What is a dictatorship? Learn the definition of a dictatorship and its main characteristics. See examples of ancient and modern dictatorships.
Updated: 11/21/2023
Dictatorship | Definition, Examples & Characteristics
Table of Contents
- What Is a Dictatorship?
- History of Dictatorships
- Types of Dictatorships
- Dictatorship Examples and Characteristics
- Lesson Summary
- FAQs
- Activities
Prompts About Dictatorship:
Essay Prompt 1:
In an essay of about two to three paragraphs, define dictatorship and explain how a dictator can rise to power.
Example: A dictatorship exists when a leader has absolute power that is unchecked by any other branches of government.
Essay Prompt 2:
Write an essay of approximately one to two pages that describes the characteristics of life under a dictatorship. Be sure to explain the role of the cult of personality and human rights abuses.
Example: The cult of personality often elevates a dictator to divine status.
Graphic Organizer Prompt:
Make a poster, chart, or some other type of graphic organizer that shows the methods dictators use to control their people. Since many of these methods are graphic, it might be best to either use more text in the graphic organizer, or make any drawings look less realistic and more cartoonish.
Example: Dictators frequently use psychological manipulation.
List Prompt:
Think back to what you have previously learned about history. Make a list of at least four leaders from world history that could be considered dictators. Try not to focus so much on whether you are right or wrong, but rather, ask yourself if the leaders that you put on the list fit the characteristics ascribed to dictators.
Example: Joseph Stalin.
What are the 3 characteristics of dictatorship?
Dictators tend to resort to force or fraud to gain political power. Dictators use intimidation, terror, and the suppression of basic civil liberties. Dictators employ techniques of mass propaganda in order to sustain public support.
Who is a dictatorship leader?
A dictatorship leader is a political leader who possesses absolute power. Most dictatorship countries do not refer to their leader as a dictator, but rather as kings, presidents, prime ministers, etc.
Which definition best defines the term dictator?
A dictator is an individual who forms a government where they make decisions without effective constitutional limitations. The dictator has absolute power. They are not held accountable for their actions and are free to do as they please, even limiting citizens' freedom and rights.
Table of Contents
- What Is a Dictatorship?
- History of Dictatorships
- Types of Dictatorships
- Dictatorship Examples and Characteristics
- Lesson Summary
A dictatorship is a form of government where one person, or a small group of individuals, can make decisions without effective constitutional limitations. In a dictatorship, the dictator has absolute power. They are not held accountable for their actions and are free to do as they please, even limiting citizens' freedom and rights, including:
- Free speech
- Freedom of religion
Dictatorships are not an old form of government long extinct. Many countries today are still under a dictatorship, including:
- Cambodia
- China
- North Korea
- Russia
- And many more!
Interestingly, most modern dictatorships do not use the term "dictator" to identify their leader but rather use various titles. These titles include:
- President
- King
- Prime Minister
- Etc.
Many dictatorships are even found in developed nations, which means they usually have private economies that are not controlled by the state.
To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member.
Create your account
You must cCreate an account to continue watching
Register to view this lesson
Are you a student or a teacher?
Create Your Account To Continue Watching
As a member, you'll also get unlimited access to over 88,000 lessons in math, English, science, history, and more. Plus, get practice tests, quizzes, and personalized coaching to help you succeed.
Get unlimited access to over 88,000 lessons.
Try it now
It only takes a few minutes to setup and you can cancel any time.
Already registered? Log in here for access
BackResources created by teachers for teachers
Over 30,000 video lessons
& teaching resources‐all
in one place.
I would definitely recommend Study.com to my colleagues. It’s like a teacher waved a magic wand and did the work for me. I feel like it’s a lifeline.
Jennifer B.
Teacher
Back
Your next lesson will play in
10 seconds
Dictator Meaning
The meaning of dictator is to grant a person absolute or unlimited government power during an emergency. But in a modern-day dictatorship government, one person (or a small group of individuals) has complete control over the government regardless of whether there is a state of emergency or not.
The term "dictatorship" comes from the Latin word "dictator." In the Roman Republic, the title "dictator" was temporarily given to an individual to deal with state crises and emergencies.
However, modern dictators do not resemble ancient dictators as their absolute power is not in response to a crisis or emergency and is also not temporary.
During the 19th and 20th centuries, many monarchies (a form of dictatorship) started to decline and disappear. As a result, dictatorship became one of the two dominant forms of government utilized by countries. The other was a constitutional democracy.
Latin America
In recent centuries, the dictatorships that replaced monarchies also evolved. For example, in 19th century Latin America, various dictators came into power after central authority collapsed in the nations recently freed from Spanish colonial rule. These self-proclaimed dictators used private armies to establish control over territories.
However, over the years, these governments evolved into national leaders and were put in their position of power by nationalistic military officers. They tended to ally with a particular social class and attempted either to maintain the interests of wealthy and privileged elites or institute far-reaching left-wing social reforms.
Africa and Asia
After World War II, many countries in Africa and Asia opted for a dictatorship instead of the constitutional arrangements put into place by Western colonial powers. This form of government was unworkable in the absence of a strong middle class. Some countries elected presidents and prime ministers by establishing a one-party rule to suppress the opposition, while in others, the military seized power and established military dictatorships.
Europe
In the first half of the 20th century, communist and fascist dictatorships arose in countries experiencing rapid growth in various technological advancements.
Both Nazi Germany and the Communist Soviet Union were considered totalitarian dictatorships. A totalitarian dictatorship is a form of government or political system that:
- Forbids opposition parties
- Limits individual opposition to the state and its claims
- Exercises a high degree of control over civil life (both public and private)
In both of these instances, the leaders of Germany (Adolf Hitler) and the Soviet Union (Joseph Stalin) were the chosen leaders of a single party. They were viewed as charismatic men, which gave them the ability to create a national ideology to legitimize and maintain their power. In addition, they both used terror and propaganda to suppress opposition and advanced science and technology to control the economy and civilians.
Around the time of World War II, Italy was also under a dictatorship. Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was a politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. The Fascist Party was rooted in Italian nationalism, national syndicalism, revolutionary nationalism, and the desire to restore and expand Italian territories, which Italian Fascists deemed necessary to emphasize its superiority and strength.
 |
To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member.
Create your account
There are five types of dictatorships:
- Military dictatorship: The military exerts complete or considerable control over political authority. The dictator is often a high-ranking military officer.
- Monarchies: A political system based upon undivided sovereignty. The term "monarchy" applies to nations where supreme authority is given to a leader who inherits their position.
- Personalist dictatorship: Regimes where all power lies in the hands of one person. They differ from other types of dictatorships because they depend more on the discretion of the personalist dictator. Personalist dictators may be members of the military or leaders of a political party.
- Single-party dictatorship: Regimes where a single party has access to political posts and control over policy.
- Hybrid dictatorship: Regimes that blend the qualities of personalist, single-party, and military dictatorships.
There are multiple ways that dictators in these forms of dictatorship retain power. The most significant method is manipulating elections to ensure they are the winner.
To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member.
Create your account
Dictatorship Characteristics
There are three main characteristics of a dictatorship.
- Dictators tend to resort to force or fraud to gain political power.
- Dictators use intimidation, terror, and the suppression of fundamental civil liberties.
- Dictators employ techniques of mass propaganda to sustain public support.
Dictatorship Examples: 21st Century
 |
Kim Jong-un is currently the Supreme Leader of North Korea. He began his rule in 2011 and has been the leader of the Workers' Party of Korea since 2012.
 |
Nicolas Maduro Moros is a Venezuelan politician and has been the president of Venezuela since 2013. However, his presidency came under dispute in 2019.
 |
Pervez Musharraf is a retired four-star general who transferred his career to Pakistani politics to become the 10th president of Pakistan. This was achieved after the military took over the federal government in 1999. He held the title of President until 2008, when he was forced to resign to avoid being impeached.
 |
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin is a former intelligence agent and Russian politician currently serving as the president of Russia. He was also the prime minister from 1999 to 2000 and 2008 to 2012.
 |
Xi Jinping has been the president of the People's Republic of China since 2013. He has also served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and chairman of the Central Military Commission.
Many of these dictators use psychological manipulation, imprisonment, torture, and murder to control their citizens. They prosper in propagating myths about their power and prestige.
To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member.
Create your account
A dictatorship is a form of government where one person, or a small group of individuals, can make decisions without effective constitutional limitations. There are no checks and balances of power that these leaders need to conform to. The root word dictator comes from the Roman Republic when a "dictator" would be appointed temporarily during an emergency or state crisis. Today, dictators do not rise in response to an emergency and the position is not temporary. Most modern-day dictators rise to power for personal reasons, which are not usually benevolent or for the good of the country's citizens. Most do not use the title "dictator" but rather use terms such as:
- President
- King
- Prime Minister
- Etc.
Dictatorships have certainly evolved over the centuries. Most today are one of five types:
- Military dictatorship
- Monarchy
- Personalist dictatorship
- Single-party dictatorship
- Hybrid dictatorship
Approximately 10% of countries today are considered dictatorships.
To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member.
Create your account
Video Transcript
What is a Dictator?
A dictatorship is a form of government characterized by the absolute rule of one person or a very small group of people who hold all political power. While a dictatorship is a form of government in some nations, just as monarchy or representative democracy is the form of government in others, dictatorships are seen by non-dictatorships as dangerous and cruel because of the way they tend to treat their citizens.
Dictators and Control
You won't find a dictator who calls himself a dictator. Instead, dictators have ordinary titles such as president, emperor, great leader and similar monikers. That's because 'dictator' is a pejorative term assigned to certain rulers by other nations, particularly the developed nations of the West - that is, countries with thriving economies - such as the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and many others.
To be considered a dictatorship means that a country is known to be run by one person without any checks and balances on his power. Dictators make unilateral decisions that affect their countries without having to consult any other branch of government. That's because there's no other branch of government that is not controlled by the dictator. Human nature being what it is, dictators don't rise to power for the good of their nations (though they usually claim otherwise). They seize power to benefit themselves, their families and their close political allies.
Dictators usually come to power through some kind of violent struggle, rather than the peaceful passage of power that we take for granted in the United States. In modern times, it's not unusual to hear news stories about dictators being elected by their citizens, when in fact the elections are manipulated through intimidation of voters to ensure the dictator's victory. A cult of personality often surrounds a dictator, driven by myths - typically perpetuated by the government-controlled media - about the ruler that are designed to build him up in the minds of the citizens as an all-knowing divine being who is the only one capable of bringing prosperity to the nation. In cases such as the late Kim Jong-il in North Korea, the ruler is even worshiped as a god.
 |
Life in a Dictatorship
Unfortunately, dictatorships seldom usher in a nation's prosperity. In the most brutal dictatorships, the citizens live in extreme poverty because the government withholds food and supplies in order to keep the people under control. One of the more dramatic examples of this kind of human rights abuse occurred in Myanmar in 2008. When a cyclone swept over the country, killing hundreds of thousands and leaving millions without food or shelter, the country's military dictatorship blocked humanitarian aid from reaching the people until it could hold a sham election.
The rigging of elections is just one example of how citizens in a dictatorship have little to no personal freedom. Unlike in the United States and other similar nations, the people living in a dictatorship have no rights of free speech, freedom of religion, a free press or even the right to hold an opinion in opposition to the ruler and ruling party.
The most notorious dictatorships are characterized by a culture of violence, terror and death. Dictators use psychological manipulation, imprisonment, torture and murder to intimidate the citizens into complete obedience. Under presidents Fidel Castro and Raul Castro, Cuba has been known for its routine use of false imprisonment, forced separation of families and public beatings to suppress political opposition.
 |
African nations such as Uganda and Zimbabwe; Asian nations such North Korea; Middle Eastern countries including Syria and Iran; South American countries like Venezuela; and a host of other nations throughout the world are recognized dictatorships with varying levels of corruption and brutality. Of the 197 countries in the world today, approximately 20 are classified as dictatorships, depending upon the source consulted.
 |
Lesson Summary
A dictatorship is a form of government characterized by the rule of one person or a small group of people who have no checks and balances on their power. While portrayed to their people as benevolent, loving rulers, dictators typically come to power simply to benefit themselves. The people living in dictatorships are often subjected to human rights abuses and severe limits to their personal freedom. Many dictatorships thrive on a cult of personality that results in the ruler being seen and even worshiped as a god. Opposing a dictator or disobeying the laws in a dictatorship can be punished with extreme violence and even death. Approximately ten percent of the countries in the world today are considered dictatorships.
The Qualities of a Dictatorship
 |
- Ruler often rises to power out of conflict
- Dictators control all branches of government and the media
- Intimidation, murder, imprisonment, violence and other human rights abuses are used to control the population
- A cult of personality makes the ruler appear divine
Learning Outcomes
As you start to memorize this lesson's details, you'll grow in your ability to:
- Define the term 'dictatorship'
- Consider the factors that make a country a dictatorship
- Describe the quality of life under a dictator's rule
To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member.
Create your account
Register to view this lesson
Are you a student or a teacher?
Unlock Your Education
See for yourself why 30 million people use Study.com
Become a Study.com member and start learning now.
Become a MemberAlready a member? Log In
BackResources created by teachers for teachers
Over 30,000 video lessons
& teaching resources‐all
in one place.
I would definitely recommend Study.com to my colleagues. It’s like a teacher waved a magic wand and did the work for me. I feel like it’s a lifeline.
Jennifer B.
Teacher
Back
Dictatorship | Definition, Examples & Characteristics
Related Study Materials
Explore our library of over 88,000 lessons
Browse by subject