[8]:454 The government composes the chief executive and the heads of the executive departments. [124], The type of economy in a dictatorship can affect how it functions. whether a majority vote in the legislature can remove the sitting government without cause. Adolf Hitler - WORST DICTATOR. The 20th century also saw the rise of personalist dictatorships in Africa and military dictatorships in Latin America, both of which became prominent in the 1960s and 1970s. Latin America's new generation of dictators. [148], Institutions that coerce the opposition through the use of violence may serve different roles or they may be used to counterbalance one another in order to prevent one institution from becoming too powerful. [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. But to understand the dictatorship in Cuba . The dictator maintains control by influencing and appeasing the inner circle while repressing any opposition, which may include rival political parties, armed resistance, or disloyal members of the inner circle. Caudillos were often nominally constrained by a constitution, but the caudillo had the power to draft a new constitution as he wished. Qatar - Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani Russia - Vladimir Putin, President of Russia Rwanda - Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda Saudi Arabia - King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz, King of Saudi Arabia Somalia - Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, President of Somalia South Sudan - Salva Kiir Mayardit, President People living under a dictatorship are often persecuted for unethical reasons, including their religion, sexual orientation, or economic status. 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. [123] 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. Hybrid dictatorships: What it's like to live under a Dictatorship. The Soviet economy became unsustainable, and communist governments lost the support of intellectuals. Mao established the People's Republic of China as a one-party communist state under his governing ideology of Maoism. Chad. Power is enforced through a steadfast collaboration between the government and a highly developed ideology. Parties formed after the seizure of power often have little influence and only exist to serve the dictator. Among Africans past and present, you'll find a smattering of dictatorships. [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. Power is obtained and passed on through family connections. [76][77] The Russian Revolution inspired a wave of left-wing revolutionary movements in Europe between 1917 and 1923, but none saw the same level of success. [68] The Spanish American wars of independence took place in the early-19th century, creating many new Latin American governments. During the first half of the 20th century, dictatorships took control of a number of technologically advanced countries. The Democracy-Dictatorship Index is seen as an example of the minimalist approach, whereas the Polity data series is more substantive. Elections allow a dictatorship to exercise some control over the opposition by setting the terms under which the opposition challenges the regime. Source by babeltravel. They are not even defined terms of art within political science. The leader of a dictatorship is called a dictator. Some of the most famous dictators in history include, of course, Adolf Hitler, Chancellor of Nazi Germany from 1933-1945, Benito Mussolini, ruler of fascist Italy from 1922-1945, and Joseph Stalin,. [60] During the L dynasty of Vietnam between the 16th and 18th centuries, the country was under de facto military rule by two rival military families: the Trnh lords in the north and the Nguyn lords in the south. The . Also, dictatorships . Current Dictators Kim Jong-un Kim Jong-un is North Korea's current dictator and the third generation Kim to rule the country, following the death of his father Kim Jong-il in 2011. Many countries today are still under a dictatorship, including: Cambodia China North Korea Russia And many more! As the dictatorship becomes more established, it moves away from violence by resorting to the use of other coercive measures, such as restricting people's access to information and tracking the political opposition. A dictator may address the opposition by repressing it through force, modifying laws to restrict its power, or appeasing it with limited benefits. Donal Blaine Aidan Cinhil Haldane, 24th king of Gwynedd, reigned 1074 to 1095. "[6], For a regime to be considered as a democracy by the DD scheme, it must meet the requirement of four rules below:[1]:69[3], Some regimes may meet the first three rules, but lack an alternation in power in its historical past; these regimes are classified as dictatorships because of cases where the incumbent only allows elections as long as they keep winning, and would refuse to step down if they lost. 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. [118] Generally, two research approaches exist: the minimalist approach, which focuses on whether a country has continued elections that are competitive, and the substantive approach, which expands the concept of democracy to include human rights, freedom of the press, and the rule of law. [8]:457 Elected heads of state are usually referred to as "president." [26] Ruling parties in one-party dictatorships are distinct from political parties that were created to serve a dictator in that the ruling party in a one-party dictatorship permeates every level of society. [16], Most dictatorships are formed through military means or through a political party. First is that an autocracy nearly always focuses power in a single individual person, whereas dictatorshipssingle-party dictatorships in particularsometimes spread the power throughout a small group of people (say, the leaders of the dictator's political party). 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. This list answers the questions, "What countries are dictatorships?" In some cases, nations may have multiple ruling bodies or government types, meaning they're not exclusively countries that are governed by dictatorships. On average, they last twice as long as military dictatorships, but not as long as one-party dictatorships. "Tyrants, the World's 20 Worst Living Dictators", by David Wallechinsky, ranked Biya together with three others mainly in sub-Saharan Africa: Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea, and King Mswati of Swaziland. They may be military officers, party members, or friends and family of the dictator. [1]:68 The figures at the left show the results in 1988 and 2008. 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. Repression is the accumulation of state behaviors that target actors who challenge beliefs, institutions, and actions of the dictatorship. Exceptions to the pattern of poverty in dictatorships include oil-rich Middle Eastern dictatorships and the East Asian Tigers during their periods of dictatorship. [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]. A dictatorship is an authoritarian structure of government. [56] Caesar subverted the tradition of temporary dictatorships when he was made dictator perpetuo, or a dictator for life, which led to the creation of the Roman Empire. For dictatorships, monarchic, military and civilian dictatorship. [20][21] They are most common in developing nations in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. 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. The power structures of dictatorships vary, and different definitions of dictatorship consider different elements of this structure. This does not indicate cases of semi-democracy or semi-dictatorship. He arose to power in Italy in 1922, following the so-called 'March on Rome', in which his . Mussolini abolished democracy in Italy in 1922 and became a dictator. The theories about society, capital and labor got turned into a dictatorship, genocide, and poverty. If it is, then a further distinction is made between democracies where the head of state is popularly elected and those where the head of state is not popularly elected. Elites in personalist dictatorships often do not have a professional political career and are unqualified for positions they are given. The head of state in most parliamentary democracies formally appoint the head of government. The legislature must be popularly elected. Parliamentary democracy is the same as semi-presidential but has heads of state which are not popularly elected for a fixed term, typically either monarchs or officials not chosen by popular elections. Olessia Kirtchik, Mariana Heredia, in International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences (Second Edition), 2015. This is thanks to an oil boom that enriched his family at the expense of the Equatorial Guinea citizens. Most of them are characterized by a single leader with either no party or one that is weak. If this institution can be effectively controlled by the dictator, it can become avaluable instruments of control over the population. Personalist dictatorships are more common in Sub-Saharan Africa due to less established institutions in the region. The predominance of violent force in military training manifests in an acceptance of violence as a political tool and the ability to organize violence on a large scale. Argentina and Mexico are the countries with Dictatorship as a government form. The result is that such regimes have no internal checks and balances, and are thus unrestrained when exerting repression on their people, making radical shifts in foreign policy, or starting wars with other countries. [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. Personalist dictators may be members of the military or leaders of a political party, but neither the military nor the party exercises power independently from the dictator. " [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. While Thailand remains the world's last active military dictatorship, other notable examples of modern countries with histories of military rule include: Brazil, Chile, Argentina, and Greece. (2010), and further developed and maintained by Cheibub, Gandhi, and Vreeland (2009). [146], In a dictatorship, violence is used to coerce or repress all opposition to the dictator's rule, and the strength of a dictatorship depends on its use of violence. [127], Indoctrination is the inculcation of citizens on specific values and ideas beneficial to the dictatorships needs and desires. Among the 10 dictatorship countries profiled, poverty is endemic. [89] Military coups were also a common occurrence after decolonisation, with 14 African countries experiencing at least three successful military coups between 1959 and 2001. Bettmann Archive / Getty Images. [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. Secondly, while the term "dictatorship" is widely understood to include inherent abuse of powerthere is arguably no such thing as a benevolent dictatorhistory offers several examples of autocrats who tried to do what was best for their people. [98], One of the tasks in political science is to measure and classify regimes as either democracies or dictatorship (authoritarian) countries. This was replaced by a trend of developing a positive public image to maintain support among the populace and moderating rhetoric to integrate with the global community. In the last six years alone, at least 26 African countries have experienced transfers of power. Photo: Lars Klove. 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. Since the Korean War, North Korea has been ruled by a series of autocratic leaders. [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. There are currently 22 dictators in Africa, some worse than others. 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. Perhaps someday some of these modern dictatorships will cast off their dictators and embrace a more democratic and inclusive form of government. Democracy is broadly understood to mean 'rule by the people'. Syria - Well, it depends. 8. The exclave province of Cabinda has borders with the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. [138] 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. They are often unstable, and the average duration of a military dictatorship is only five years, but they are often followed by additional military coups and military dictatorships. Terrible things have been done in the name of socialism and here are some of the most rigorous dictators. There are many countries that can be considered dictatorships, including North Korea, Cuba, and Venezuela. The 2010 version of Polity data series covers 189 countries from 1800 to 2009. Albania - Communist Regime 3. As of early 2022, the countries of Afghanistan, Eritrea, North Korea, and Turkmenistan are the only nations in the world whose governments are generally considered to be totalitarian dictatorships. Democracy-Dictatorship (DD),[1] index of democracy and dictatorship[2] or simply the DD index[3] or the DD datasets was the binary measure of democracy and dictatorship first proposed by Adam Przeworski et al. Military dictatorship: 2. North Korea - One man Dictatorship 2. Uganda - 1971 to 1979 - Idi Amin Dada. There must be more than one party competing in the elections. Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi C Cabo Verde Cambodia Cameroon Canada Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Costa Rica Cte d'Ivoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Organized opposition is a threat to the stability of a dictatorship, as it seeks to undermine public support for the dictator and calls for regime change. Democracy-Dictatorship (DD), index of democracy and dictatorship or simply the DD index or the DD datasets was the binary measure of democracy and dictatorship first proposed by Adam Przeworski et al. Modern dictatorships first developed in the 19th century, which included Bonapartism in Europe and caudillos in Latin America. [69], In the time between World War I and World War II, several dictatorships were established in Europe through coups which were carried out by far-left and far-right movements. [148], Terrorism is less common in dictatorships. Its territory covers 652,000 km, making it the 41st largest country in the world. [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. But for today, these are the world's dictatorships. Malcolm Congal Aidan Julian Haldane, 23rd king of Gwynedd, reigned 1025 to 1074. [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. [145] Opposition parties in dictatorships may be restricted by preventing them from campaigning, banning more popular opposition parties, preventing opposition members from forming a party, or requiring that candidates be a member of the ruling party. Human habitation in Afghanistan dates back to the Middle Paleolithic Era, and the country's strategic location along the Silk Road connected it to the cultures of the Middle East and other parts of Asia. Therefore, the entire country operates on the whims of that one person. During his reign of terror, about 30,000 Haitians are estimated to have been assassinated, while thousands - mostly intelligence fled the country. [24], Military dictatorships often have traits in common due to the shared background of military dictators. After the recent death of Idriss Deby in April 2021, his son Mahamat Deby took over. Far-left and far-right dictatorships used similar methods to maintain power, including cult of personality, concentration camps, forced labour, mass murder, and genocide. Keep note that the head of state, chief executive, government, and legislatures can have their official names be seemingly contradictory to this classification. Benito Mussolini was the first generally recognised fascist leader. Also called a dominant party dictatorship or one-party state. [13] After power is seized, the group must determine what positions its members will hold in the new government and how this government will operate, sometimes resulting in disagreements that split the group. But for today, these are the world's dictatorships. Many of these governments fell under the control of caudillos, or personalist dictators. 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. That said, there are two important differences between dictatorships and autocracies. The earliest military dictatorships developed in the post-classical era, particularly in Shogun-era Japan and in England under Cromwell. [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. Dictatorships have shallow levels of freedom. Current dictatorships include Russia, Equatorial New Guinea, and North Korea. 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. Like most dictators, they also often employ secret police and violence to silence critics. This is a list of countries, nations, and states governed or ruled by a dictatorship, is sorted alphabetically and contains some information about each nation, such as the capital, and even the official language or currency of the country. In practice, it is often defined as people choosing their leaders in free and fair elections. In 1989, the Soviet Union was dissolved, and communism was abandoned by the countries of Central and Eastern Europe through a series of revolutions. 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". Interestingly, most modern dictatorships do not use the term "dictator" to. ], Based on the regime binary classification idea proposed by Alvarez in 1996,[5] and the Democracy and Development (or DD measure, ACLP dataset) proposed by Przeworski et al. Most caudillos came from a military background, and their rule was typically associated with pageantry and glamor. In Germany, the head of state is elected by regional legislatures and not popularly elected. The People's Republic of China is currently ruled by President Xi Jinping, who also serves as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, Chairman of the Central Military Commission, the country's Vice President, the President of the Central Party School, and the 1st ranked member of the CPC Politburo Standing Committee. 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. [49] In an absolute monarchy, power is limited to the royal family, and legitimacy is established by historical factors. Fidel Castro was one of the most iconic latin american dictators, who lived in the 20th century. 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. 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. 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. Today, they are "elected," as true democracies helplessly look on . Freedom House, the Polity data series, and the Democracy-Dictatorship Index are three of the most used data series by political scientists. The government was described as a dictatorship of the proletariat in which power was exercised by soviets. Answer (1 of 9): Depends on what you mean by left-wing. [27], One-party dictatorships are more stable than other forms of authoritarian rule, as they are less susceptible to insurgency and see higher economic growth. In fact, you may devise any chart you like concerning politics or anything else and label left and right however you choose. 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. If you're looking for the names of countries with dictatorship governments then you're in the right place. Dictators are more likely to implement long-term investments into the country's economy if they feel secure in their power. The dictatorship was revived 120 years later by Sulla after his crushing of a populist movement, and 33 years after that by Julius Caesar. Coercive distribution comprises of distributing welfare and state resources to control citizens and elites. Imelda Marcos. Nazi and fascist regimes in Europe, Communist single-party states, military juntas in Latin America and . Poverty has a destabilizing effect on government, causing democracy to fail and regimes to fall more often. A dictator may have a team of officials who advise him or her and help keep the government running, but these officials ultimately have very little control or influence. Adolf Hitler - 1889-1945. [33] A ruling party in a one-party dictatorship may rule under any ideology or it may have no guiding ideology. [73] During World War II, Italy and Germany occupied several countries in Europe, imposing fascist puppet states upon many of the countries that they invaded. Some of the multi-party states with governing communist parties include Brazil, Nepal, India, and Russia. [35][36] These dictatorships often emerge either from loosely organized seizures of power, giving the leader opportunity to consolidate power, or from democratically elected leaders in countries with weak institutions, giving the leader opportunity to change the constitution. But by 1995, all the countries in the region, with the notable . Skyline of Downtown Dubai with Burj Khalifa from a Helicopter. [126] In particular, censorship by dictatorships helps solidify claims of legitimacy and marginalize the voices of opposition critics. 10. Dictators often employ illegal and/or immoral methods to maintain their power and control, including the use of secret police, indefinite arrests, and concentration camps. Kim Il-Sung The first leader of the North Korean dictatorship from 1948 until 1994, he established North Korea as a communist state. Van den Bosch, Jeroen J. J., Personalist Rule in Africa and Other World Regions, (London-New York: Routledge, 2021): 13-16, wave of left-wing revolutionary movements, List of countries by system of government, "Review: Totalitarianism, Social Science, and the Margins", "Generals, Dictators, and Kings: Authoritarian Regimes and Civil Conflict, 19732004", "Elites, Single Parties and Political Decision-making in Fascist-era Dictatorships", "Theories of dictatorships: sub-types and explanations", "Personalization of Power and Repression in Dictatorships", "The Tyranny of Dictatorship: When the Greek Tyrant Met the Roman Dictator", "The Five Ancient Criteria of Democracy: The Apotheosis of Equality", "When was the title Dictator perpetuus given to Caesar? Economies based on natural resources allow dictators more power, as they can easily extract rents without strengthening or cooperating with other institutions. Current dictatorships include Russia, Equatorial New Guinea, and North Korea. [139], Most dictatorships hold elections to maintain legitimacy and stability, but these elections are typically uncompetitive and the opposition is not permitted to win. Nigeria - 1966 to 1975 - Yakubu Gowon. The Democracy-Dictatorship Index has the main regime types of "democracy" and "dictatorship" and three sub-types for each as well. [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. This makes it distinct from constitutional monarchy and ceremonial monarchy. The number of countries ruled by military dictatorships began to fall sharply after the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s. North Korea is one of the clearest examples of a totalitarian government. Uganda. Despite repeated promises to leave office in 2024 (when his term limit is reached), Putin spearheaded a 2020 constitutional amendment enabling him to remain in power until 2036. [126] Some of the most ruthless examples of repression in recent history were repression by hunger. Various forms of dictatorship have been a context in which social and behavioral sciences (SBS) have been developing through most of the twentieth century. Over the course of almost 20 years, he ruled Chile with an iron fist, ordering the deaths of thousands of suspected . Giving ultimate power and control to just one person is not ideal, as it can lead to future unrest and problems. [98] Several Middle Eastern countries were the subject of military coups in the 1950s and 1960s, including Iraq, Syria, North Yemen, and South Yemen. Functioning of government: 3.57. [42] Within a personalist regime an issue called "The dictators dilemma" arises. Its capital and most populous city is Algiers. China - Communist Regime 4. The leaders of dictatorships are not outwardly identified as dictators when other people are addressing them. 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. The dictatorship of Francisco Franco in Spain , from 1939 to 1975. [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. [81] These reforms incorporated totalitarianism, fealty to the state, expansionism, corporatism, and anti-communism. Examples include the Personalist/Military dictatorship of Pakistan from 1977 to 1988 and the Single-Party/Military hybrid that controlled El Salvador from 1948 to 1984. 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. Perhaps someday some of these modern dictatorships will cast off their dictators and embrace a more democratic and inclusive form of government. What countries are currently ruled by dictatorships?