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Dictatorships
God has a plan He is carrying to completion;
history records the progress of that plan.
Job 12:23
Robert Mugabe
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Review
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Three basic questions have to be asked when
studying any government system:
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By whom and by which criteria should leaders be
chosen?
How should the decision making process be
organized to implement and enforce decisions?
What political institutions should be created, and what
functions and power given to them?
How should the political process be organized and in
whose interests should decisions be made?
Although democracies and authoritarian regimes
are very different, they both exist to protect the
security and economic interests of a society.
Definition of Autocracy
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auto = absolute
cracy = to rule
synonyms: authoritarian, totalitarian,
dictatorship, absolute monarchy, autocracy
people are told what to do and are expected
to obey
degrees of autocracy range from benevolent
dictator to totalitarian government (all facets
of society are controlled by the state and no
dissension is allowed)
Basic Belief of Autocracy
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Elitism
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small elite is better able to govern than a
majority
Nietzsche
felt that although democracy created
equality, it crushed the spirit of
superior people for the sake of
mediocre
 Adolf Hitler reworded Nietzsche to: "it
is madness to think and criminal to
proclaim that a majority can replace the
accomplishments of a genius."
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Machiavelli
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Believed that a ruler should inspire fear
but at the same time should be mindful of
maintaining support of the people, if only
to prevent foreign powers from
encouraging rebellion by the people.
How ideology and restructuring of
society is emphasized in autocracy:
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Nazism taught that the Aryan race was superior
USSR Communists taught that class struggle was
necessary to achieve equality
people “taught” that restructuring is necessary
no party or personality allowed to compete with
leader
one leader at the head of an elite
elite from about 10% of the population
only elite supposed to understand the truth
elite is the vanguard of the political system
Use of Conformity in Autocracy
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citizens forced
to conform
through use of
propaganda,
terror, spying,
secret police,
violence
against
opposition,
concentration/
death camps
Government
Dictatorship
Citizens
Citizens
Democracy
Government
Characteristics
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authoritarian
totalitarian
use of force
violence
scapegoating
tokenism
control of media
controlled participation
limits on dissent
lack of accountability
provision for changes to the system
indoctrination
direction of popular discontent
Authoritarian Rule
Political power and authority are
concentrated in the hands of one leader or
a small group of people and exercised in a
dictatorial manner—power is exercised by
a few.
 People are encouraged to identify with the
leader rather than with the ideals or
principles of a type of government.
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Use of Force
A strong military and secret police exist to
keep the government in power.
 Military can be called upon to intervene in
political affairs.
 Secret police use various methods to seek
out and arrest suspected dissenters and
enemies of the government.
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Violence
The fear of violence is often used to
maintain power.
 The threat of violence can be real or
perceived.
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Scapegoating
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Blaming an identifiable group
of people for the misfortunes of
society.
These identifiable groups of
people can be an ethnic group,
entire nation, etc.
This is generally used to
distract attention away from
the true causes of misfortune.
It can also be used fabricate
misfortune that may not
actually exist in the society.
Often, dictators find
scapegoats for poor economic
conditions.
Tokenism
Often, different groups on society are
given a limited amount of power or rights
to make them seem included.
 Though it seems like these groups (usually
minorities) for power, they do not and or
often manipulated for the good of the
dictator.
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Control of Media
All major forms of media or controlled by
the authoritarian regime.
 This ensures that the dictator has a
favorable image.
 The state can own the media outlets, or
can strictly control content.
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Controlled Participation
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Political participation is limited to involving
people in activities such as elections and
referendums designed to demonstrate support
for the government and is policies.
There are no real choices, so elections, if any,
are only symbolic.
Political competition is restricted or eliminated to
ensure that all opposition to the government,
even within the party, remains weak and divided.
Simpsons
Limits on Dissent
Dissent is limited by closely monitoring
people’s views and activities and
repressing opposition to government.
 There are also laws that ensure that
citizens cannot express their disfavor with
the government.
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Lack of Accountability
Decision making and political power are
not conducted according to the rule of law.
 Leaders are not required to be
accountable to the people for their policies
and actions.
 This often leads to widespread corruption,
mismanagement, repression of civil
liberties, loss of human life, and
persecution of minorities.
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Provisions for Change to the
System
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Because of the concentration of power in
the hands of a leader or small elite,
provisions allowing for peaceful transition
of power rarely exist. The death of the
dictator is frequently followed by a violent
power struggle.
Indoctrination
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The media function to popularize the beliefs,
viewpoints, and policies of the leader the
government.
Access to media sources is also restricted.
Education is strictly controlled and monitored in
an attempt to gain the support of youth and to
teach ideas and values favoured by the
government.
Often government-sponsored youth groups exist
to provide activities for youth, but also to
encourage support for the government.
Biology For 5th Grade Girls
The Laws of Nature and Humanity
I.
We have established that all creatures, plants as
well as animals, are in a continual battle for
survival. Plants crowd into the area they
need to grow. Every plant that fails to secure
enough room and light must necessarily die.
Every animal that does not secure sufficient
territory and guard it against other predators,
or lacks the necessary strength and speed
or caution and cleverness will fall prey to its
enemies. The army of plant eaters threatens
the plant kingdom. Plant eaters are prey for
carnivores. The battle for existence is hard
and unforgiving, but is the only way to
maintain life. This struggle eliminates
everything that is unfit for life, and selects
everything that is able to survive.
--Nazi Science Book
Great Man Theory
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one of the oldest concepts of political
leadership
first civilizations ruled by absolute monarchs
believed authority came from divine right to
rule
divine power infallible
succession to the throne hereditary
Government demands rule by a man possessing
extraordinary talents.
Crisis Theory
A belief that all events in history are
triggered by various crises, such as war
and economic depression.
 This produces such intense feelings of
resentment, frustration, insecurity, and
outright fear that people are willing to
accept drastic political solutions.
 This concept would explain the origin of
many dictatorships.
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Charismatic Leadership
A person that has the ability to capture the
attention and gain the support of people
through the force of their personality.
 This must be one of the sources of their
power to be considered a charismatic
leadership.
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How One Becomes a Dictator
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when society is in a crisis (e.g.: economic
depression - United States 1930s or political
upheaval - USSR 1990s) people tend to look
to a strong ruler to solve their problems for
them
dictators not selected by heredity
Machiavelli’s view
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must be ruthless and create fear in those you rule
must know how to resort to evil
Military Coup
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Many of the world’s governments are military
dictatorships. In most of these counties the
leaders gained their positions by a coup d’etat
For a coup to be successful, the leaders must
gain the support of the majority of the military
officers.
The essential elements of a successful takeover
have included seizing the presidential palace,
disrupting communications and transport
systems, controlling media outlets, setting up
roadblocks, and arresting important political
figures.
Types of Dictatorships
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Authoritarian Governments
Absolute monarchy
 One-person autocratic rule
 Oligarchy
 Military dictatorship
 Minority tyranny
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Totalitarianism
Communism
 fascism
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Absolute Monarchy
monarch achieves
power by heredity
 Divine right
 Emir of Kuwait
 Louis XIV - 1780s
 Monty Python –
Search for the
Holy Grail
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Autocracy
One-person autocratic rule
 Based on the personality of the leader
 The regime is maintained by force
 Some political institutions may exist, but
they are usually dominated and controlled
by the leader.
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General Suharto --Indonesia
Oligarchy
Led by an elite group
 May be family, ethnic minority, or a social
group
 The elite rules in order to further its own
interests at the expense of the majority.
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Military Dictatorship/Junta
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power seized by force
in a coup d’etat
Military personal
control all decisions
All key political
positions are controlled
through a military
council (junta)
Pinochet In Chile (19731990)
YOUTUBE CLIP
Minority Tyranny
minority rules over majority without
respect to majority rights
 white regime rule over Black/Asian
South Africans
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Majority Tyranny
majority rule without respect to
minority rights
 US during slave trade
 Nazi Germany rule over Jews
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Nationalist One-Party States
A single-party controls all political
decisions
 The primary ideals of the party are based
around nationalism and nationalistic
ideals.
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Ideological One-Party States
A single-party controls all political
decisions
 The primary ideals of the party are based
around a specific ideology
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Theocracy
A government where god is recognized as
the supreme civil ruler.
 A theocracy is different from a state that
has an official state religion.
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Iran and Afghanistan under the Taliban
though these two states are potential
candidates, you could argue that they are
not theocracies.
Totalitarianism Defined
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e.g.: fascist Italy under Mussolini, Nazi
Germany under Hitler, Communist USSR
under Stalin
ruler has total control over all aspects of
human life
communications technology makes total
control possible
state controls access to information,
monopolizes all communication systems
state systematically indoctrinates its citizens
economy totally regulated
An Important Question:
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Which take precedence, the will of the
state/majority or individualism?
Another Question…
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What are the major criticisms of nondemocratic regimes?
An effective leader will be
concerned about an orderly
transfer of power when his
term is finished
Numbers 27:15-23