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The Dictator’s Guide: a contemporary guide to understanding

dictatorships Yousuf Qureshi and

Eugene Sadov

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A note to the academic reader

This book is not a guide on how one can become a dictator, benevolent or otherwise. Nor

is it a book on how an average person can use his guile, intelligence and talent to take

control of a country. It is instead a book that will guide you to understand dictators and

dictatorships. Theoretically a dictator could use this guide to understand the misfortunes,

mistakes and externalities that occur due to ‘incorrect’ implementation of a dictatorial

rule in order to improve his own dictatorial regime. But that is a far-fetched thought as

inevitably most if not all previous and existing dictatorships possess common

characteristics that are perverted and at the same time governed by the greed and hunger

for power. This increases the undesirability of this type of governance. Therefore this

book is strictly a work disguised as a guide that gives the reader a better understanding of

dictatorships. Consequently, in theory, it shows that any democracy can be manipulated

enough to allow an ambitious person to turn it into a dictatorship.

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Content

Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 4

Part 1 Knowing the system ................................................................................................. 6

Chapter 1: What is a State ............................................................................................... 6

Chapter 2: Starting with Democracy............................................................................... 8

Chapter 3: Understanding Dictatorships ....................................................................... 11

Part 2: Politics ................................................................................................................... 14

Chapter 4: What is Politics ........................................................................................... 14

Chapter 5: Machiavelli .................................................................................................. 16

Chapter 5.1: The Prince and its contemporary relevance ............................................. 17

Chapter 6: Getting into Power ...................................................................................... 20

Chapter 6.1: “Slow and peaceful way” (authoritarian dictatorship) ............................. 21

Chapter 6.2: “Radical and violent way” (totalitarian dictatorship)............................... 23

Revolution ................................................................................................................. 23

Coupe d’état, military coup ...................................................................................... 24

Regime change .......................................................................................................... 25

Chapter 7: Techniques of Dictatorial rule ..................................................................... 27

1. Defining an Enemy ............................................................................................... 27

2. Detention centers .................................................................................................. 28

3. The use of a ‘thug caste’ ....................................................................................... 29

4. Targeting key individuals ..................................................................................... 30

5. Monitor the population: an internal surveillance system ...................................... 31

6. Power of propaganda ............................................................................................ 32

Part 3- Legal Issues ........................................................................................................... 33

Chapter 8: Constitutions ............................................................................................... 33

Chapter 9: Changing the constitution; procedural steps ............................................... 35

Slow and peaceful way ............................................................................................. 35

Radical and violent way ............................................................................................ 36

Effectiveness and the long run .................................................................................. 38

Chapter 10: Immediate laws ......................................................................................... 40

Internal Surveillance ................................................................................................. 40

Imprison the opposition ............................................................................................ 41

Censorship and Control of the Media ....................................................................... 42

Part 4 Social Issues ........................................................................................................... 44

Chapter 11: Significance of the Society ........................................................................ 44

Chapter: 12 Ideology..................................................................................................... 46

Chapter 13: Education................................................................................................... 48

Chapter 14: Propaganda ................................................................................................ 50

Reflection .......................................................................................................................... 53

Glossary ............................................................................................................................ 54

Bibliography ..................................................................................................................... 56

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Introduction

Its 510 BC. The Roman Republic is established. The power of the government is

separated into two consuls to ensure that the state and the citizens do not fall under the

rule of a single tyrannical power. Soon after, there was a general belief amongst the

members of the Senate that under certain circumstances the government should be vested

under the rule of one person. This person would possess absolute power for a short period

of time in order to carry out the tasks appointed to him. His actions would not be

questioned and he would not suffer any legal consequences due to his actions during this

time. In 501 BC dictatorship was instituted and thereafter was implemented numerous

times during times of war.

Today dictators and dictatorships are perceived differently rather than 2000 years ago.

While certain patterns remain as to why and how it occurs, modern dictatorships are no

longer merely a solution to a state of emergency, but rather a means to create it. In order

to understand the contemporary dictators and the different techniques of achieving and

implementing dictatorships this book will show you the different aspects that create a

path towards a dictatorship. In other words this guide should ideally lead the reader

through a process of transforming a democratic State into a fully functional dictatorship.

First, we will try and explain the mechanisms that govern a state, giving an overview of

the different duties managed by governments. In order to fully grasp the changes that

would take place within a State it is important to inform a reader on the philosophical as

well as practical matters of what democracy is what it entails. Furthermore, its extreme

opposite, dictatorships will be discussed in detail and the different types of dictatorships.

Once the difference between the two concepts is clear the reader will be swiftly immersed

into an experience that will educate him or her on the three fields that play a crucial part

in bringing about dictatorial rule, namely; political, legal and social aspects. In other

words, this guide is divided into three main parts mentioned above. Within these three

fields we will elaborate on different techniques that most of the dictator tend to use once

they are in power or on the way of getting into power as means of strengthening their grip

on a State. The political part will give you hands-on approach on how to gain popularity,

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influences within the political circle and most importantly how to get into power. You

will come to understand how certain political figures in the past have used different

methods to create circumstances that best served their interests and consequently allowed

them to become a dictator. The legal part will show you how to make use of the

constitution to your advantage. You will understand the possibilities within the legal

system and how laws and the legal system can serve as means to achieving your

objectives. The fourth part, the social issues will highlight the relevance of the masses;

the population; citizens living in the state you wish to become the ruler of. There are

many social issues that need to be addressed and many methods available that may serve

to steer the population towards your goals. This will all be discussed in the fourth part of

the book. Thus, this book will effectively engage in explaining you three crucial areas

that make up a state; the politics, laws and the society. This book is your step by step

guide through various issues in order for you to understand how to transform a

democracy into a dictatorship. This book is your guide to dictatorship.

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Part 1 - Knowing the system

Chapter 1: What is a State

The state is a human institution that dates back as far as 10,000 years. In China a highly

trained bureaucracy has existed for over a thousand years. Although the shaping of what

we now know as the state is only as old as five hundred years. In this modern definition a

state is something, which exercised sovereign authority over a large territory, with the

deployment of large armies, taxation powers and a centralized bureaucracy1. The ability

to “provide order, security, law, and property rights”2 are characteristics of the

contemporary state and has made the rise of the modern economic world possible. Such

characteristics have a profound impact on our lives in the contemporary society. People’s

lives have come to be regulated and controlled by government agencies to a certain

degree varying in different states. This control is achieved by the different institutions the

state is made up of. These institutions and their functions define the state and to what

extent it governs and manages the country. The institutions are “legislative bodies,

including parliamentary assemblies and subordinate law-making institutions, executive

bodies, including governmental bureaus and department of state; and judicial bodies”3,

comprised principally of courts of law which enforce and develop law. These institutions

in all political systems are supported and maintained by the police and armed forces to

“guarantee internal and external security”4. But there are differences in how they are

related to each other. In some political systems these institutions are separate from one

another, in others they may overlap. In the United Kingdom, for example, overlap is

found between the Cabinet, Parliament and the House of Lords. On the other hand, in the

United States, the different political institutions; the Presidency, Congress and the

Supreme Court are distinct and “kept apart by the separation-of-powers principle”5,

which ensures that each branch has separate and independent powers and responsibilities.

In case of the U.K there is overlap, but there are still distinct powers in each branch that

1 Fukuyama, F, The Missing Dimensions of Stateness 2 Fukuyama, F, The Missing Dimensions of Stateness 3 The Role of the State: From The Policy Process in the Modern Capitalist State, p.23 4 The Role of the State: From The Policy Process in the Modern Capitalist State, p.23 5 The Role of the State: From The Policy Process in the Modern Capitalist State, p.23

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they do not share amongst each other. This degree of separation is a characteristic of a

democratic state, thus found in every democratic political system. Together the various

state institutions and the degree to which their control extends has an effect on how

liberal or authoritarian a state is.

State institutions are located on the national, regional and local level. The degree to

which a state’s government extends its control over the functions and goals of different

institutions in the various levels is its scope. Its capacity to control them and to what

extent it controls them is its strength. Having a high scope and strength leads to a more

authoritarian state, while lower scope is a characteristic of liberal (democratic) states. It is

important to have the right balance between strength and scope, as having a high scope

and low strength, thus inadequate state capacity to manage the various institutions leads

to states that are ineffective in terms of their governance over the different areas they

wish to control6. This is important for you to understand as it will help you decide which

areas are vulnerable to the various methods of influence and manipulation, as different

agencies of the state are subject to different political influences. One such area, which

was also one of the earliest responsibilities taken on by the state, is the police and armed

forces. They are responsible for the maintenance of law, order and peace. It is also

important to mention that a State as an institution also holds a monopoly of the legitimate

use of violence and force in the enforcement of order7. Having the legitimate control over

the police and armed forces will play a crucial role in turning a democracy into a closed,

dictatorial society. The use of such enforcement agencies is important to ensure that

people comply with the state’s laws. The use of ‘police’ or force, in one form or another

is important for turning a state into a dictatorship and this will be explained in various

upcoming chapters.

6 Fukuyam, F., The Missing Dimensions of Stateness 7 Weber, M., Readings and Commentary on Modernity

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Chapter 2: Starting with Democracy

Since our starting point is a State with a fully functional democracy it is important to

inform a reader on what democracy is. Its basic definition, since the times of Herodotus,

has been the rule of the people thus, the power of the people to choose their own

governments. Open, fair and free elections are the essence of democracy and as Samuel.

P. Huntington writes “governments produced by elections may be inefficient, corrupt,

short sighted, irresponsible, etc… these qualities makes such governments undesirable

but they do not make them undemocratic”. 8 The fact that people should have the right to

choose their own government is however just one side of the coin. When we speak of

democracy, another important aspect has to be mentioned, and that is that the autonomy

of individuals has to be protected against any coercion with the State. Therefore, a

broader definition would be that a State can be called democratic if it guarantees a

number of fundamental rights in political, social, economic, religious spheres. A number

of philosophers ranging from Thomas Hobbes to Isaiah Berlin have emphasized on these

two principles that a democracy should have.

In the view of the fact that this guide will lead the reader through the process of

transforming a modern democracy in its ideal-type construct into a dictatorship we

should also look at a democracy from a philosophical perspective. An ideal-type

construct relies on twin principle which was first formulated by John Locke and later

elaborated during the time of the French Revolution. These two basic grounds of

democracy are: autonomy of the individual and autonomy of the collectivity.9 Autonomy

of the individual is applied within a limited sphere, namely the domain of private life,

where as autonomy of collectivity is contained within the very term of “democracy”,

which means “people power”. Thus, the basic separation is between public and private

life, reflecting the distinction between the collective and the individual respectively.

Within those two fields, public sphere rests upon such principles as equality, justice and

is separated in economic and political domains. Private life, individual sphere or personal

8 Huntington, Samuel. P., p. 56, The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century 9 Todorov, Tzvetan, p. 11 Hope and Memory

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world on the other hand, can be seen as a web of preferences and exclusions and its

highest point is love. Ideally, in a democracy, political life respects the pluralist

principles and the individual is protected by law from any possible infringement. Making

of laws and its exercise is clearly separated as a consequence of the separation of powers,

first elaborated by Montesquieu.

If we compare it with a dictatorship the two principles of the autonomy of the individual

and the autonomy of the collectivity are perceived differently. Within a dictatorship the

autonomy of the individual is rejected as a whole. The I of the individual, as in

democracy, is replaced by we of the group or collectivity.10 Thus, the individual or

private sphere is somewhat merges with the public sphere, where a number of things such

as, tasted, preferences, believes, etc. become attached or combined with the reigning

public standards. As a matter of fact love also loses its special status of being part of

private space and consequently an individual has no exclusive control over it. This

rejection of the autonomy of the individual leads to a creation of a community that can be

characterized as unified or fused together.

A democratic regime is defined by Robert Dahl as a regime in which the state is highly

responsive to the preferences of society because all adult citizens are free to formulate

their preferences, to signify their preferences to other citizens and to the state, and to

have their preferences weighed without discrimination in the conduct of state

policymaking.11 Looking at the political institutions that democracies usually possess six

prerequisites has to be mentioned that in fact characterize democracy, namely:

o Elected official (decisions taken at the governmental level are vested in official

that have been elected by the citizens)

o Free, fair and frequent elections (election of official is frequent with unlikely

coercion)

o Freedom of expression (citizen’s right to express themselves freely without any

danger of being punishment on political matters and criticisms of officials)

10 Todorov, Tzvetan, p. 13 Hope and Memory 11 Dahl, Robert, p. 2-3, Polyarchy: Participation and opposition

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o Alternative sources of information (sources of information such as media are not

under the control of the government and citizens have access to alternative

sources of information)

o Associational autonomy (freedom to form independent organizations such as,

political parties, interest groups, etc.)

o Inclusive citizenship (rights to vote as well rights to five political institutions

listed above)

In a transition to dictatorship a number of these prerequisites would have to be suspended

in order to fulfill the goal of turning the state into a functional dictatorship. As an

example this would be: freedom of expression, alternative sources of information and

free, fair and frequent elections. However, the aim of this chapter is to simply introduce

the reader to the concept of democracy, thus the logic and practical implication of this

suspension will be elaborated further throughout the guide. The following chapter will

focus on the complete opposite of a democracy and a democratic rule, on dictatorships.

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Chapter 3: Understanding Dictatorships

What is a dictatorship? When referring to a dictatorial regime most people refer to an

authoritarian dictatorship. An authoritarian system of government is heavily centralized

and it can be dissolved by a properly functioning parliamentary democracy12. This

presupposes that an authoritarian government is undemocratic; the government, usually

in the hands of a few or one person and has social control over most aspects of the

citizen’s life. With very little room for civil liberty and freedom, authoritarian regimes

use dictatorships in a conservative way, preserving traditional values and social structure.

Besides authoritarian there is also another type of dictatorship, namely totalitarian.

Having all the same characteristics as an authoritarian dictatorship, it also has some

distinct characteristics that make it different. Since adopting of the term ‘totalitarian’ by

Adolf Hitler’s fascist regime and the widespread use of the term in both academic and

popular use in the past decades, it is now widely understood that there is something novel

about 20th century dictatorships. This is reflected back in characteristics of a totalitarian

regime which employs methods of control that go further then the “Caesaristic”

dictatorship that existed in the Roman Republic.

An authoritarian regime is also similar to “Caesaristic” dictatorship, resting its success in

the hands of “monopolized coercion and popular backing”13, and, regarding Napoleon’s

rule, involved centralized, autocratic rule lacking any constitutional foundation, and no or

little respect for legality, with its success resting in the legitimacy of popular consent.

Similarly in a totalitarian regime, the leader does not take responsibility for all his

actions, but rather is a functionary of the masses he leads. But a totalitarian dictatorship

goes further and controls most if not all aspects of life. Education, communication and

the economy fall under the command of a totalitarian regime as it gears the private life of

individuals and the society as a whole towards the system of political domination14. In

other words totalitarianism is the most extreme type of dictatorship. Another

characteristic of totalitarian dictatorship is that is has a distinct ideology. A concept of

12 Lee, Stephen J., European dictatorships, p.300 13 Richter, M., Baehr, P., Dictatorships in History and in Theory, p.243 14 Richter, M., Baehr., P., Dictatorships in History and in Theory PAGE

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ideology and its significance will be explained further throughout the guide in Part 4.

Ideology helps organize the population, or the mass, into a single party working towards

the cause of the regime. This ‘total’ control aspect is similar to mass participation found

in democracy, although in this case it serves to further the goals of the single ruling

political party or figure. Which brings up the next point; totalitarian dictatorships have a

single party rule, which is typically led by one person. These points are further supported

by Hannah Arendt who highlights that this type of dictatorship has “a mass movement

with an ideology”, is “the personal dictatorship of a leader who has no constitutional

legitimacy but enjoys mass support”, and “repression within the state’s borders”15 is not

uncommon. The masses are repressed and controlled by what Brzezinski calls a

‘terroristic’ police. There is a communications and weapons monopoly and finally a

centrally directed economy16. The key point about totalitarianism is that it is a mass

movement. This mass movement has a leader. And the leader and the masses depend on

each other, without the one the other cannot exist; the mass simply becoming a horde, the

leader a nonentity. It is this very fact that Arendt argues prevents a totalitarian leader

from becoming a towering figure, “or a power hungry individual imposing tyrannical and

arbitrary will upon his subjects”17, but rather the center and personification of a mass

movement. All this implies implementing a step by step process of influencing the

masses through techniques of propaganda and indoctrination as well as the use of force to

keep order and ensure conformity; aspects that will be dealt with in further chapters. If we

would try to summarize the distinction between authoritarian and totalitarian

dictatorships, than according to K. D. Bracher, one difference lies in the way these two

types come to power. Authoritarian dictatorships tend to come about as a result of an

existing conservative regime imposing increasingly undemocratic measures intended to

neutralize and immobilize mass political and industrial organizations. Totalitarian

dictatorships, on the other hand, come to power as a result of a revolution, military coup

or a substantial mass movement backed up by an ideology, usually radical ideology and

results in a total overhaul or change of political system. It could be said that after a

15 Richter M., Baehr P., Dictatorships in History and in Theory, p.243 16 Lee, Stephen J., European dictatorships, p.298 17 Richter M., Baehr P., Dictatorships in History and in Theory, p.247

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revolution, a dictator, in a totalitarian dictatorship could be seen as a painter with a clear

canvas where he can create what ever laws or institutions he desires.18

18 Bracher, K. D, p. 48, The German Dictatorship: The Origins, Structure, and Effects of National

Socialism.

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Part 2 - Politics

Chapter 4: What is Politics

Politics is the art of government and is viewed as a process which concerns the state. The

word originates from the Greek word “polis” which means the state or community as a

whole. The concept dealt with improving a society to an ideal state and means available

to achieve it19. Furthermore the man (by which is meant human being in general) is by

nature a political animal and it is in his nature to take part in the process of politics in

order to fulfill his inherent desires. Additionally, man is self-preserving, and either as an

individual or as part of a group, seeks to meet his interests. These interests are expressed

through politics. Inevitably he also finds himself at conflict with others in regards to his

interests. What he may wish may not coincide with the ideals of another person. And this

very fact is what politics is about; a community of different views using politics as a

medium to resolve conflicts of interest in order to find compromises and ways of

achieving them. If people would all agree on a course of action, they would not have the

need to engage in politics20. In our contemporary society this notion of politics has grown

into encompassing the different areas affecting society, such as crime, the market and

law, into the different institutions laid out earlier. This in turn gives rise to the need of

some sort of authority and power which governs the mechanism known as politics,

namely the government. Thus politics is as much about the existence of diversity and

conflict as it is about cooperation and collective interests.

Politics can be summed up as the exercise of power by key people and institutions of the

government to enforce and regulate decisions made to govern a state21. It can be regarded

the ‘authoritative allocation of values’, as a few make the decisions that affect a whole

community or society. This is why sometimes politics can be filled with “deception,

dishonesty and even corruption”, as politicians employ the use “of cunning, cruelty and

19 The concept derived from the writings of political thinkers such as Plato and Aristotle, who wrote about

creating an ideal society by improving on the imperfections present in the societies they lived in. 20 Miller, www.allfreeessays.com 21 Heywood, Politics, Government and the State

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manipulation”22. As individuals are self-interested and seek to fulfill their own or their

groups’ interests and politicians can be self-seeking and unprincipled as they seek to

fulfill their personal ambitions. Thus political power can be corrupting, as it encourages

exploiting of the power for personal advantage and at the cost of others, making it timely

to say, ‘power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely’23.

Besides being governed by the said institutions, politics is also divided into two

spectrums; namely left and right-wing. The left wing and right wing politics dates back to

end of 18th century and owes its origins to the French revolution. The terms’ original

significance depended on the seating of the members of the National Assembly. At the

time a monarchy, those who opposed the monarchy; members of the Third Estate

consisting of revolutionaries, sat on the left and those who supported; members of the

First Estate who were nobles and had more to gain from a monarchy, sat on the right24.

As a monarch has absolute power over the state and government, the left then seeks to

reform or abolish existing social hierarchies in order to create a more equal distribution of

wealth and privilege.25 The more left a society leans the more it tries to provide equal

opportunities for all. Here communism is an example that lies on the far left of the

political spectrum. The right-wing is associated more with those that seek to maintain or

return to traditional authorities, as would be the case with the monarchy. The right seeks

to preserve domestic culture.26 Another important attribute which is also a clear opposite

of the left is the desire to preserve personal wealth and private ownership and in the

contemporary society has promoted the advance of capitalism. While each side is more

extensive then this, what is more important for you to understand is how each side

influences the shape a dictatorship takes.

22 Heywood, Politics, Government and the State 23 Lord Acton (Politics, Government and the State) 24 History of the National Assembly online 25 Encyclopedia Britannica Online 26 Encyclopedia Britannica Online

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Chapter 5: Machiavelli

A democratic system is safeguarded by numerous means in order to ensure that no one

person can become too powerful and influence the government enough to with time take

supreme control over the state. But the system is manmade, and there are ways to

circumvent laws, influence individuals on the political level and feed information that

serves your purpose well to the individuals in order to influence their minds to your

liking. Dictatorships have occurred at various times, due to various circumstances around

the world. Your first step towards becoming a dictator is to understand this very fact. You

must understand the political arena well as well as the legal system of the state in order to

be successful in strengthening yourself within the political sphere. Laws must be

channeled to your selfish desires and conflicts inherent in political life and you must

create fear, first to create support, then to ensure obedience27. This is a careful process of

influence and manipulation. You cannot simply choose to change people’s behavior as

you please. Unlike some who believe the human mind to be a tabula rasa28 which you

can influence infinitely, it is important for you to understand that individual natures; such

as their intelligence, boldness and ability to question your authority, cannot be totally

controlled29. Therefore ingenuous methods need to be concocted and implemented that

partially make the populace believe that they are part of the decision-making process and

are not being manipulated to serve the agenda of a political figure or a government. The

following part will show you the thoughts of Machiavelli, an intellectual, who dismantled

and understood the relationship between the rulers and the ruled in order to explain the

political mechanisms that govern a state. The following passages contain relevant

chapters from Machiavelli’s book The Prince that contain points that have relevance to

the rest of this guide.

27 Machiavelli – The Prince. Chapter 12 28 Latin for Blank Slate, refers to a mind not yet affected by experience. 29 Steven, M, C., Political Philosophy, p.187

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Chapter 5.1: The Prince and its contemporary relevance

Politics is not governed by strict laws. But similar to natural sciences, certain actions will

lead to certain reactions. Never-the-less the reactions can be influenced or counteracted

with careful planning. Although human beings will not tolerate extreme violence or

oppression, there are ways to win over their support in you as their leader using dastardly

means if need arises. When accustomed to living under an authority; be it a government

or rule of one person, people become incapable and unwilling to govern themselves and

prefer to follow a leader. When the governing body or person dies, dissolves or is

eliminated, the people are at despair as they do not know “how to live as free men” and

are “hesitant in taking up arms”30. By employing the correct methods, you can effectively

win over their support. But you must understand that when trying to achieve control of a

state, you are essentially bringing about a new order. This is no easy task, as you will find

opposition from those that were of the old government, or old order, and everyone else

that profited from it31. The opposition will be legitimate, consisting of members of the old

government, holding a profession in the political or legal arena and possibly the military.

In order to fight against any such opposition it is necessary to employ the correct methods

that win over the support of the masses as well as create a positive image for yourself. It

is fair to say that it is not so difficult to influence the minds of people, but it is difficult to

have a lasting affect on their thoughts and opinions. Due to this very fact, “affairs should

be managed in such a way that when they no longer believe, they can be made to believe

by force”32. What this implies is the use of rule of law, a legal body that regulates the

behavior of the society. In relation to this it is also important to know of another form of

power; namely military power or support. Whether a leader has it or not is seen in the

difference between one who is forced to beg or is able to use power in carrying out his

goals33. What this means is that in order to have considerable strength in convincing

others of your legitimacy as a leader you need to be able to show that you have power. As

without such support, leaders “come to a bad end and never accomplish anything”, and

30 The Prince – Machiavelli –ch.5 31 The Prince – Machiavelli –ch.6 32 The Prince – Machiavelli –ch.6 33 The Prince – Machiavelli –ch.6

18

“when they depend on their own resources and can use power, then only seldom do they

find themselves in peril”34. Thus a leader who wants to be able to regulate and influence a

society, and impose order, needs to have laws and regulations governed by a legitimate

body that can implement order and rules amongst the society. And thus, needs the use of

the armed forces (which can be in form of military or paramilitary, or police), a body that

can punish and maintain order through force or by the mere presence of it.

The principal foundations of a state are good laws and good armies, thus having the

armed forces on your side plays a crucial role in ensuring your success as a budding

leader. It is important to have loyal troops that believe in you or the cause. Mercenaries

and auxiliaries are useless and dangerous, as they are brave amongst friends, but cowards

when facing the enemy35. These two types of armed men are either foreign soldiers or

armies and their loyalty to you is only as much as you fund and pay them. They do not

believe in your leadership nor in the cause of the state. Their wage is their motive to serve

under you, and it is not enough for them to die for36. This point highlights the relevance

of a military or police force that is loyal to you and your political ambitions. Having

explained the usefulness of armed forces let us move on to the different manners of

achieving greater power.

The common people or the noble are two sources from which a leader can derive his

support from. The nobles, or elite and the common people exist in every state. Both have

conflicting interests. While the “people do not wish to be commanded or oppressed by

the nobles…the nobles desire to command and to oppress the people”37. A leader arising

from the nobility after having support of the people, who form the majority, has a more

difficult time sustaining his leadership as he may be at conflict with other nobles for he

finds himself “amidst many who feel themselves to be his equals”38. In a state where the

leader arises from the people tends to resort to dictatorial rule as he “has around him no

34 The Prince – Machiavelli –ch.6 35 The Prince – Chapter 12 36 The Prince – Chapter 12 37 The Prince – Chapter 9 38 The Prince – Chapter 9

19

one or very few who are not ready to obey him.”39 As such a rule arises from the people,

usually due to the absence or a weak noble or elite it tends to be dictatorial. Besides these

two ways, you can also become a leader “through some wicked and nefarious means”40.

From then on you can also employ such measures to ensure that you remain in power.

Such measures require from you to resort to dubious and evil ways such as dishonesty,

hypocrisy and fraud, among others. Agathocles the Sicilian, a potter’s son, resorted to

wickedness after having gained the rank in the military as commander of Syracuse. He

“called together one morning the people and the senate of Syracuse as if he were going to

discuss things concerning the state; and with a prearranged signal, he had his troops kill

all the senators and the richest citizens”41, and seized control of the city and finding no

opposition from the citizenry became ruler and King of Syracuse. Such measures are

cruel and immoral but never-the-less very effective. Besides this there are other means to

resort to for achieving power such as; being endowed with wit and vigorous mind; the

use of treachery and false promises; murdering those in power; forcing people to obey

through fear; and by strengthening your rule and the state with new civil and military

ordinance.42

39 The Prince – Chapter 9 40 The Prince – Chapter 8 41 The Prince – Chapter 8 42 The Prince – Chapter 8

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Chapter 6: Getting into Power

Before the means of getting into power can be explained, a few words have to be

mentioned about different types and systems of the government of a particular

state/country namely that of parliamentary and presidential systems. The description will

be limited to the parliamentary and presidential forms of government and will leave out

other forms of government, such as semi-presidential.

When speaking of parliamentary or presidential governments, initially it is referring to a

set of political institutions by which the State and its government are organized and

perform its duties. The characteristics of a parliamentary system include the fact that

executive powers lie with the prime minister, whereas legislative powers are vested in the

parliament. Similarly, in presidential types of government, it is the president and

parliament that possess executive and legislative powers respectively. From a first glance

it could be said that both systems are very much alike, however in reality and practice

both systems have some fundamental differences. For the goal of explaining a

prospective dictator on how to get into power within different political orders, focus will

be kept on the parliamentary system. The parliamentary system has an important

characteristic; the executive branch of the government is dependent on the support of the

parliament. Whereas in the presidential system the executive branch, under control of the

president, presides and exists independently or separately from the legislature. It is also

worth noting that he or she is usually not accountable to the legislative body because both

of these political bodies have their own mandate. The president owes his authority to

being elected and he is therefore not accountable to the parliament in a sense of a

confidence rule. Whether the parliament has confidence in him or not, the President stays

in power. In parliamentary systems, the head of the government is not directly elected but

stays in office because he enjoys the confidence of tolerance of the parliament. Thus, in a

parliamentary system a prime minister wields much greater political power since they are

normally the heads of a loyal parliamentary majority and often a chairman of the main

political party. It is important for a prospective dictator to realize and understand these

different nuances in relation to how powers are separated and the technicality of various

forms of government as it will be easier for you to exploit its weaknesses to your own

21

advantage. It should be noted that even though most of the States fall within one or the

other form of government, there are exceptions, such as semi-presidential forms of

government. Furthermore, the climate, internal structure and characteristics of various

nations differs greatly from State to State, thus it is very difficult to pin-point all the

circumstances that are possible and include all the arising conditions. Therefore, we try to

include to most evident and, as history shows, most effective methods and steps of

getting into power.

Chapter 6.1: “Slow and peaceful way” (authoritarian dictatorship)

As mentioned in an earlier part, dictatorships can be distinguished into two categories,

authoritarian and totalitarian and basing on the works of K. D. Bracher this distinction is

closely related to the way these two types come to power. Therefore, we have further

elaborated on this view by dividing authoritarian dictatorships as being achievable by the

so called “slow and peaceful way” whereas totalitarian dictatorships can be achieved by

more “radical and violent ways”. For that reason, we will first try to distinguish way of

getting into power through slow and peaceful way.

Starting off with a parliamentary system, there is number of ways that should be

distinguished that could lead to dictatorship. One of the first and perhaps most important

requirements is that you should be in one way or another involved in politics preferably

be a member of some political party, or be a civil servant. Your next duty is to try and

become a leader of this party. In the beginning this party can merely be at a regional

level, but as long as you evolve in the political circles this will earn you some valuable

experience and perhaps recognition. It should be noted, that you should try and make

your party as influential as possible in order to yield necessary results. Being a president

of a dominant party would mean that you could pass bills and laws that would be

necessary to transform the country and have the backing and vote of your party. If

necessary, you can further establish your dominant position by running for a position of a

Prime Minister. From then on you can eliminate any remaining partied that could be

against you in an ideal of creating a single party rule. It should be noted, that even though

22

this is rather safe and “quite” method it might take rather long time to achieve the results

needed.

Within a presidential system situation is rather different. The starting point would also be

to become a leader of a party in a parliament. While being a party leader you should try

and make as many “friends” as possible from other parties, even if you would have

conflicting interests. The reason for this is that sooner or later you would need to run for

a presidency and once you become one you should have some sort of influence over the

parliament and consequently a legislative body. It is in fact possible to say that

presidential systems leave less room to maneuver with regard to getting into power or

abusing the political system to your advantage. However, as already mentioned, different

States constitutes different procedural characteristics with regard to the governments and

thus it is up to the prospective dictator to study the possibilities and make use of any loop

holes that are available.

When we refer to this form of getting into power, with slow, “legal” ways it is crucial

that you possess the financial freedom. What we mean by the financial freedom is the

presence of a large budged that could be contributed to the cause of manipulating your

way through the political system. It is also wise to have backing of the elite or simply

rich people in your country. This could be aristocrats, businessmen, industrialists. One

such example is the support of Hitler’s party and his campaign by the wealthy

industrialists such as Alfred Krupp, who along with other influential businessmen have

financed his election campaign. It is not important or relevant to you with regards to the

origins of their capital, but rather that they would be willing to support you financially, or

simply with their influence, you and your campaign of becoming a dictator. In return of

their support they most likely will be interested in getting various favors once you indeed

become a leader of a country. Such favors could include reduction in taxes in specific

areas or lucrative governmental contracts for those private industries. It should be noted

that perhaps it would be preferable that you should keep your political agenda disclosed

from these people. In other words do not mention or share any policies that could show

that your are intending to have a dictatorship. The reason behind this is that some of these

23

rich, influential people might not be so eager to invest into your political campaign

knowing your plans of becoming a dictator. This is because they might be afraid of losing

control over their businesses as a result of your dictatorial rule. Once you are in power it

might be wise to have some sort of a show trial. Namely, pick one of those rich people,

preferably an influential businessman, who is most critical of your new regime, strip him

off his possessions and imprison him. This shouldn’t be very difficult as legislative,

judicial and executive powers are finally in your hands. Simply be creative!

Chapter 6.2: “Radical and violent way” (totalitarian dictatorship)

Revolution

Revolutions provide a complete transformation, a complete turn around, one hundred and

eighty degree change. This transformation is present in various features of a society, such

as, political, legal, sociological, economic, etc. As Peter Kropotkin writes, “a revolution

is infinitely more than a series of insurrections in town and country. It is more than a

simple struggle between parties, however sanguinary; more than mere street-fighting, and

much more than a mere change of government. . . . A revolution is a swift overthrow, in a

few years, of institutions which have taken centuries to root in the soil, and seem so fixed

and irremovable that even the most ardent reformers hardly dare to attack them in their

writings. It is the fall, the crumbling away in a brief period, of all that up to that time

composed the essence of social, religious, political and economic life in a nation. It

means the subversion of acquired ideas and of accepted notions concerning each of the

complex institutions and relations of the human herd. In short, it is the birth of completely

new ideas concerning the manifold links in citizenship -- conceptions, which soon

become realities…”43 Some scholars actually only refer to revolutions that were

successful in changing and seizing the power. Kimmel suggests that “that a revolution

occur when the upper class cannot and the lower class will not continue the old system.”44

In other words there exists a list of necessary prerequisites that should take place in order

for a revolution to take place. A number of authors writing on theories of dictatorship

distinguish these key factors. One of the most important aspects that have to be present is

43 Kropotkin, Peter, p. 25, The Great French Revolution 44 Kimmel. S. Michael, p. 5, Revolution: a Sociological Interpretation

24

the ideology, in other words “totalitarianism can only develop on the basis of an ideology

with supreme values, a “political religion”.* Furthermore, according to Maier and

Schaefer, three other factors besides ideology have to be present to make the emergence

of totalitarianism probable. First, an organization has to be founded with a leader or

leadership having the monopoly to interpret the ideology. Second, the secular power of a

state has to be conquered and spiritual and secular leadership to be combined in the hands

of the same person or group. Third, this is only possible if the society of the respective

state is undergoing a crisis. 45 Either your nations possesses these key factor is up to you

to analyze and establish. We should however warn that if it is in fact through

revolutionary methods that you come to power you should be ready to face the fact that

violence and revolutions are the two sides of a same coin; in other words, you should

expect severe casualties among the population of your country.

Even thought it can be argued that revolutions are more effective in a way that it brings

complete change it is without any doubt that the requirement of fulfilling the key factors

mentioned above could pose some complexity. On the other hand since a successful

revolution will allow you to create a completely new State and establish a new form of

government you will be left to decide on the formation of the institutions of the new born

State.

Coupe d’état, military coup

Coupe d’état and military coups, unlike revolution, does not require large numbers of

people working coherently for the similar political, social or ideological believes. In fact

it is the most popular form of changing the political power in the world. The main

prerequisite is the absolute control over the police and especially the military forces. In

its essence, military coup is a complete change of power from above, that is a complete

change of government. However, Edward Luttwak points out in his book Coup d'Etat: A

practical Handbook that at times neither military nor large masses are needed to have a

successful coup d’état. In his opinion an instrument of power that will enable to seize

control of the state comes from the state itself. In other words, “a coup consists of the

* Further notes on ideology are in the Chapter on social aspects. 45 Maier & Schaefer, p, 12, Totalitarismus und politische Religionen

25

infiltration of a small but critical segment of the state apparatus, which is then used to

displace the government from its control of the remainder.”46 Furthermore, a number of

necessary conditions have to be mentioned that would make coup d’état all possible. First

of all your country has to be fairly independent with regard to the international relations,

in other words influence of foreign political powers should be as minimal as possible.

Other important aspects are that there should be a clear political centre within your

country and political participation should be limited to a small portion of the whole

population. The fact that political participation is limited with regard to the total

population could mean that large sections of society are not sufficiently literate, thus

population is not politicized. According to Edward Luttwak, in societies where

population is not sufficiently literate, “the dialogue between the rulers and the ruled

(upon which democratic legitimacy is founded)”47 cannot take place, thus in those

conditions, the state is nothing other than a machine. Therefore, “a coup operates by

taking advantage of this machine-like behavior: during the coup because it uses parts of

the state apparatus to seize the controlling levers.”48 There is a reason why it is the most

popular form of change of government. It is relatively easy in comparison with other

methods but yet effective and as already mentioned, does not require mobilization of

masses as for examples does revolution. In other words, if conditions in your country are

such that would allow a military coup, than it is a very attractive form of getting into

power.

Regime change

Depending on the size of your country as well its strategic positioning, geographically as

well as politically it might be possible to have a regime change. Literally it is a

replacement of one regime with another one. When we speak of regime change we refer

to changing in part or in full of existing institutions, administration and all other

necessary elements, etc. In its essence it is no different from a revolution or a coup d’état

where regime is also changed with all the following consequences. However, what we

mean by the regime change is that the change of power is done with the help of the other

46 Luttwak, Edward, p. 26-27, Coup d'Etat: A practical Handbook 47 Luttwak, Edward, p. 30, Coup d'Etat: A practical Handbook 48 Luttwak, Edward, p. 35, Coup d'Etat: A practical Handbook

26

state. This takes place when a foreign State would interfere secretly, usually with the help

of its secret service agencies, in order to topple an existing regime. This interference

amounts to financial, logistical, tactical, etc. support, in other words anything that is

necessary that could even lead to assassination of the leaders. However, there are drawn

backs with this kind of getting into power. First of all in most of the times it is not you

who actually initiates the whole plan of changing the regime, but rather a foreign

government and its secret service. Furthermore, this of course means that you would

most likely be absolutely dependent on that State that helped or intervened with the

“help” to change the regime. This is an appealing method with regard to countries that

are less developed and might require foreign aid. However, the danger is that the State

that helps you with the change of the regime does not do so simply out of good will. In

most of the cases there are deeper implications behind it. In addition to that, there is no

guarantee that once regime change takes place, the State that have helped you out will

one day decide to overthrow you from the governments as well. In other words, the

stability is critically lacking with this method. Therefore, only in extra-ordinary

circumstances or with some sort of guarantee from the helping State should we advice

you to implement this method.

27

Chapter 7: Techniques of Dictatorial rule

So far you have come to understand the different characteristics that define a state. The

grounds have been laid out for you that have described the similarities and differences

between a democracy and a dictatorship, and how to proceed towards a path of achieving

power and dictatorial rule. Besides this, on a political level, there are different tried and

proven techniques that can be used to further strengthen your position. Some of these

techniques are employed while strengthening your hold in the political arena, but all of

them are put to use once a dictatorship is established at various times when the need

arises. These techniques are explained below. It is important to understand that the use of

each technique is not exclusive and using one may require the support of another to

achieve the best outcome.

1. Defining an Enemy

An enemy is an important aspect of creating unity amongst your people as well as

support in you and your movement. The method, as the saying goes, kills two birds with

one stone. It is important for you to dissolve the individual and make it part of a larger

collective. Not only does this help you gain support, but also makes the individual

question less as part of a larger entity governed by a collective thought. In order to do so

you need to unite the public under a nationalistic collectivity. To do so you need to stress

on, or create, the presence of an enemy. “National feeling will be all the stronger if there

is hatred directed against an enemy of the nation”49, either internal or external. An

internal enemy provides an easier approach as the threat is almost imminent, whereas an

external enemy is more abstract as it is not in the immediate surroundings, so to say. An

internal enemy is more present, more concrete and more hateful. Moreover, you can

blame the country’s problems on the internal enemy. This enemy could be the present

government, a few select high government officials, such as the president, or it could be

something on a more micro level, such as a certain ethnic group. Such was the case in

Nazi Germany, where Hitler used propaganda to incite and fuel anti-Semitism, blaming

the Jewish community for the economical turmoil and channeling hate towards a certain

49 Dundovitch, E., Reflections on the Gulag: With a Documentary Index on the Italian Victims

28

community and at the same time uniting the population under one movement. Similarly

the conspiracy of “World Jewry”, the root of all evil,50 was an argument continuously

stressed upon by Hitler. This found him the support from like-minded people.

Furthermore he used the communist threat as an external enemy that threatened

Germany. In Nazi Germany you can see a clearer example of an external threat in the

case of the “Reichstag fire”. In 1933, the Reichstag building, the assembly of the German

Parliament was set afire. At the aftermath of the fire, the police found Marinus van der

Lubbe inside the building and was accused of the arson attack. He was a member of the

Communist Workers Party of Germany. Hitler utilized this as evidence of a communist

plot against Germany to further ignite hate towards an enemy threat that may or may not

have been real.

2. Detention centers

The gulag, a creation of the Soviet Union, is an acronym for the government agency that

administered the penal labor camps. Predominantly used to house criminals, “the Gulag

system has become primarily known as a place for political prisoners and as a mechanism

for repressing political opposition”51. This was used in the Soviet Union and later in

Germany and Italy and Latin American dictatorships. A similar system will serve you

well and may even be necessary in order to ensure that any sort of opposition does not

50 Gilbert G.M. p.49, The Psychology of Dictatorship 51 Applebaum, A., Gulag: A History of the Soviet Camps

After the Armistice of World War I, Adolf Hitler began to slowly gain support in the political

and military arena. Preaching about the blow the war had made on Germany and on the

defeated army gained him an attentive audience that served as the springboard to the start of

his political ambitions. He used The Treaty of Versailles to his advantage and ensued the

German public with propaganda. Using the “guilt clause, the Polish Corridor through Prussia,

and the impossible reparations” as ‘proof’ to a conspiracy to crush Germany spiritually and

economically. Combined with inflation, hunger, and other misfortunes, Hitler was able to gain

the public support with his words that appealed both to the left and the right wing. At a time

when everyone was looking for scapegoats on whom to vent the aggression, socialistic

splinter parties were being formed to express the discontent amongst the people, one of which

was the German Workers party. Having helped formulate the platform for this party, Hitler

found it the ideal place to voice his thoughts. The German Workers party set the formal

entrance to Hitler’s political career in 1920, in Munich, where he addressed the public with

the party’s program and won their support with his passionate appeal to resurgent

nationalism1. By the next year Hitler had attained leadership of the German Workers party and

soon thereafter renamed it The National Socialist German Workers party.

29

have a chance to strengthen enough to question your authority. In Nazi Germany, Hitler

now President and Commander-in-Chief, established The People’s Court in 1934 after

being dissatisfied by the outcome of the Reichstag Fire Trial. The court operated outside

of the constitutional frame of law and had jurisdiction over a broad array of political

offences. It is important for you to build such a political instrument that works outside of

the rule of law as it provides you with a method of detaining and punishing those that

rebel against your policies. You can also use such special courts to help dissolve any

usefulness of regular courts in terms of their legal jurisdictions, as they become parallel

systems to the regular courts and offer to provide the same functions.

3. The use of a ‘thug caste’

In order for you to maintain and increase your position of power, you need to create a

thug caste that is based on your ideology or political agenda. A paramilitary unit with all

the same power and authority of the military, it is a group that is more loyal and

dedicated to your cause. It is a private army that is used to serve your political ambitions.

You can use it to maintain order, terrorize, or discipline the public. With time the thug

caste’s reputation will build up and its mere presence will ensure that you are able to

conduct your policies with more ease. Having the support of the military plays an

important factor in your political strength and gives you a significant leverage. A thug

caste or paramilitary unit however is an alternative that bypasses the military chain of

command and would report directly to you. This is the force that you need to have to do

your bidding, so to say. They are free from prosecution and thus can carry out acts of

violence and campaigns of assassination and intimidation. The Iraqi Republican Guard

and the Fadayeen Saddam are examples of paramilitary that had all the same, if not more,

jurisdiction as the regular army during Saddam Hussein’s regime52. The Republican

Guard was formed in 1980 during the Iraq-Iran war as an all-volunteer Presidential Guard

brigand created to maintain stability of the regime and protect the state from any internal

or external threats. Here you see how one factor contributes to the formation of another

measure of control. Primarily potential threats to the state lead to justify the formation of

such a paramilitary force and with time it continued to serve the political ambitions of

52 www.number-10.gov.uk, Iraq-its infrastructures of concealment, deception and intimidation

30

Saddam Hussein. The Fadayeen Saddam was similar, but was loyal to the Ba’ath Party,

whereas the Republican Guard was an elite group of troops most loyal to the Ba’ath party

leader, Saddam Hussein. While both served the same purpose, the significant difference

lies in the fact that the Fadayeen Saddam was loyal to the regime or ideology, while the

latter served the leader directly. At the outbreak of the 2003 invasion of Iraq by United

States led coalition forces the Republic Guard collapsed soon thereafter while the other

fought on, loyal to the ideology and willing to fight for it.

4. Targeting key individuals

Individuals posing a threat to your political ambitions need to be identified and targeted

in order to quell any uprising that may hinder you from achieving your goals. This is

either achieved by enacting of laws or policies, or by the use of force against the targeted

persons. It is a method that is usually to be undertaken once you have considerable

political power or have already achieved dictatorial rule, and allows you to systematically

remove any opposition. In November 2007, President Musharraf , after declaring a state

of emergency in Pakistan, fired several judges, jailed some secular politicians, put many

other politicians and influential figures under house arrest, and intimidated judges,

journalists, and human rights activists. While the situation proved to be temporary it was

initiated by President Musharraf as his attempt to resolve the Supreme Court ruling

contesting his eligibility to contest Presidential elections held a month earlier. He had

hoped to use the threat of a potential enemy, as explained above, in order to issue a state

of emergency. Consequently he targeted individuals in order to ensure a judiciary process

could not be initiated that could question the legitimacy of his actions in the months prior

to this event53. Similarly such actions can be directed at an even larger group and more

effectively supplemented by laws that allow it to be perceived more legitimate. In 1933 in

Nazi Germany, after the Reichstag fire, Hitler convinced President Hindenburg of the

53 Pakistan: state of emergency: (http://www.amnesty.org/en/for-media/press-releases/pakistan-state-

emergency-paves-way-escalating-human-rights-abuses-200711)

Adolf Hitler put forth his political agenda through the German Workers party which he was

leading now. His “aggressive rebellion and contempt for all established social institutions”

inspired further support, of which the most important and crucial to his power were the “Old

Fighters”; a group of revolutionary zealots. They were the chief support for Hitler’s acts of

aggression and helped and supported him on his way to greater power.

31

threat communists posed to the state who then issued a decree that allowed “defensive

measure[s] against communists acts of violence, endangering the state”54. With the help

of this Herman Goering, President of Reichstag, “secured an absolute Nazi majority in

the Reichstag by the simple device of excluding the Communist representatives”55 who

posed an obstacle for Hitler. Soon thereafter, with no opposition in the Reichstag, he

requested for the “Enabling Act” to be passed temporarily delegating to him Reichstag’s

powers, freeing him from all legislative and constitutional constraints and effectively

making him dictator. Here you can see a chain of events targeting individuals and

removing them through carefully crafted measures that allowed Hitler to ultimately

assume dictatorial rule.

5. Monitor the population: an internal surveillance system

An internal surveillance system can be used for various reasons. In 1921, during the

British mandate in Iraq when it was a monarchy, the ‘Al-Amn al-‘Amm’ was created. It

was a political security police force in charge of detecting dissent among the Iraqi public

and addressing political criminal behavior. A decade later after Iraq’s independence

another agency, ‘al-Istikhabarat al-‘Askariyya’ was created which monitered and ensured

the loyalty of military officers to the state. It was also responsible for assassinations of

opponents to the regime. During the early years of rule of the Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party

‘al-Mukhabarat’, the Iraqi Intelligence Service was created. Some of the responsibilities

undertaken by this agency were, being in charge of monitoring the Ba’ath Party, as well

as other political parties, monitoring grass roots organizations, suppressing opposition

and targeting of threatening individuals or groups56. Thus you can see that there are

various reasons for the need for internal surveillance. While opposition and dissent

amongst the population is one of the crucial issues to address, there is also a need to

ensure that there is loyalty amongst your followers and supporters. The armed forces

contribute to your power and key figures in that area also need to be monitored to see

where their loyalty lies. The essential ingredient for an effective surveillance system is an

54 John Jay College of Criminal Justice: (http://web.jjay.cuny.edu/~jobrien/reference/ob60.html) 55 Gilbert G.M. p. 73, The Psychology of Dictatorships 56 Saddam’s Security and Intelligence Network - http://cns.miis.edu/research/iraq/iraqint.htm

32

instrument, such as an agency, organization, or a form of police, combined with the use

of fear. This makes the citizens more docile, as they tend to show obedience and are

hesitant of rising up against your authority due to repercussions they may suffer.

6. Power of propaganda

Propaganda plays a crucial role and is used in combination with many other techniques. It

is a “deliberate and systematic attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate cognitions, and

direct behavior to achieve a response that furthers the desired intent of the

propagandist.”57 It works by influencing and appealing people emotionally rather than by

reasoning. A propagandist tries to put across an idea, instead of presenting facts and

truth58. You should opt to make good use of this if you wish to rally people behind a

cause, a movement or ideology. The following excerpt is an example of how the power of

words can be used to gather support and make people listen to you; “The streets of our

country are in turmoil. The universities are filled with students rebelling and rioting.

Communists are seeking to destroy our country. Russia is threatening us with her might,

and the Republic is in danger...We need law and order! Without it our nation cannot

survive.”59 This is how Hitler rallied people towards his cause and was able to persuade

the citizens and government alike. The above is the use of the fear appeal in which the

audience is less concerned by its validity and is more willing to take action to reduce the

fear instead. In this case, Hitler was able to continuously use the ‘communist threat’ to

eventually gather enough support and persuade President Hindenburg to issue a decree to

suspend civil rights and in turn remove the any communist influence in the Reichstag60.

Use of propaganda together with fear can help you find support for your goals and

policies and it is also a method used to create unity or a feeling of collectivity amongst

the citizens. Public speech, the media and the press are the main mediums it is used in.

The use and importance of propaganda will be explained in more detail in a later chapter.

57 How to analyze propaganda (www.sagepub.com/upm-data/11849_Chapter6.pdf) 58 Scrutinizing Propaganda (http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/features/2000/hill1.html) 59 Propagandacritic.com [special appeals, fear] (http://www.propagandacritic.com/articles/ct.sa.fear.html) 60 see section on Targeting Key Individuals (paragraph referenced by footnotes 33 and 34.)

33

Part 3 - Legal Issues

Chapter 8: Constitutions

A constitution is a legal document that includes fundamental rules and rights of the

government and the society. In other words, a constitution comprises the entire body of

fundamental rules that govern socio-political entity.61 Most of the nations around the

world possess this important document in a written, codified format with various articles

laying out specific right. However, there are also examples of unwritten constitutions,

such as that of the United Kingdom. It is very important for a prospective dictator to

understand what is meant by the function of the constitution, which is to govern the

socio-political entity. This means that limitations to his power, such as that of the

separation of power (mentioned in a previous chapter), will be clearly stated in the

constitutions as well as some fundamental rights that individuals possess. This is

especially true to the constitutions of the democratic states. Therefore, you as a dictator

will be faced with a task of changing or modifying the constitution that is tuned to the

standards of a democratic state. This is very important as it will reduce any possible

friction that could arise once you try to implement laws that otherwise could be seen

unconstitutional. For example, trying to control the press, which would consequently lead

to a limitation of freedom of expression would be seen as unconstitutional thus, much

more difficult to implement and unpopular among the general public.

When trying to change or amend a constitution it should be noted that it could be a very

laborious task. With regard to changing a constitutions two types of the constitutions can

be distinguished, that of rigid and flexible. In order to change a constitution a special

procedure has to take place. These procedures vary from country to country but in

general require some sort of majority voting within the parliament of a specific country.

The more difficult it is to change and follow this procedure, the more rigid that

constitution is said to be. In some cases certain parts or articles cannot be changed at all.

Flexible constitutions are logically the opposite of the rigid ones. Again good example

61 Heringa & Kiiver, p.2, Constitutions Compared: and introduction to comparative constitutional law

34

would be the United Kingdom, where as mentioned earlier, the constitution is not in one

coherent written form thus, changing it could be done a “daily basis”. It is also worth

noting that some constitutions can be seen as a pride of a society, a historically valuable

document. In this kind of circumstances these societal values could pose a significant

thread to changing the constitution.

35

Chapter 9: Changing the constitution; procedural steps

With the practical steps of changing the constitutions, starting point or the first question

would be; “How did you get into power”? Was it through legal means, soft and peaceful

way, or was it more of a radical and violent way of a revolution or a military coup? It is

important to establish this because different methods are applicable in changing the

constitution with regard to the way you came into power. We will try and explain

different procedural steps applicable to different ways you got into power.

Slow and peaceful way

The “legal” way of becoming a dictator provides very limited choice with regard to

changing the constitutions. It will initially depend on the country and if the constitution is

rigid or flexible. With the latter it will simply be a statute that should be adopted by a

simple majority in the parliament and since nothing is mentioned about the amendment

procedures it should not pose great deal of a problem. What you have to be sure of is the

support of your parliament, since it is “them” who would need to vote on any changes.

With regard to more rigid constitutions that is where you might face considerable

difficulties, especially if some parts of the constitution cannot be changed at all. Again, it

will depend on the state but most likely it will require super-majority in parliament, two

parliamentary readings of the amendment and new elections in between readings,

ratifications of the amendment in the state’s territorial sub-units, or a referendum.62

Another solution would be not to change a constitution at all but rather to change its

function. As mentioned earlier, constitutions limit the powers of the governments and

include fundamental rights of the citizens, its initial functions. What should be done is

that these rights and functions stay the same in theory or on paper, but in practice would

be absolutely different. With referring to Giovanni Sartori, who states that: “a

constitution that guarantees no rights against the exercise of government power is a

façade for authoritarian sources of power.63 In other words, instead of changing the

constitution you should try and change its function of being a fundamental document to a

façade of what it actually should be. To achieve this you need to make sure that the

62Heringa & Kiiver, p.3, Constitutions Compared: and introduction to comparative constitutional law 63 Sartori Giovanni, p. 861, Constitutionalism: A Preliminary Discussions

36

population, even though recognizing those rights, will be too scared to enjoy it. For

example, anyone trying to invoke his or her right to freedom of speech under the

constitution should be sent to jail as an example to others that consequently should deter

any further attempts.

Radical and violent way

It could be argued that getting into power through revolution or military coup you would

have fewer difficulties in changing the constitution. Since revolution would mean a

complete transformation, an overhaul of the government you can simply discard the old

constitution or declare it invalid. You would end up in a perfect situation where you

would need to draft a new one and the content of this new constitution should reflect your

dictatorial needs as a ruler. In other words, no such non-sense as freedom of speech, fair

elections or freedom of assembly, etc. From there on, it should be much easier to sustain

your dictatorial powers.

Military coup

As mentioned earlier in the political chapter, military coups or coup d’état require

specific prerequisites. However, if we will look back at the last five six years we will see

a large number of examples where military coups took place. One recent one is the

military coup in Thailand. Military took control, dissolved parliament, abrogate the

constitutions, etc. In other words, once you succeed with the coup the most obvious

decision would be to suspend the constitution. Therefore, there is no need to change or

amend it but it would mean that rules and rights of the constitution will not be applicable

while it is suspended leaving your hands free to take whatever actions or policies you

desire. As mentioned in the previous chapter, coupe d’état is one of the most popular

Façade Constitutions

One good example of façade constitution was that of the Soviet Union. Even though, it

guaranteed such fundamental political rights such as, freedom of speech or freedom of

assembly the support of these rights was only present on paper. However, ordinary citizens

did not dare to act upon those rights as it entailed going against or opposing the government

and that was similar to a suicide. Therefore, the general population had political right only to

the extent that it did not contradict the goal of the communism and the government.

37

ways of changing power, this also applies to the subject of constitutions. Relative

freedom that a leader possesses after the coup d’état means that he can do what ever he

pleases and this also applies to the constitutional matters.

State of emergency

In most of the countries state of emergency is a governmental procedure that is regulated

either by the constitution or by the law. In most of the cases States implement state of

emergency during the times of natural disasters, war, or other situation that governments

may deem dangerous to a proper functionality of a State. On the basis of the state of

emergency, States can suspend various civil rights such as freedom of press, freedom to

assemble and even restrict the right of personal freedom. Being a dictator of country it

shouldn’t be very difficult to declare state of emergency. As already mentioned, there

should be a cause, a reason why you would declare it. If none of the above mentioned

conditions are present in your country you can make up one. As some refer to it as

“carefully crafted illusions”64, the most practical and evident solution would be to invoke

or create an internal or external enemy. Similar technique has been elaborated in the first

part of the guide in “Defining an Enemy”. It can be in fact a real threat or simply an

imaginary one, the point is that it will provide you with the grounds on which you declare

state of emergency. One recent example of such use of enemy was that of the Pakistan,

when President Musharraf declared state of emergency basing it on the fact that there

were threats coming from the Islamist military groups. It should be noted however, that

ease with which you can declare state of emergency and the powers you would get will

depend on the State and especially on its constitution. Furthermore, a few words have to

be mentioned on the duration of the state of emergency. Again, it is up to a specific State,

but hardly could a country functions under state of emergency in the long run. There is

however one exceptional case of Egypt, where people have been living under the state of

emergency since 1967 that was imposed during the Arab-Israeli War. Never the less,

since it is an exceptional case, you as a leader should take into consideration that even

though state of emergency is an effective and convenient method in suspending the

constitution, other measure should be taken well in advance that once the state of

64 Bueno de Mesquita, Bruce, Smith, Alastair, Siverson,Randolph M., and Morrow, James D, p. 21. Political Survival

38

emergency is no longer in place, your are safe to exercise same unlimited powers and that

civil liberties of your population are suppressed.

Effectiveness and the long run

Now that the separation of power no longer exists and you are in charge, or have the final

say in enactment and implementation of law, if we would analyze different methods of

getting into power described in the first chapter as well the possibilities of changing or

suspending the constitution it could be well said that some of the methods are more

effective compared to the others. For example successful revolution, even though

requiring a large amount of preparation as well as dedication of large masses to the cause,

could be seen as the most effective in getting into power as well having the possibility in

drafting absolutely new constitutions in tune with your dictatorial aspirations. Military

coups or coupe d’état would neither require any vivid ideological conditions nor large

masses as would revolutions. Coups should simply be organized in the upper echelon of

the governments, the political elite. This is one of the advantage of the coup d’état. It can

also be argued that coups are as effective as revolution in changing the governments and

the fact that it does not require to mobilize large masses means that there are less or

absolutely no human casualties, whereas revolutions have a tendency to require high

human cost. Sustainability or longevity of dictatorships that were achieved through

different methods is highly debatable as it should only be judged on the State-to-State

basis as well on the conditions present in the State in question. There is an ample number

Reichstag Fire Decree

An example that could illustrate the invocation of an enemy is the example of the communist

thread to the National security invoked by Hitler. After the fire in Reichstag in 1933, which

Adolf Hitler blamed on the communists, a state of emergency under Article 48 (that dealt with

the rebellion) was declared. A direct response was the Reichstag Fire Decree which was issues

by German President Paul von Hildenburg and that has suspended the Weimar Constitutions.

That decree was an order for protection of people and state, in other words national security.

The consequence was that it nullified a number of civil liberties of the German people, namely

that of the freedom of opinion, freedom of press, freedom to assemble, etc and most

importantly enabled Adolf Hitler and his party members to pass laws without any consent of

the Reichstag, thus avoiding the true legislative body, the Parliament. It is highly debatable if

the arson staring the fire was initiated by the communist (as Hitler claimed) or by Hitler and

his party members themselves. Perhaps it is not relevant as this example shows how an

enemy, real or fictional can lead to manipulative actions and powers being abused.

39

of examples where dictatorial States have functioned for a number of decades, be it a

revolution or a coup d’état that led to the change of power. In other words, there is no

clear cut favorite with revolutions or coup d’état and in fact, in most of the cases, it is not

up to the prospective dictator to decide which methods to use in order to come to power

but rather if the circumstances or condition within a country permit the use of one of the

methods.

40

Chapter 10: Immediate laws

Once you are in power and have managed to either change or suspend the constitution

you will be in the situation where you can enact and execute laws without any opposition.

You have full support of your only party and the majority of your population either also

fully supports you or has not yet realized the full extent of the changes. This is a perfect

time to enact and execute laws that would strengthen your position as a leader. We will

try to summarize the most immediate and important laws that require urgent

implementation. The scope of any further policies will solely depend on you and the

conditions in your country, thus it is further your responsibility to act upon the specific

situations, to start acting as a dictator!

Internal Surveillance

One of the first laws that you should pass is on the establishment of the internal

surveillance system. In practical terms it would entail the creation of a secret police, an

enforcement agency that would operate within your country with a goal known to public

as the maintenance of national security against any internal or external threats. In reality

however the main purpose of this organization will be to keep your population tame and

obedient and to suppress any form of activism that could lead to any opposition or

dissent. You should be very careful in choosing the people who would work for this

organization; especially the ones who would lead it since they will have very little

restrain in their actions and should only be accountable to you. In fact you could use

already existing (if available) domestic security agencies by making these agencies more

extreme by increasing their powers and abolishing any accountability measures that have

existed. The secret police should preferably make use of spies and informants within a

society itself to locate and denounce any one that could be against your regime.65

Therefore, it should have access to any surveillance mechanisms, be able to tap into

telephone lines and use any other necessary measures to keep track on what is going

within the State. This would allow you to anticipate any imminent threats that could

come from any possible enemies. Since you have already managed to either change or

65 Arendt Hannah, p. 419, The Origins of Totalitarianism

41

suspend the constitution there should be no real difficulty with regard to the constitution

and that the actions of the secret police can be considered unconstitutional. In case you

need any help with regard to the tactics and methods of the internal surveillance systems

and the secret police you can look at an example of the East German Staatssicherheid

which is more commonly knows as the Stasi.

Imprison the opposition

Once the secret police is up and running there is a high probability that there will be a

large number of people arrested by this organization. Whether they are guilty of any

crime or not is not the question but rather that they should be considered as an opposition

to your regime and thus imprisoned. Needless to say that the trial and judicial process of

these people should be fabricated or even be absent at all. This process of imprisonment

of people should be done very gradually. In the beginning any one arrested should be

portrayed as a mere criminal or someone who is not part of the society no matter what he

was arrested for, if necessary show trial should take place. The logic behind this is that in

the beginning normal people or the general population instead of feeling scared should

feel safer and have to relation to prisoners as such. Only than, gradually, should the

imprisonment escalate. The secret police should also focus on a number of key

Internal Surveillance or Secret Police

Most of the dictatorial States have one characteristic in common and that is the presence of the

secret police that spies on its on people and also promotes citizens to inform on one another.

One such example is the NKVD (People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs) of the Soviet

Union. Initially started as a secret police in 1917 for the support of the Bolshevik regime

headed by Felix Dzerzhinsky it was dismantled by the end of the Civil War. Under Joseph

Stalin secret police (renamed to NKVD) acquired immense powers and was his personal

instrument against any opposition from party or general population. Its function of protection

“state security” was accomplished through severe and massive political repressions. The so-

called “enemies of the people”,1 which referred to the people that supposedly were against the

regime, were imprisoned or executed, while close relatives of these people were considered

“traitors of Motherland” sent to Gulag, or the penal labor camps. The arrests reached the peak

in mid 1930s where a number of absolutely innocent people have been apprehended. The

results of these massive purges led to the paranoia that swayed in the cities where almost

anyone could have been considered an enemy of the people.

42

individuals that could range form actors, writers to scientists and academics.66 Those in

favor of your regime or not willing to revolt should be “filtered” from those that could

pose serious danger. It is important to pay specific attention to these people because in

most of the cases their opinions are regarded as influential by the society in general, be it

an actor who is popular among the masses or a respected professor at the University.

Therefore, the damage they could cause with their criticism or mere remarks should not

be underestimated. It would be wise at fist however, to simply warn “them” against any

confrontation with the regime simply because, it might deter any subsequent criticism

and also from the practical perspective, for example imprisoning a brilliant scientist

might not be beneficial for you country in the long run. Therefore, you should pass the

law to create a special prison that would be aimed at accommodating anyone who would

be seen as a political enemy to your regime. An example of this type of institution

(Gulag) is mentioned in the earlier part of this guide.

Censorship and Control of the Media

In a majority of democratic States the relationship between the media and the government

is that the former has a function of a watchdog where the governmental policies and

actions are available for a critical debate by the media. That should stop in your country.

You should have tight control over the media and public opinion. Everything that would

appear in the media newspapers, magazines, television should be under the control of the

government.67 The most effective way of dealing with this issue is by closing down all

the private media sources, in other words everything should be state owned. This way it

will be much easier to exercise control. * Again, it is possible to reflect at the examples of

various dictatorial regimes in order to draw valuable lessons. Freedom of speech and free

media would pose danger to your political dominance. It is obvious that a number of the

policies with regard to constitution or creation of secret police will not be faced with

much enthusiasm by the general public and media has the capacity to fuel the discontent

of the public. Therefore, it is vital that you control what appears in the press.

66 Brzezinski and Friedrich, p. 140, Totalitarian Dictatorship and Autocracy 67 Brzezinski and Friedrich, p. 108, Totalitarian Dictatorship and Autocracy * Further elaboration on the implications of the censorship and media control is mentioned in the third

section of the guide.

43

Furthermore, it might be a good idea to spread this control over to other domains such as

music, books, films, etc. Enforce censorship laws on any of these products before it has

the chance of reaching the public. A number of State in the past, with a dictatorial

regime, have erected special committees that would solely monitor the content of various

artistic and media productions before it even reaches the general public. It is advisable to

follow the similar example.

With the advances of technology in communication and information technology extra

measures have to be taken with regard to the wide spread of internet accessibility. It

would be desirable to have all the internet providing companies run by the State, since it

is impossible for the government to own internet as such, and forbidding it absolutely

could have very negative economic consequences in the long run. As Friedman writes in

his book that: “what makes internet so dangerous for police States is that they can’t

afford not to have it, because they will fall behind economically if they do. But if they

have it, it means they simply can’t control information the way they did.”68 It is in fact

true that controlling internet is not as easy as with other sources of information, however

if taken seriously and with proper financing it is possible to control it. For example, with

control over internet providing companies you should be able to spread and implement

censorship all the way through the World Wide Web. Ideally, it should be a system that

would monitor web pages that the populations is visiting on the daily basis as well as

permanently block access to the sites that could have any sensitive political content.

68 Friedman, T. p. 47, The Lexus and the Olive Tree

Internet Censorship in China

People’s Republic of China has an impressive system of wide number of laws and regulations

that censor the World Wide Web. The most important aspect of this control of internet is that

most of the internet providers are in fact State controlled, thus all control is in hands of the

governments. It is said to be that there exists the so-called “Internet Police Task Force” in

China which consist of almost 30000 employees whose sole purpose is to monitor and censor

internet activities, such as forums, blogs, foreign media web sites, etc. Very recently Ministry

of Public Security has launched the so-called “Golden Shield Project” which is a much more

advanced system with a sole purpose of surveillance, monitoring and censoring internet

activities.

44

Part 4 - Social Issues

Chapter 11: Significance of the Society

A society is merely a larger social group, and is a group of individuals characterized by

common interests. They may be distinguished on the basis of their culture, institutions, or

economic or social infrastructures they are part of. On a state level the society can be

characterized as the population or the larger part of the population that shares a distinct

interest or ideology. As an individual a person has social needs such as identification and

acceptance among others, spiritual needs, and more importantly a sense of meaning and

purpose and a need for emotional security. These capacities manifest themselves on a

higher level and give rise to a social bond in form of a group or even larger collective; the

society69. The society makes up the population. Within a state as an individual you may

characterize with a certain society, but that falls into the larger population. Thus, while

there is a difference, in regards to being subjected to the rule of the state it may be the one

and same thing. The society plays an important role in the state as its “loyalties and

hostilities provide the soil in which political conflicts and aggression thrives”.70 The

various methods of rule mentioned in the earlier chapters rely on the loyalty and hostility

of societies. Their use allows for the formation of mobs or masses as a form of loyalty,

and hostilities, provided by prejudices, provide outlets of aggression towards a common

enemy, either perceived or real. To further strengthen the masses, an ideology is

employed that unites the whole population under one doctrine.71 The hostilities, on the

other hand, are further supplemented by propaganda72. The society thus plays an

important role in both, a totalitarian as well as a non-totalitarian dictatorship. But the

mass plays a crucial role in totalitarian states, providing the basis for this type of

dictatorship.

The society, when classified as the mass, has a profound impact on a totalitarian state.

Seen as a movement with a loss of common sense and selflessness, “it is devoted to the

69 Gilbert, G. M., p. 304, The Psychology of Dictatorships 70 Gilbert, G. M., p. 287, The Psychology of Dictatorships 71 Lee, Stephen J., p. 179, European Dictatorships 72 Gilbert, G. M., p. 288, The Psychology of Dictatorship.

45

point of self-sacrifice”73, has no rational goals, and lacks any utilitarian purpose. The

mass has such a great role in totalitarian regimes that even when the conditions may exist,

a totalitarian regime may not be a possibility in a country with a relatively small

population.74 One way a masses are different, as existing in a totalitarian state, from the

society is that it is not held together by a consciousness of common interest, but rather are

a large number of neutral, politically indifferent people who never join a party.75 This

makes it a relatively easy group to lead and persuade once it has been successfully

motivated to rally for your cause. Such masses existed in Soviet Russia, under the rule of

Stalin and Nazi Germany, as it followed Hitler into the Second World War.

73 Richter, M., Baehr P., p. 254, Dictatorship in History and Theory. 74 Arendt, H., p. 309, The Origins of Totalitarianism. 75 Arendt, H., p. 311, The Origins of Totalitarianism.

46

Chapter: 12 Ideology

Ideas can be very dangerous, weapons in the hands of a right person. This section is about

ideology and its relevance. It should be noted, however that the relevance of ideologies

with regard to dictatorships is inevitably attached to the most extreme form dictatorship

which is totalitarianism. There are a number of definitions when it comes to identifying

what ideology is. Some scholars would define it as general system of beliefs held in

common by the members of a collectivity76 as would Talcott Parsons describe it; with a

function of serving as a “political myth” others see it as an essential action-related system

of ideas. Zbigniew Brzezinski defines it as “a reasonably coherent body of ideas

concerning practical means of how to change and reform a society, based upon a more or

less elaborate criticism of what is wrong with the existing, or antecedent society.”77

Ideologies are not exclusively attached to dictatorial regimes and totalitarian powers.

Most of the modern States have some sort of political ideology that they follow, thus this

definition is limited in scope as it refers mainly to a political ideology. Totalitarian

ideology on the other hand is the one “which is concerned with total reconstruction,

involving typically an ideological acceptance of violence as the only practical means for

such total destruction.”78 Totalitarian ideologies are therefore radically different from

ordinary political ideologies not in the fact that it tries to implement specific or complete

reconstruction of a society, but on the methods of violence and force that it is ready to

use. No totalitarian State has ever existed without an underlying ideology behind it. It

was communism in Soviet Union based on Marxist, Leninist thought, where as fascism

dominated in Hitler’s Germany and Mussolini’s Italy. It can be argued that ideologies and

especially political ideologies are of relatively recent significance. Ideologies are directly

connected to the parties and different movements and furthermore, and the importance of

ideologies has been amplified by the ever increasing age of mass communication. If you

came into power through a successful revolution and are willing to impose a totalitarian

regime then creation and presence of an ideology is vital. Perhaps, during the

76 Parsons, Talcott, p. 59, The Evolution of Societies 77 Brzezinski and Friedrich, p. 74, Totalitarian Dictatorship and Autocracy 78 Brzezinski and Friedrich, p. 75, Totalitarian Dictatorship and Autocracy

47

revolutionary process you and your followers have already managed to coin some sort of

ideology or a direction that the population should follow. Your ideology doesn’t have to

be perfect; it can be a utopian belief and its rational implications can simply be of

relevance to the means of achieving a desired result. In fact several totalitarian ideologies

are basically trite restatement of certain traditional ideas, arranged in an incoherent way

that makes them highly exciting to weak minds.79 When establishing an ideology, you

should keep in mind the target you are aiming for as well to whom it will appeal and the

scope of it. For examples, Soviet ideology had somewhat universal appeal as it

encourages workers of the world to unite. This universalism works in advantage of this

ideology as it has the ability to extent its reach to other nations around the world. Fascists

had slightly different approach as it addressed specific group of the society to realize their

power, ancestry and historical role. Try and look for inspiration (if needed) at the

ideological examples of other totalitarian regimes.

79 Brzezinski and Friedrich, p. 81, Totalitarian Dictatorship and Autocracy

Symbols

Majority of totalitarian movements and ideologies are usually supported by a specific symbol

that embodies one of the elements of the dominant ideology. For example the hammer and

sickle of the Communist Russia represented ordinary workers and peasants where as swastika

of the Fascist Germany symbolized some its ancient tribal or Arian relationship or at least that

is what Nazis wished to be linked to. No matter what the symbol is, its purpose is to give

concrete form and focus to an object. In others words, even a person with no clear conception

of the movement, such as poor or uneducated peasant, can relate to a specific ideology and the

general movement simply by knowing the symbols and what it stands for.

48

Chapter 13: Education

With successful media control and propaganda measures you should focus on education

of your people, especially from very young age. Employing educational system in order

to install that love for the country and generate the degree of loyalty is present in many

political societies and is not an exclusive area of dictatorships. After all, an effective

cooperation is required from all the members of the society in order to sustain a particular

political regime. However, the issue of using educational system in dictatorships is taken

into a higher level where manipulation of school and university curriculum is taken on to

such a scale that it simply becomes an instrument in the hands of the regime. It is very

important to focus on this issue as the underlying idea is to transform educational process

into a school for the particular type of ideology that would help maintain it with the

young generation. Education should be used as a method of channeling the brains and

manpower for the benefit of sustaining your regime and requirements of the State.

Starting from the elementary school all the way to the university level education, the

curriculum should be in line and responsive to the propaganda and the reigning ideology.

Depending on the situation it might be necessary to make considerable changes in the text

books and learning materials of the pupils overall, target the changes within the Ministry

of Education. The results of your changes will not yield immediate results as it is only

with time that changes will be noticeable. Specifically with regards to the profession of

teachers, it could be said that it will experience profound transformation.80 Teachers in a

democratic State cannot be even compared to their colleagues in dictatorships as

dictatorships alter the meaning of many key terms and thus, these alterations have to be

accepted by these teachers. Apart from accepting these modifications, the absolute,

invisible goal of the teachers becomes the indoctrination in the long run which suppresses

student intellectually to a specific doctrine for the rest of their lives. You should be

willing to accept that the changes you will implement within the educational system

might have effect on the way science in general will be perceived in your country. It is

widely believed that in totalitarian regimes science is influenced in three ways:

80 Brzezinski and Friedrich, p. 116, Totalitarian Dictatorship and Autocracy

49

The ruling ideology is considered superior to worldviews prevailing in the

scientific community at a time

Members of suppressed races, groups, nations are excluded from the research or

the membership of the scientific community.

Domestic science develops apart from the world scientific community81

Therefore, it can be concluded that it is in fact necessary to modify education in order for

it to fit the overall ideology and dictatorial rule. However, the extent to which those

changes take place can permanently affect the way science develops in your country and

how it is perceived by the society.

81 Juray Sebesta & Rudolf Zajac, p. 225-226, Science and Education in Totalitarian Regimes 82 Juray Sebesta & Rudolf Zajac, p. 225-226, Science and Education in Totalitarian Regimes

50

Chapter 14: Propaganda

Propaganda is the most modern of weapons. Addressing people’s emotions rather then

their reasons or understanding, it strives for long term effect, although it can be just as

affective in the short term. It is a tool to mold the nature and thinking of an individual or

a whole group, influence social behavior and can raise the moral of a nation.83 It is

essential for you to win over the population. A good politician can achieve very little if

he or she faces a pessimistic crowd, which is not moved by his words and actions.

Therefore propaganda is essential at times. But more importantly it is essential and

meaningful if it can elevate and show positive results and create optimism in its

audience84. Propaganda cannot be neglected as a tool, as it is used often in politics. Just

as you cannot escape to have at least some connection to politics on your path to

becoming a dictator, even if you are a man of the military, propaganda cannot be separate

from politics. “Without politics there is no propaganda and without propaganda there is

no politics.”85 Neutrality has no place in politics in relation to propaganda.

It is March 15, 1933. Joseph Goebbels, the official machinery behind the propaganda in

Hitler’s Germany is at a press conference86; “It is not enough for people to be more or

less reconciled to our regime, to be persuaded to adopt a neutral attitude towards us;

rather we want to work on people until they have capitulated to us until they grasp

ideologically that what is happening in Germany today not only must be accepted but

83 Wechsungen, S., Political Propaganda (http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/polprop.htm) 84 Wechsungen, S., Political Propaganda (http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/polprop.htm) 85 Wechsungen, S., Political Propaganda (http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/polprop.htm) 86 Kershaw, I., p108, The Nazi Dictatorship,.

It is March 15, 1933. Joseph Goebbels, the official machinery behind the propaganda in

Hitler’s Germany is at a press conference1; “It is not enough for people to be more or less

reconciled to our regime, to be persuaded to adopt a neutral attitude towards us; rather we

want to work on people until they have capitulated to us until they grasp ideologically that

what is happening in Germany today not only must be accepted but also can be accepted”.

Having made it clear that the Nazi regime wanted indoctrinate its population, Goebbels further

mentioned the importance of propaganda ranking it in first place among the arts with which

one rules a people and highlights that there “exists no sector of public life which can escape

its influence.”1 As Minister of People’s Enlightenment and Propaganda, Goebbels made use of

propaganda in the press, radio, theatre, film and music as well as in public speech.

51

also can be accepted”. Having made it clear that the Nazi regime wanted indoctrinate its

population, Goebbels further mentioned the importance of propaganda ranking it in first

place among the arts with which one rules a people and highlights that there “exists no

sector of public life which can escape its influence.”87 As Minister of People’s

Enlightenment and Propaganda, Goebbels made use of propaganda in the press, radio,

theatre, film and music as well as in public speech.

Propaganda has different techniques that can be employed in various situations and each

has its own effect. Techniques such as; ‘name-calling’; ‘glittering generalities’; and

‘euphemisms’ rely on the play of words. Name-calling relies on continuous use of

negative symbols or words and linking them to a person, idea or a group. Use this

technique to associate an idea or an enemy with negative connotations. Glittering

generalities are generally the opposite of name-calling. It seeks to make us approve and

accept terms, ideas, or meanings without examining nor requiring the need for evidence.

Previous dictatorships have all used this method to glorify their own regimes with

positive ideas that did not necessarily have substantial proof of them being true. The third

technique, euphemism tries to replace ideas, words, or concepts with bland and

euphemistic words. This can be used to make certain organizations, or agencies seem less

threatening or hide their true function or purpose. 88 Besides the word games, there are

two more categories. The second one is false connections.

False connections have two main techniques, namely, transfer, and testimonial. Transfer

is the use of connecting or transferring the reputation of one thing over to another which

may be viewed in a more positive light. In a religious crowd you may opt to try to make a

connection to religion or religious virtues to your speech and the various points you make

in it. This would win over more support, as even if the people do not fully connect,

understand or agree with your arguments, they will relate and believe it more due to the

religious connection they feel. False connections is, as the name suggests, connecting an

argument, fact or finding with someone who may not be qualified nor have any expertise

87 Lee, Stephen, J., p. 179, European Dictatorships. 88 Delwiche, A., Propaganda PAGES

52

with the argument at hand. Never-the-less, the audience may connect with the person or it

may be a person they idolize and automatically believe that the argument at hand must be

true because it is supported or comes from that specific person. You should use such

techniques if you have access to persons that the public has positive opinions about.89

The third category is known as special appeals. The main and crucial technique here is

fear. This technique on itself can and is used together with other techniques, which are

mentioned above. The creation of fear uses four elements; a threat; a recommended

manner of how the audience should behave; the perception that if the recommended

action is taken that the threat will be addressed; and creating the belief that the audience

is capable of performing the recommended behavior. If you are successful in performing

each of the four steps you will successfully create the fear appeal you wish for. This

technique is by far the most used technique you will have to rely on in terms of use of

propaganda. It will help you implement and make use of the various techniques and

methods of rule laid out in the parts in the earlier parts of the guide.

89 Delwiche, A., Propaganda

53

Reflection

Having read the guide its purpose is to guide a reader through a process of transforming a

State from one political regime into another, namely from a democracy into a

dictatorships. Even though this might seem striking to anyone that someone would try to

transform a democratic State into a dictatorship, especially with the contemporary regard

to dictatorships as being evil and something negative, what we in fact tried is to present a

reader with as thorough as possible overview of trends and events that take place within a

State that is in the period of transition. There seems to be a coherent pattern that dictators

or leaders with dictatorial tendencies implement in order to enforce their rule or justify

their action. This guide tried to reflect upon those methods in order to give logical

explanation as to how and why certain actions are taken. In order to make this guide more

accessible to an everyday reader we tried to simplify the terms and the language and tried

to make it more interactive with inclusion of various historical examples that would

provide practical approach and support our arguments. It is clear that building a

democracy can be a tedious and hard road with many obstacles, whereas its destruction

can be achieved within weeks through revolutions or military coups. As history shows,

hunger of man for power and his greed will stop at nothing when trying to achieve that

power. Thus, ending this guide we would like to warn any future political leaders of the

path they embark on in their political career as its effects can be irreversible and would

consequently leave a permanent mark on the society in general.

54

Glossary90

Absolute majority: a number of votes totaling over 50 per cent, such as the total number of

votes that beats the combined opposition.

Cabinet: is a body of high-ranking members of government, typically representing the executive

branch

Civil servant: civilian employee working for a government department.

Communism: the political and economic doctrine that aims to replace private property and a

profit-based economy with public ownership and communal control of at least the major means

of production and the natural resources of the society.

Constitution: the body of doctrines and practices that form the fundamental organizing principle

of a political state

Dictator: A ruler, leader of a state, who has absolute authority and jurisdiction over the

government of the state.

Dictatorship: is the general term used to describe a political regime in which democracy, liberal

individual rights and genuine parliamentary rule are absent.

Doctrine: a code of beliefs or instructions.

Fascism: political ideology and mass movement that dominated many parts of central, southern,

and eastern Europe between 1919 and 1945

Government: the political system by which a country or a community is administered and

regulated.

Head of Government: is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often

presiding over a cabinet.

Head of State: this is the generic terms for the individual or collective office that serves as the

chief public representative of a monarchic or republican nation-state, federation, commonwealth

or any other political state.

Ideology: the collective ideas reflecting the social needs and aspirations of an individual, group,

culture or whole society

Law: discipline and a profession concerned with the customs, practices, and rules of conduct that

are recognized as binding by the community.

90 All the definitions in the glossary have been taken from Britannica online encyclopedia

(www.britannica.com/)

55

Nazism: Ideologies and policies of Adolf Hitler and his political party; the National

Socialist German Worker’s Party.

Policy: a deliberate plan of action to guide decisions and achieve rationale outcome.

Propaganda: manipulation of information to influence public opinion.

Revolution: a sudden, radical, or complete change, in this sense a fundamental change in

political organization, namely the overthrow or renunciation of one government or ruler and the

substitution of another by the governed.

Simple Majority: a group that is more than half of the entire group, the minimum is thus, 51 per

cent of the total group

State: a political association with effective association with effective sovereignty over a

geographical area.

State of Emergency: a governmental declaration that may suspend certain normal functions of

government.

Super Majority: a two-thirds majority, this means that a number of votes for must exceed or be

equal twice the number of votes against it.

56

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