[24], Military dictatorships often have traits in common due to the shared background of military dictators. Korea experienced military dictatorships under the rule of Yeon Gaesomun in the 7th century[58] and under the rule of the Goryeo military regime in the 12th and 13th centuries. Keep note that the head of state, chief executive, government, and legislatures can have their official names be seemingly contradictory to this classification. Uganda - 1971 to 1979 - Idi Amin Dada. [129], Several factors determine the stability of a dictatorship, and they must maintain some degree of popular support to prevent resistance groups from growing. During the first half of the 20th century, dictatorships took control of a number of technologically advanced countries. The head of state may be unelected and still be classified as a democracy. Other factors associated with military coups include extensive natural resources, limited use of the military internationally, and use of the military as an oppressive force domestically. Some countries, such as Sweden, instead charge another person entirely with choosing the head of government, such as the presiding officer of the legislative assembly. Also called a dominant party dictatorship or one-party state. [130] One-party dictatorships are generally more stable and last longer than military or personalist dictatorships. [11], A dictatorship is formed when a specific group seizes power, with the composition of this group affecting how power is seized and how the eventual dictatorship will rule. [2] The inner circle's support is necessary for a dictator's orders to be carried out, causing elites to serve as a check on the dictator's power. It is the seventh largest country in Africa, and is bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean and Luanda is its capital city. [73], The first communist state was created by Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks with the establishment of Soviet Russia during the Russian Revolution in 1917. [111][112][113] Latin America saw a period of liberalization similar to that of Europe at the end of the Cold War, with Cuba being the only Latin American country that did not experience any degree of liberalization between 1992 and 2010. People who are for dictatorship say it provides for a more stable government, helps abolish corruption, and is more efficient in emergencies. It is bordered by Pakistan in the south and east; Iran in the west; Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan in the north; and China in the far northeast. [32], One-party dictatorships became prominent in Asia and Eastern Europe during the Cold War as communist governments were installed in several countries. In some circumstances, monarchies are also considered dictatorships if the monarchs hold a significant amount of political power. [145] Dictatorships may hold semi-competitive elections to qualify for foreign aid, to demonstrate a dictator's control over the government, or to incentivize the party to expand its information-gathering capacity, particularly at the local level. Many dictatorships are also characterized by corruption, nepotism, and a cult of personality around the leader. [1][3] Resorting to democratic concepts by Karl Popper and Joseph Schumpeter, Przeworski defended the minimalist approach, citing Popper that "the only system in which citizens can get rid of governments without bloodshed. People living under a dictatorship are often persecuted for unethical reasons, including their religion, sexual orientation, or economic status. The Countries with Dictatorships in the Modern World As of 2020, there are 52 nations with a dictator or authoritarian regime ruling the country: Three in Latin America and South America, 27 in Asia and the Middle East, and 22 in Africa. Democracy is broadly understood to mean 'rule by the people'. But by 1995, all the countries in the region, with the notable . 5. The leader of a dictatorship is called a dictator.Politics in a dictatorship are controlled by the dictator and facilitated through an inner circle of elites that include advisers, generals, and other high-ranking officials. Single-party dictatorships: 5. Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located within South Asia and Central Asia. Deadliest Dictator Regimes in History Maoist Catastrophe Between 1946 and 1976, China suffered under the rule of Mao Zedong, a communist revolutionary who founded the People's Republic of China. [45] Although, when it comes to polling and elections a dictator could use his power to override private preferences. [15] If the dictator has not seized power through a political party, then a party may be formed as a mechanism to reward supporters and to concentrate power in the hands of political allies instead of militant allies. Chad. * Venezuela - Nicolas Maduro * Mauritania - Mohamed Ould Abdulaziz * Algeria - Abdelaziz Bouteflika * Tunisia - Beji Caid Essebesi * Chad - Idriss Deby * Sudan - Omar al-Bashir * Cameroon - Paul Biy. Current dictatorships include Zimbabwe, Uzbekistan, and North Korea. [40] Personalist dictatorships often collapse with the death of the dictator. [75] Lenin was followed by Joseph Stalin in 1924, who consolidated total power and implemented totalitarian rule by 1929. Democracy and Dictatorship: Conceptualization and Measurement", "Democracy and Dictatorship: Conceptualization and Measurement", Divergent Incentives for Dictators: Domestic Institutions and (International Promises Not to) Torture, "Cooperation, Cooptation, and Rebellion Under Dictatorships", "How Foreign Aid Can Foster Democratization in Authoritarian Regimes", "Tyrants and Terrorism: Why Some Autocrats are Terrorized While Others are Not", "Dictatorship: Modern Tyranny Between Leviathan and Behemoth (Version 2.0) (english version)", 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198716204.001.0001, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dictatorship&oldid=1142733963, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages using sidebar with the child parameter, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. 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. [11][12] He describes totalitarian regimes as exercising control over politics and political mobilization rather than merely suppressing it. [1][8]:454 It is important to note that these names do not have to correspond to the official or colloquial titles of any of the countries offices. [9], Gugiu & Centellas developed the Democracy Cluster Classification Index that integrates five democracy indicators (including the DD dataset, Polity dataset), clustering 24 American and 39 European regimes over 30 years.[2]. China's constitution calls its government a "people's democratic dictatorship." His economic plans have been praised by leaders like Kemal Pasha. [73], Dictatorships in Latin America persisted into the 20th century, and further military coups established new regimes, often in the name of nationalism. Current dictatorships include Russia, Equatorial New Guinea, and North Korea. Epidemic of First World War After the first world war, countries got disturbed to conduct democratic governments and managements. They are in civil war, but the dictator is. [8]:457 Elected heads of state are usually referred to as "president." Leaders of these dictatorships often place those loyal to them in positions of power (qualified or not), and foster cults of personality to sway public opinion to their side. [56] At least 85 such dictators were chosen over the course of the Roman Republic, the last of which was chosen to wage the Second Punic War. Zimbabwe - 1980 to present - Robert Mugabe. Skyline of Downtown Dubai with Burj Khalifa from a Helicopter. Mao consolidated his control of the People's Republic of China with the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s, which involved the destruction of all elements of capitalism and traditionalism in China. While common in the 20th century, the prominence of military dictatorships declined in the 1970s and 1980s. [106], The nature of dictatorship changed in much of the world at the onset of the 21st century. [136], Dictatorships are typically more aggressive than democracy when in conflict with other nations, as dictators do not have to fear electoral costs of war. Mussolini abolished democracy in Italy in 1922 and became a dictator. Abstract. To enact policy, a dictator must either appease the regime's elites or attempt to replace them. Terrible things have been done in the name of socialism and here are some of the most rigorous dictators. In the United Kingdom, for example, the chief executive is the prime minister, and the ministers are the heads of the executive departments, which together compose the government. The expected result is to coerce citizens into complying with the dictatorships demands in order to benefit from the state-controlled resources. Dictators are more likely to implement long-term investments into the country's economy if they feel secure in their power. An appropriate example of this occurred in 2020 when Russian president Vladimir Putin and his party introduced amendments to the country's constitution that reworked term limits, enabling Putin to remain in power until 2036. Economies based on natural resources allow dictators more power, as they can easily extract rents without strengthening or cooperating with other institutions. [93] Chiang Kai-shek continued to rule as dictator of the National government's rump state in Taiwan until his death in 1975. Given the degree of censorship and control China's government leverages over its citizens, most political experts would call it a dictatorship. He assumed office in August 1979 and has remained in power since then. [54][55] The concept of "dictator" was first developed during the Roman Republic. A dictatorship is a type of government in which a single personthe dictatoror party has absolute power. Synonyms for DICTATORSHIP: tyranny, autocracy, fascism, authoritarianism, totalitarianism, despotism, absolutism, autarchy; Antonyms of DICTATORSHIP: democracy . The Democracy-Dictatorship Index has the main regime types of "democracy" and "dictatorship" and three sub-types for each as well. [86] After a brief period of democratization, Latin America underwent a rapid transition toward dictatorship in the 1930s. Imelda Marcos. 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. A presidential democracy has a government that does not need the majority support of a legislature to stay in power. [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. The legislature must be popularly elected. Some of the multi-party states with governing communist parties include Brazil, Nepal, India, and Russia. [25], One-party dictatorships are governments in which a single political party dominates politics. Poverty has a destabilizing effect on government, causing democracy to fail and regimes to fall more often. Perhaps someday some of these modern dictatorships will cast off their dictators and embrace a more democratic and inclusive form of government. [91], The Chinese Civil War ended in 1949, splitting the Republic of China under Chiang Kai-shek and the People's Republic of China under Mao Zedong. Organizations that maintain moral authority with the public, such as the Church, are often the most targeted by infiltration. They are ruled by one-party or military dictatorships, religious hierarchies, or autocrats. The number of countries ruled by military dictatorships began to fall sharply after the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s. The power structures of dictatorships vary, and different definitions of dictatorship consider different elements of this structure. The military takes control of the country (usually through a direct coup), installs the dictator of its choosing (typically the highest-ranking military officer), and uses force of arms to preserve its power. The methodology is derived from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, regardless of geopolitical, geographic, ethnic or religious considerations. [64][65][66], Dictatorship developed as a major form of government in the 19th century, though the concept was not universally seen pejoratively at the time, with both a tyrannical concept and a quasi-constitutional concept of dictatorship understood to exist. Examples might include King Cyrus the Great of Persia, who is thought to have created the first declaration of human rights, the Biblical King Solomon, Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, and Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Kwan Yue. Those against dictatorship say personal rights are severely restricted, the system is generally based on force and violence, and it demands complete obedience. Sudan - 1989 to 2019 - Omar al-Bashir. But to understand the dictatorship in Cuba . The leaders of dictatorships are not outwardly identified as dictators when other people are addressing them. There are many countries that can be considered dictatorships, including North Korea, Cuba, and Venezuela. The leader of a dictatorship is called a dictator. In fact, most dictators adopt common appellations such as "President" or "Prime Minister", so they must be identified via their actions and policies rather than their title. [43] This idea references the heavy reliance on repression of the public in order to stay in power, which creates incentives for all constituents to falsify their preferences, which does not allow for the dictator to know the genuine popular beliefs or his realistic measure of societal support. What countries are currently ruled by dictatorships? 1 Norway 2 Iceland 3 Sweden 4 New Zealand 5 Denmark =6 Canada =6 Ireland 8 Australia =9 Switzerland =9 Finland Rwanda - 1994 to present - Paul Kagame. The country is bordered in the northeast by Tunisia, in the east by Libya, in the west by Morocco, in the southwest by Western Sahara, Mauritania, and Mali, in the southeast by Niger, and in the north by the Mediterranean Sea. 1. In their book "Dictators and Dictatorships: Understanding Authoritarian Regimes and Their Leaders", authors Natasha M. Ezrow and Erica Frantz lay out five types of dictatorships: Power is obtained and maintained through military might. Dictatorship Countries And Their Leaders | Countries Ruled by Dictators | 2019 Rankings On Time 1.62K subscribers 95K views 3 years ago Dictatorship Countries And Their Leaders | Countries Ruled. Semi-competitive elections also have the effect of incentivizing members of the ruling party to provide better treatment of citizens so they will be chosen as party nominees due to their popularity. He was also ranked 19th in Parade Magazine's Top 20 list of "The World's Worst Dictators". Latin America experienced a dramatic political change in the last quarter of the twentieth century. Binary measure of democracy and dictatorship, Six-fold regime classification scheme and its rules, Comparison with other democracy-measuring data sets, Studies in Comparative International Development, "Minimalist Conception of Democracy: A Defense", Przeworski, Alvarez, Cheibub, and Limongi: Democracy and development, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Democracy-Dictatorship_Index&oldid=1141715357, All articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases, Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from February 2023, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from January 2023, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. Fidel Castro was one of the most iconic latin american dictators, who lived in the 20th century. Elections also support the legitimacy of a dictatorship by presenting the image of a democracy, establishing plausible deniability of its status as a dictatorship for both the populace and foreign governments. [9] Political philosopher Hannah Arendt describes totalitarianism as a new and extreme form of dictatorship composed of "atomized, isolated individuals" in which ideology plays a leading role in defining how the entire society should be organized. [141] Should a dictatorship fail, elections also permit dictators and elites to accept defeat without fearing violent recourse. Single-party dictatorships were most common during the Cold War, with dominant-party dictatorships becoming more common after the fall of the Soviet Union. The 10 most capitalist nations in the world Samantha Menzies 22 February 2016, 7:39 pm The 10 most capitalist nations in the world Capitalism is thriving in many parts of the world, with the list. Dictatorships suffer from an obvious and significant imbalance of power. The role of dictator was created for instances when a single leader was needed to command and restore stability. [98], One of the tasks in political science is to measure and classify regimes as either democracies or dictatorship (authoritarian) countries. and "Which country has a dictatorship as its form of leadership?" [78], At the same time, nationalist movements grew throughout Europe. The totalitarian dictatorship of Adolf Hitler in Germany , from 1933 to 1945. If the head of state serves for life or is not popularly elected or a fixed term, then the democracy is parliamentary.[1]. During his reign of terror, about 30,000 Haitians are estimated to have been assassinated, while thousands - mostly intelligence fled the country. [115], The Middle East and Northern Africa did not undergo liberalization during the third wave of democratisation, and most countries in this region remain dictatorships in the 21st century. [59] Shoguns were de facto military dictators in Japan beginning in 1185 and continuing for over six hundred years. Nearly half of dictatorships start as a military coup, though others have been started by foreign intervention, elected officials ending competitive elections, insurgent takeovers, popular uprisings by citizens, or legal maneuvering by autocratic elites to take power within their government. Olessia Kirtchik, Mariana Heredia, in International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences (Second Edition), 2015. In military dictatorships, it is the military that exerts complete or substantial control over the government rather than a political clique. He all but eradicated corruption. Many others developed following a period of warlordism. Unfortunately, democracy is still shaky in many countries, a number of which are fighting violent religious insurrections, and the likelihood of any fallen dictator being quickly replaced by another dictator is high. In the former, for example, the President must appoint as Prime Minister the leader of the largest party in parliament, who has three days to gain the confidence of a majority thereof. The authors acknowledged that the last rule is more complicated to implement, but stated that it helps researchers to control potential errors and removes subjective judgement from the classification. Accused of crimes against humanity, Saddam Hussein was sentenced to death in 2006. The table below offers a full list of which countries are what type of democracy. Dictators typically retain their power by silencing any opposition to their rulings and guidelines. Too Much Power. Allowing the opposition to have representation in the regime, such as through a legislature, further reduces the likelihood of terrorist attacks in a dictatorship. Stability can be weakened when opposition groups grow and unify or when elites are not loyal to the regime. In the last six years alone, at least 26 African countries have experienced transfers of power. [8]:455 Some countries (such as Spain, Belgium, Germany, and Israel) require that the vote of no confidence also specify who is going to replace the sitting government to minimize the time without an interim government, essentially replacing one government with another. Those who believe that he is a dictator argue that he imprisons his opponents, removed freedom of speechthe press can only publish what he allows them toand has restructured the government to give himself more and longer-lasting power. But this is not the first time Myanmar is having the bitter taste of autocracy, in fact, their governance turned . In addition to executive authority, Putin also holds judicial and legislative power, which enables him to change the law to fit his agenda. Laos (since 1975) This is often done via questionable means, including intimidation, imprisonment (lawful or not), physical violence, or even assassination. [10] Political scientist Juan Jos Linz identifies a spectrum of political systems with democracies and totalitarian regimes separated by authoritarian regimes with varied classifications of hybrid systems. [16], Most dictatorships are formed through military means or through a political party. (2010), and further developed and maintained by Cheibub, Gandhi, and Vreeland (2009). Whether or not Putin is a dictator is a matter of some debate. They are often characterized by their use of violence and repression to maintain power. Personalist regimes diverge from other regimes when it comes to their longevity, methods of breakdown, levels of corruption, and proneness to conflicts. Since the Korean War, North Korea has been ruled by a series of autocratic leaders. As the Cold War went on, the Soviet Union increased its influence in Africa, and MarxistLeninist dictatorships developed in several African countries. Myanmar has been thrown into the darkness of the military dictatorship once again as this morning, the military junta arrested "The daughter of democracy" Aung San Suu Kyi and reinstated the military rule. 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. [90] These new African governments were marked by severe instability, which provided opportunities for regime change and made fair elections a rare occurrence on the continent. Some of the principal drivers of indoctrination are mass education policies, propaganda, and censorship. 10. [131] A military coup is often carried out when a regime is threatening the country's stability or during periods of societal unrest. Click to visit dictatorship | Definition, Characteristics, Countries In some cases, nations may have multiple ruling bodies or government types, meaning they're not exclusively countries that are governed by dictatorships. The Democracy-Dictatorship Index is seen as an example of the minimalist approach, whereas the Polity data series is more substantive. Multiple political parties may exist, but one dominates the government, makes all the rules, is free to disseminate propaganda, and controls every aspect of every election (which may offer voters only a single candidate), thereby ensuring they win every time.