Dictatorship

“	The masses are nothing to me, but a flock of sheep as long as they aren't organized. I'm not against it, I just deny that it can govern itself.	„
	~ Benito Mussolini

A dictatorship is a form of government that centers power in a single organ, party or in the hands of just one person that gets called "dictator".

Types

Authoritarianism

Summary

Authoritarianism is when a state in which sovereignty is exercised by a hegemonic party or a dictator.

Features

• It abolishes the rule of law of the principles of legality, thus it violates the freedoms of the human being and acts as a force above the law.
• It limitates the fundamental individual rights: personal freedom, freedom of speech, freedom of expression and freedom of the press.
• It represses any form of dissent with the prohibition of setting up private associations or organizations, other than those expressly authorized, and the creation of a single party.
• It suppress the trade union freedom.
• It replaces the elected bodies, with bodies nominated by the government.
• It creates a rigid hierarchical system.

File:Totalitarists.png

The three major exponents of a totalitarian dictatorship: Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini and Stalin.

Totalitarianism

Summary

Totalitarianism is a type of dictatorship similar to authoritarianism, but it also expands its control in the life of the single individual.

Features

• It concentrates power on an immovable and politically irresponsible oligarchy.
• It imposes an official ideology, such as fascism or communism.
• It has a single mass party in power.
• It controls the forces operating in the state and uses terror.
• It has complete control of communication and information.
• It uses propaganda to plagiarize the mind of the people into thinking their ideology.

File:Militaristi.png

The three major exponents of a military dictatorship: Muʿammar Gheddafi, Gamal Abd el-Nasser, and Idi Amin Dada.

Military dictatorship

Summary

A military dictatorship is an authoritarian form of government in which political power is held by the military.

Features

• It is guided by collegiate body.
• The head of state can be a senior officer or supreme commander of the armed forces.
• The dictator pushes a cult of personality to become the emblem of the nation.
• It starts after coup d'etat.
• Very often it has the characteristics of an autocracy.
• It often abandons power only under the pressure of an already ongoing or imminent popular uprising.
• It justifies itself with excuse of protecting the country from dangerous ideologies.
• It applies martial laws.
• It strives to portray civilian politicians as "corrupt" and "incompetent".

File:Teocrati.png

Three major exponents of theocracy: Pope Innocent III, taliban leader Abdul Ghani Baradar, Salmān bin ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz Āl Saʿūd.

Theocracy

Summary

Theocracy is the form of government in which the management of religious and secular governmental activities coincide.

Features

• It has one religion of State.
• Every product that goes against the faith will be banished/censored and its creator will be persecuted.
• Every minority that gets discriminated by the holy book of the official religion will be persecuted.
• It is ruled by two shared heads of State: one is a secular ruler and the other is a religious leader.
• The clergy has direct or undirect control over the government.
• The religions outside of the official religion are banned.

Examples

• Adolf Hitler
• Augusto Pinochet
• Abdul Ghani Baradar
• Alfredo Stroessner
• Alexander Lukashenko
• Benito Mussolini
• Gamal Abd el-Nasser
• Gerardo Machado
• Gregorio Álvarez
• Hissène Habré
• Idi Amin Dada
• Juan Perón
• Juan María Bordaberry
• Jean-Bédel Bokassa
• Kim Il-sung
• Kim Jong-il
• Kim Jong-un
• Saddam Hussein
• Luis García Meza
• Mao Zedong
• Muʿammar Gheddafi
• Michel Micombero
• Maximiliano Hernández Martínez
• Miguel Primo de Rivera
• Marcos Pérez Jiménez
• Napoleon Bonaparte
• Raoul Cédras
• Pope Innocent III
• Salmān bin ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz Āl Saʿūd
• Stalin
• Samuel Doe
• Xi Jinping