Approfondimento: Dictatorship
A dictatorship is a form of government in which authority is centered in a single person whose power is not circumscribed by law nor by the acts of other official bodies. In ancient Rome the dictator was a special magistrate appointed to rule in times of emergency. Many modern dictators have also come to power in times of emergency, sometimes by coup d'etat and sometimes by legal means. They either seize or are granted extraconstitutional powers, claiming as justification the need for strong executive leadership in unstable times.
The dictator's power usually stems from control over key institutional bases of power, such as a political party, the police, or the army. Frequently, they strengthen themselves by creating and perpetuating myths around their personalities and their missions. In the case of a dictator like Adolf HITLER, Joseph STALIN, MAO TSE-TUNG, KIM IL SUNG, or Saddam HUSSEIN, the adulation may imply that the leader is omniscient and infallible.
By its nature, dictatorship is an unstable form of government. No provision can be made for a successor to the dictator, and the consequence may be a series of dictators who seize power by coups, a prolonged struggle between rivals, or a bloody civil war. Undue reliance on the police and the military is also likely to take its toll in the financial and social costs of maintaining large internal security forces.
Bibliography: Arendt, Hannah, The Origins of Totalitarianism (1973, repr. 1983); Hallgarten, George W., Devils or Saviours: A History of Dictatorship Since 600 B.C. (1960).
(da: Grolier Electronic Publishing)
The dictator's power usually stems from control over key institutional bases of power, such as a political party, the police, or the army. Frequently, they strengthen themselves by creating and perpetuating myths around their personalities and their missions. In the case of a dictator like Adolf HITLER, Joseph STALIN, MAO TSE-TUNG, KIM IL SUNG, or Saddam HUSSEIN, the adulation may imply that the leader is omniscient and infallible.
By its nature, dictatorship is an unstable form of government. No provision can be made for a successor to the dictator, and the consequence may be a series of dictators who seize power by coups, a prolonged struggle between rivals, or a bloody civil war. Undue reliance on the police and the military is also likely to take its toll in the financial and social costs of maintaining large internal security forces.
Bibliography: Arendt, Hannah, The Origins of Totalitarianism (1973, repr. 1983); Hallgarten, George W., Devils or Saviours: A History of Dictatorship Since 600 B.C. (1960).
(da: Grolier Electronic Publishing)
Etichette: corso
posted by RTD at 16:59
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