.

Political control in a country is provided through In a dictatorship no elections take

free and fair elections, with two or more political place or they are heavily regulated by
parties being involved. restricting the number of political
parties and limiting gatherings and
associations.

The media in a democratic form of government is The media is the mouthpiece of a

known as the fourth pillar of democracy as they dictatorial government. Regardless of
watch the government’s every move and riticize it what a dictator does, the media will
should any misstep is taken. only show what needs to be shown to
the masses so that a cult of personality
is always maintained.

In a democracy, the fundamental rights of the In a dictatorship, little importance is

citizen are protected by the constitution. Citizens given to fundamental rights, with the
have the right to join political parties and other populace being generally subjected to
organizations. constant policing, monitoring and
brutality.

The earliest forms of democracy appeared in Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix and Gaius
Ancient Greece It is generally accepted that the Julius Ceaser of Ancient Rome can be
Athenians established what is held as the first considered as the first dictators.
democracy in 508–507 BC. The democracy was
rudimentary in the sense that only free-males of
Athens could cast their votes but not women and
slaves.