The people living in dictatorships are often subjected to human rights abuses and severe limits to their personal freedom. Some dictators also have a charismatic personality, according to Max Weber, which can make them appealing to citizens regardless of the force and violence they apply. [132] In the 21st century, dictatorships have moved toward greater integration with the global community and increasingly attempt to present themselves as democratic. [136] Should a dictatorship fail, elections also permit dictators and elites to accept defeat without fearing violent recourse. scholarly analysis of Mussolini, Hitler, Stalin and Mao, as well as Kim Il-sung of North Korea; Franois Duvalier, or Papa Doc, of Haiti; Nicolae Ceauescu of Romania; and Mengistu Haile Mariam of Ethiopia. Between 1950 and 2016, one-party dictatorships made up 57% of authoritarian regimes in the world,[26] and one-party dictatorships have continued to expand more quickly than other forms of dictatorship in the latter half of the 20th century. Amy has a master's of library and information science and a master's of arts in history. While a dictatorship is a form of government in some nations, just as monarchy or representative democracy is the form of government in others, dictatorships are seen by non-dictatorships as dangerous and cruel because of the way they tend to treat their citizens. [1] A dictatorship that is ruled by soldiers is called a military dictatorship or junta. [3] Elites must also compete to wield more power than one another, but the amount of power held by elites also depends on their unity. Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced searchad free! Dictatorship - a form of government in which a ruler or small clique wield absolute power (not restricted by a constitution or laws). Try refreshing the page, or contact customer support. Nglish: Translation of dictatorship for Spanish Speakers, Britannica English: Translation of dictatorship for Arabic Speakers, Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about dictatorship. [106], The nature of dictatorship changed in much of the world at the onset of the 21st century. [97], The Middle East was decolonized during the Cold War, and many nationalist movements gained strength post-independence. In a dictatorial government, power rests with one supreme ruler. To enact policy, a dictator must either appease the regime's elites or attempt to replace them. Between 1967 and 1991, 12 Latin American countries underwent at least one military coup, with Haiti and Honduras experiencing three and Bolivia experiencing eight. [122] The form of government does not correlate with the amount of economic growth, and dictatorships on average grow at the same rate as democracies, though dictatorships have been found to have larger fluctuations. In the Aristotelian classification of government, there were two forms of rule by the few: aristocracy and its debased form, oligarchy. They differ from other forms of dictatorships in that the dictator has greater access to key political positions and the government's treasury, and they are more commonly subject to the discretion of the dictator. [1], The dictator exercises broad power over the government and society, but other individuals are necessary to carry out the dictator's rule. Communist dictatorships in the region aligned with China following the latter's establishment as a communist state. [19], Military dictatorships are regimes in which military officers hold power, determine who will lead the country, and exercise influence over policy. A totalitarian government has "total control of mass communications and social and economic organizations". By contrast, dictators take power by force or by misleading the people. [98], During World War II, many countries of Central and Eastern Europe had been occupied by the Soviet Union. The role of dictator was created for instances when a single leader was needed to command and restore stability. A military dictatorship is a form of government in which the military holds most or all political power. Monarchies may be dynastic, in which the royal family serves as a ruling institution similar to a political party in a one-party state, or they may be non-dynastic, in which the monarch rules independently of the royal family as a personalist dictator. This person is called a dictator. Plus, get practice tests, quizzes, and personalized coaching to help you She has a B.S. [98] Several Middle Eastern countries were the subject of military coups in the 1950s and 1960s, including Iraq, Syria, North Yemen, and South Yemen. In democracies, the threat of a military coup is associated with the period immediately after a democracy's creation but prior to large-scale military reforms. [62][63][64] Maximilien Robespierre has been similarly described as a dictator while he controlled the National Convention in France and carried out the Reign of Terror in 1793 and 1794. The leader of a dictatorship is called a dictator. They are not held accountable for their actions and are free to do as they please, even limiting citizens' freedom and rights. The rights of the people are typically suppressed in a dictatorship, sometimes to a great degree. Dictators use intimidation, terror, and the suppression of basic civil liberties. As a member, you'll also get unlimited access to over 88,000 They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. [87] Populist movements were strengthened following the economic turmoil of the Great Depression, producing populist dictatorships in several Latin American countries. One of the more dramatic examples of this kind of human rights abuse occurred in Myanmar in 2008. [116] Dictatorships in the Middle East are primarily guided by Islamic nationalism. Unitary Government Examples, Pros & Cons | What is a Unitary Government? A dictatorship is a form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, who hold governmental powers with few to no limitations on them. Stability in a dictatorship is maintained through coercion and political repression, which involves the restriction of access to information, the tracking of the political opposition, and acts of violence. While the People's Republic of China was initially aligned with the Soviet Union, relations between the two countries deteriorated as the Soviet Union underwent de-Stalinization in the late-1950s. It is not necessarily ruled by a theology or belief. | Meaning, pronunciation, translations and examples dictatorship, form of government in which one person or a small group possesses absolute power without effective constitutional limitations. Most caudillos came from a military background, and their rule was typically associated with pageantry and glamor. In some instances, a group of nations or communities could be governed under a dictatorship instead of a single nation. Dictatorships frequently hold elections in order to establish their legitimacy or provide incentives to members of the ruling party, but these elections are not competitive for the opposition. Approximately ten percent of the countries in the world today are considered dictatorships. Western constitutional democracies have provided examples of another type of contemporary dictatorship. [104] A one-party communist dictatorship was formed in Cuba when a US-backed dictatorship was overthrown in the Cuban Revolution, creating the only Soviet-backed dictatorship in the western hemisphere. The government was described as a dictatorship of the proletariat in which power was exercised by soviets. Most today are one of five types: Approximately 10% of countries today are considered dictatorships. A dictator that has concentrated significant power is more likely to be exiled, imprisoned, or killed after ouster, and accordingly they are more likely to refuse negotiation and cling to power. Question . [37], Personalist dictators typically favor loyalty over competence in their governments and have a general distrust of intelligentsia. Instead, dictators have ordinary titles such as president, emperor, great leader and similar monikers. Poverty has a destabilizing effect on government, causing democracy to fail and regimes to fall more often. That's because 'dictator' is a pejorative term assigned to certain rulers by other nations, particularly the developed nations of the West - that is, countries with thriving economies - such as the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and many others. [49] In an absolute monarchy, power is limited to the royal family, and legitimacy is established by historical factors. Dictators are more likely to implement long-term investments into the country's economy if they feel secure in their power. Strict government-imposed constraints on social freedoms such as suppression of political opponents and anti-regime activity The presence of a ruling executive with vague, shifting, and loosely-defined powers Modern dictatorships such as Venezuela under Hugo Chvez and Cuba under Fidel Castro typify authoritarian governments. [22], Military dictatorships are typically formed by a military coup in which senior officers use the military to overthrow the government. They may also employ techniques of mass propaganda in order to sustain their public support. These individuals form an inner circle, making up a class of elites that hold a degree of power within the dictatorship and receive benefits in exchange for their support. Indeed, the 20th century, which witnessed the careers of Atatrk, Benito Mussolini, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Francisco Franco, Mao Tse-tung, Juan Pern, Tito, Gamal Abdel Nasser, Sukarno, Kwame Nkrumah, and Charles de Gaulle, could appear in history as the age of plebiscitary dictatorship. A dictatorship is a form of government in which a person or a small group rules with almost unlimited power. Of the 197 countries in the world today, approximately 20 are classified as dictatorships, depending upon the source consulted. [135] Elections are also used to control elites within the dictatorship by requiring them to compete with one another and incentivizing them to build support with the populace, allowing the most popular and most competent elites to be promoted in the regime. [17] Between 1946 and 2010, 42% of dictatorships began by overthrowing a different dictatorship, and 26% began after achieving independence from a foreign government. New forms of oligarchic rule have also made their appearance in many advanced industrial societies. Totalitarianism is the most extreme form of authoritarianism and is considered an oppressive method of ruling a nation. [95] A similar phenomenon took place in Korea, where Kim Il-sung created a Soviet-backed communist dictatorship in North Korea[96] and Syngman Rhee created a US-backed nationalist dictatorship in South Korea. The country suffered for many years under his, His enemies accused him of establishing a, Today, Russia under President Vladimir Putin is an autocracy verging on military, Lest this only conjure up images of a repressive, The latter includes the now-defunct dark web market Hydra as well as North Koreas infamous Lazarus Group, a team of hackers that carries out sophisticated cyber and crypto robberies to support the, After seven brutal years in power, the Armed Forces finally withdrew from the Executive, allowing open elections in which Alfonsn handily took the popular vote with a mandate to investigate the crimes committed during the 1976-1983 military, Inevitably, during his life, Pel encountered problems: his commercial activities were sometimes mired in controversy; at one stage he was labeled a left-wing antagonist of the Brazilian government, then was later described as being too conservative in his views of the Brazilian, Chilean author Nona Fernndez grew up alongside the violence of the Pinochet, At least since the infamous dread pirate Captain Flint haunted the pages of Robert Louis Stevensons Treasure Island, pirate vessels have been treated in the popular imagination as floating, Post the Definition of dictatorship to Facebook, Share the Definition of dictatorship on Twitter. Theocracy Overview & Examples | What is Theocracy? Rule by dictator. - Definition & Examples, Carl Von Clausewitz: Biography, Theory & Quotes, Small Business Project Management: Planning & Tools, Horizontal Expansion in Business: Definition & Examples, Working Scholars Bringing Tuition-Free College to the Community. [99] A 1953 coup overseen by the American and British governments restored Mohammad Reza Pahlavi as the absolute monarch of Iran, who in turn was overthrown during the Iranian Revolution of 1979 that established Ruhollah Khomeini as the Supreme Leader of Iran under an Islamist government. Displaying 1 - 20 of 68 articles. The Democracy-Dictatorship Index is seen as an example of the minimalist approach, whereas the Polity data series is more substantive. [24], Military dictatorships often have traits in common due to the shared background of military dictators. The use of the term dictatorship originated in the Roman Republic. Be sure to explain the role of the cult of personality and human rights abuses. A dictatorship is a type of government in which a single personthe dictatoror party has absolute power. A dictatorship is a system of government in which a single person or party has complete political power; the dictator often maintains power by employing oppressive methods. Dictatorship can be defined as a form of government in which the power is centralized. Military dictators may also be less trusting or diplomatic and underestimate the use of bargaining and compromise in politics. This makes it distinct from constitutional monarchy and ceremonial monarchy. Dictatorships in the Middle East and Northern Africa are either illiberal republics in which a president holds power through unfair elections, or they are absolute monarchies in which power is inherited. Enrolling in a course lets you earn progress by passing quizzes and exams. In personalist dictatorships, the elite corps are usually made up of close friends or family members of the dictator, who typically handpicks these individuals to serve their posts. Mao established the People's Republic of China as a one-party communist state under his governing ideology of Maoism. By contrast, Soviet communism grew out of a revolutionary theory of society, pursued the goal of revolutionary overthrow of capitalist systems internationally, and employed the complex bureaucratic structures of the Communist Party as mechanisms of governmental organization. Dictatorship. [32], One-party dictatorships became prominent in Asia and Eastern Europe during the Cold War as communist governments were installed in several countries. [71] The aftermath of World War I resulted in a major shift in European politics, establishing new governments, facilitating internal change in older governments, and redrawing the boundaries between countries, allowing opportunities for these movements to seize power. Current leader Kim Jong-un has consolidated his power, purging . [93] Chiang Kai-shek continued to rule as dictator of the National government's rump state in Taiwan until his death in 1975. It often refers to a form of government that has the authority of absolute rule within one person or a structured polity. [6], The opposition to a dictatorship represents all of the factions that are not part of the dictatorship and anyone that does not support the regime. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. These countries maintain parliaments and human rights organizations, but these remain under the control of the countries' respective dictators. succeed. dictatorship, Form of government in which one person or an oligarchy possesses absolute power without effective constitutional checks. Dictators use psychological manipulation, imprisonment, torture and murder to intimidate the citizens into complete obedience. In nearly all political systems, the powers of chief executives have increased in response to the demanding social, economic, and military crises of the age. You won't find a dictator who calls himself a dictator. The group may be military or political, it may be organized or disorganized, and it may disproportionately represent a certain demographic. [137] Dictatorships may influence the results of an election through electoral fraud, intimidation or bribing of candidates and voters, use of state resources such as media control, manipulation of electoral laws, restricting who may run as a candidate, or disenfranchising demographics that may oppose the dictatorship. [29][30] The use of ruling parties also provides more legitimacy to its leadership and elites than other forms of dictatorship[31] and facilitates a peaceful transfer of power at the end of a dictator's rule. When a cyclone swept over the country, killing hundreds of thousands and leaving millions without food or shelter, the country's military dictatorship blocked humanitarian aid from reaching the people until it could hold a sham election. Totalitarianism is a type of governmental system in which the government exerts a domineering level of control over the population. 279 lessons. A dictatorship is a form of government where one person, or a small group of individuals, can make decisions without effective constitutional limitations. [38] Due to the lack of accountability and the smaller group of elites, personalist dictatorships are more prone to corruption than other forms of dictatorship,[39] and they are more repressive than other forms of dictatorship. [130] Negotiated removals are more likely to end in democracy, while removals by force are more likely to result in a new dictatorial regime. Many personalist regimes will install open ballots to protect their regimes and implement heavy security measures and censorship for those whose personal preferences do not align with the values of the leader. Unlike in the United States and other similar nations, the people living in a dictatorship have no rights of free speech, freedom of religion, a free press or even the right to hold an opinion in opposition to the ruler and ruling party. [73], Dictatorships in Latin America persisted into the 20th century, and further military coups established new regimes, often in the name of nationalism. A dictator may address the opposition by repressing it through force, modifying laws to restrict its power, or appeasing it with limited benefits. Secret police are used to gather information about specific political opponents and carry out targeted acts of violence against them, paramilitary forces defend the regime from coups, and formal militaries defend the dictatorship during foreign invasions and major civil conflicts. Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, and Palestine are the only democratic nations in the region, with Israel being the only nation in this region that affords broad political liberties to its citizens. These dictators may view themselves as impartial in their oversight of a country due to their nonpartisan status, and they may view themselves as "guardians of the state". Dictators use intimidation, terror, and the suppression of fundamental civil liberties. [125] One-party dictatorships are generally more stable and last longer than military or personalist dictatorships. Think back to what you have previously learned about history. An authoritarian military dictatorship ruled Chile for seventeen years, between 11 September 1973 and 11 March 1990. [82], Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party created a second fascist dictatorship in Germany in 1933,[83] obtaining absolute power through a combination of electoral victory, violence, and emergency powers. [4] A unified inner circle has the capacity to overthrow a dictator, and the dictator must make greater concessions to the inner circle to stay in power. [133] A study found that dictatorships that engage in oil drilling are more likely to remain in power, with 70.63% of the dictators who engage in oil drilling still being in power after 5 years of dictatorship, while only 59.92% of the non-oil producing dictators survive the first 5 years. When letters make sounds that aren't associated w One goose, two geese. Indeed, in some circumstances, the new elites may use their power to convert themselves into a governing class whose interests are protected by every agency of the state. [144] Military and one-party dictatorships are more likely to experience terrorism than personalist dictatorships, as these regimes are under more pressure to undergo institutional change in response to terrorism. [108], Dictatorship in Europe largely ended after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, and the liberalization of most communist states. They are more likely to end in violence and less likely to democratize than other forms of dictatorship. The people themselves have few rights and little power. 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. Ecclesiastical - a government administrated by a church. [92] Deng Xiaoping took power as the de facto leader of China after Mao's death and implemented reforms to restore stability following the Cultural Revolution and reestablish free market economics. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. [98], One of the tasks in political science is to measure and classify regimes as either democracies or dictatorship (authoritarian) countries. lessons in math, English, science, history, and more. That's because there's no other branch of government that is not controlled by the dictator. An error occurred trying to load this video. Members of the group will typically make up the elites in a dictator's inner circle at the beginning of a new dictatorship, though the dictator may remove them as a means to gain additional power. The root word dictator comes from the Roman Republic when a "dictator" would be appointed temporarily during an emergency or state crisis. in Elementary Education from Northern Arizona University and M.Ed. This may be ensured through incentives, such as distribution of financial resources or promises of security, or it may be through repression, in which failing to support the regime is punished.