The common denominators of dictators

The common denominators of dictators

Their ability to sell ‘imaginary enemies’ to the masses.

To ward off the anger of the masses resulting from spiralling prices, wars and hunger, a dictator needs imaginary enemies so that he is not held accountable for all the ills that have gotten hold of the land and the burden of blame falls on the heads of those he paints off as enemies of the state. Imaginary enemies also serve another great purpose, they cement his hold over the country as he is the only person who has what it takes to defeat such devious and calculating groups. The nation rises beyond religious/ethnic lines and stands united in the supreme leader’s fight against such beastly people. There are no other greater loyalties, there's only one idea you bend your knee to, the leader of the nation, and fight his wars, die for him and be hailed as a martyr who went down fighting the enemy. All this war-mongering results from the hysteria that is generated over the imaginary enemies by the state media, if the imaginary enemies are not checked fast enough, they will destroy your land, your culture and enslave your women and your kids. So it is they who become the number one priority for the common folk, healthcare and affordable housing can wait.

Their affinity for the nation's ostensible glorious past and indulgence in history revisionism.

Almost every failed land and people have had their moments in the past. If there are no moments, then you create them. Lost wars can be brushed as heroic last stands for example. This serves a purpose, since the present and the immediate future of your people stands bleak, you need to provide some sort of plank in time they can look up to and aspire to reach, this keeps the masses satisfied and curbs their anger and hopelessness over the hardships they face on a regular basis. You also re-write history to generate animosity amongst the masses, you insert the ‘imaginary enemies’ and their ‘betrayals’ to the people in the past and exhort your people to avenge the historical wrongs. If there’s present a historical tyrant from the hated group then you highlight him all around to show your people what these beasts are capable of when they hold the sceptres of power in their hands and if they have had a historical hero in their ranks then you pall his achievements with downright lies and pull him off the pedestal people have erected him upon.

Control the past, and you control the future.

Dictators either control the military directly or tie it down in a tight leash. 

The spy agencies, better known as the secret police work a lot harder inside the country than outside in a dictatorship, though this is not a norm but it is noticeable. The last thing a dictator needs is active dissent and since he more concerned about his power than general welfare, the state resources are pumped to erect a home surveillance apparatus.

All Dictators have either had the support of the masses, or the support of the few with some clout (military, business classes, dominant ethnic group, etc.) in the initial stage of their reign. The masses need not be of the majority, but can be on tribal loyalties.

Once their power is consolidated, steps are taken to ensure that it stays so, generally through shows of force, and purges of some of the elites. Some means of surveillance is set up, with an illusion of omniscience and brutality (the latter is real) to discourage dissent and revolts.

All Dictators have either had the support of the masses, or the support of the few with some clout (military, business classes, dominant ethnic group, etc.) in the initial stage of their reign. The masses need not be of the majority, but can be on tribal loyalties.

Once their power is consolidated, steps are taken to ensure that it stays so, generally through shows of force, and purges of some of the elites. Some means of surveillance is set up, with an illusion of omniscience and brutality (the latter is real) to discourage dissent and revolts.

 Dictators spring up in times of instability and dissatisfaction, and the only way they can hope to stay relevant and in power, is by militarization and mass mobilization using the fear of a common enemy of the existential sort, one where survival is at stake, where fear dominates, instead of the more dreary issues of hunger and unemployment.

Such issues are used to justify their reign, and continual support ensues.

The main problem faced by dictators (barring their mortality) is that they can’t hope to stay on, or stay alive unless they do all or some of the above, but that ensures the beginnings of dissatisfaction and future revolt. Only in a few cases has there been a relatively smooth transition of power.

The first victims to any dictatorship apart from political opponents, are intellectuals and free thinkers. A dictator needs a dumbed down citizenry to rule and writers, free thinkers etc often act as a catalyst in building of an intellectual society, they are the carriers of contagious ideas that must not be allowed to spread. That's also one reason as to why a large number of books and movies get censored in a dictatorship.

They have, the following in common.

1) They successfully instill an insane irratonal fear in those who would be thier subjects. They must NEVER let up, unease must ooze from them. The people must always wonder, “Am I next?”
2) They must have parallel lines of terror. These lines must terrorize each other, as well as the subjects. They must also jostle for supremacy.
3) The tyrant must have expanding and contracting circle of sycophants. The circle expands and contracts due to purges and additions.
4) The tyrant must be convinced of his genius. Hitler served as a message runner in the trenches during the WW1 , Yet he thought himself to being a military genius.

5) The tyrant must have instruments of coercion, i.e., secret police and prisons, known for torture and lingering death.
6) He must have written books and/or phamplets that showcase his genius. Said writings must be required reading, and if need be memorized.

Dictators have in common arre:

Megalomania: They are narcissists and megalomaniacs. They cannot think beyond themselves and cannot value anybody or anyone’s opinion above themselves.

Oratory / Ability to mesmerise the masses: Hitler anfd Mussolini were fabulous rabble rouser who could sway thousands. 

A small coterie around them that keeps them divorced from reality as time passes. The coterie is often one that has profited from the dictator’s rule. It is in their interest to keep the Dictator happy. Which means shielding them from the truth of how much the people may despise them.

Dictators want it done their way, not necessarily like the law, courts or legislatures want it done. They also merge or control the legislative and judiciary with the executive branch of the government with force to ensure absolute control.

The dictators, their families, friends and supporters do much better than others during the dictatorship.

Dictators must use force, repression, propaganda and constant vigilance to preserve their dictatorships.

Dictators live in fear for their lives or are greatly concerned with their own safety and security.

Most of them come to a sticky end: Karma is a bitch. Dictators either killed in an uprising  or by their own hand  or are forced to flee in exile. Not many cases of dictators being dealt with in International Courts.