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| biggest dictators in history: Strongman Kenneth C. Davis, 2020-10-06 From the bestselling author of the Don’t Know Much About® books comes a dramatic account of the origins of democracy, the history of authoritarianism, and the reigns of five of history's deadliest dictators. A Washington Post Best Book of the Year!A Bank Street College of Education Best Book of the Year! A YALSA 2021 Nonfiction Award Nominee! What makes a country fall to a dictator? How do authoritarian leaders—strongmen—capable of killing millions acquire their power? How are they able to defeat the ideal of democracy? And what can we do to make sure it doesn’t happen again? By profiling five of the most notoriously ruthless dictators in history—Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, and Saddam Hussein—Kenneth C. Davis seeks to answer these questions, examining the forces in these strongmen’s personal lives and historical periods that shaped the leaders they’d become. Meticulously researched and complete with photographs, Strongman provides insight into the lives of five leaders who callously transformed the world and serves as an invaluable resource in an era when democracy itself seems in peril. * A fascinating, highly readable portrayal of infamous men that provides urgent lessons for democracy now. —Publishers Weekly, starred review Strongman is a book that is both deeply researched and deeply felt, both an alarming warning and a galvanizing call to action, both daunting and necessary to read and discuss. —Cynthia Levinson, author of Fault Lines in the Constitution |
| biggest dictators in history: The Top 10 Worst Dictators in History Larry Slawson, 2022-03-17 This eBook examines and ranks the 10 worst dictators in human history. It provides a brief overview of each leader, followed by a discussion of their various crimes and repressive policies. |
| biggest dictators in history: Tyrants David Wallechinsky, 2009-10-13 Today more than ever, international headlines are dominated by dispatches from the many dictatorships that still dot the globe. Although Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein has been deposed, North Korea's Kim Jong-il continues to attract attention on the world stage; at the same time, other dictatorships, led by royal families, military juntas, and single political parties, persist in repressing and brutalizing their citizens without ever attracting anything like Saddam's or Kim Jong-il's level of international attention. In this fascinating, eye-opening read, New York Times bestselling author David Wallechinsky offers in-depth portraits of each of the twenty worst dictators -- and the governments they head -- currently in power: exposing their crimes, and revealing their strange personalities and mysterious backgrounds. Tyrants also reveals the extent that foreign corporations and governments support these tyrants despite their policies. Timely and provocative, crafted with the popular touch that has made Wallechinsky a bestselling author, Tyrants will awaken you to the criminal regimes of the present -- and pose challenging questions about America's role in curbing (or promoting) their power in the future. The Tyrant Hall of Shame includes: Kim Jong-il/North Korea Hu Jintao/China Seyed Ali Khamenei/Iran King Abdullah/Saudi Arabia Muammar al-Qaddafi/Libya Omar al-Bashir/Sudan Islam Karimov/Uzbekistan Saparmurat Niyazov/Turkmenistan Fidel Castro/Cuba |
| biggest dictators in history: Latin American Dictators of the 20th Century Javier A. Galván, 2013-01-04 Throughout the 20th century, the emergence of authoritarian dictatorships in Latin America coincided with periods of social convulsion and economic uncertainty. This book covers 15 dictators representing every decade of the century and geographically from the Caribbean and North and Central and South America. Each chapter covers their personal information (childhood, education, marriage, family...), assumption of power, relationship with the United States, oppression of civilians, and collapse of their regimes. The book also investigates inherent contradictions in U.S. foreign policy: promoting democracy abroad while supporting brutal dictatorships in Latin America. Such analysis requires multiple perspectives and this work embraces an evaluation of the influence of military dictatorships on cultural elements such as art, literature, journalism, music and cinema, while drawing on data from documentary archives, court case files, investigative reports, international treaties, witness testimonies, and personal letters from survivors. The dramatic experiences of courageous individuals who challenged these 15 oppressors are also recounted. |
| biggest dictators in history: The Secret History of the Great Dictators Diane Law, 2006 |
| biggest dictators in history: Tyrants Nigel Cawthorne, 2013-01-02 I have committed many acts of cruelty and had an incalculable number of men killed, never knowing whether what I did was right. But I am indifferent to what people think of me. - Genghis Khan A spine-chilling chronicle of dictators and their crimes against humanity, Tyrants introduces the most bloodthirsty madmen - and women - ever to wield power over their unfortunate fellow human beings. From Herod the Great, persecutor of the infant Jesus, to Adolf Hitler, mass murderer and instigator of the most devastating war the world has ever known, this book examines history's most infamous despots and tells in vivid detail the story of the lives they led, their ruthless climb to the top and the destruction and sorrow they left in their wake. Unflinching in its coverage, Tyrants is a gripping and compelling portrait of the darker side of politics and power, revealing the strange and grisly stories behind the world's most infamous autocrats. |
| biggest dictators in history: Dictators and Tyrants Alan Axelrod, Charles Phillips, 1995 Profiles the individuals who took history into their hands to gain control of a people, an empire or a state, from the pharoahs of ancient Egypt to Saddam Hussein in our own time |
| biggest dictators in history: The Desktop Digest of Despots and Dictators Gilbert Alter-Gilbert, 2013-01-01 The Desktop Digest of Dictators and Despots is a compendium and quick reference guide to history’s most notorious absolutist rulers and authoritarian regimes. In a handsome hardcover format, this handy encyclopedia of totalitarians is as informative as it is titillating, a lurid panorama of history’s most malignant autarchs with original full-color portraits and accompanying psychobiographical profiles. From pharaohs to ayatollahs, from Caesar to Hitler, here are fifty-three profiles of history’s most warped personalities and their shocking crimes. Roman Emperor Nero, who lit the roads to the Coliseum’s night games by lining them with human torches made of the burning bodies of crucified Christians Alfredo Stroessner, under whose administration Paraguay offered comfortable refuge to former Nazis while rifle-toting “sportsmen” flocked to the countryside on weekends to legally hunt Indians Idi Amin, the dictator of Uganda, where power outages at the capitol were a routine occurrence because the sluiceways at the nearby hydroelectric dam were clogged with the bodies of so many citizens executed in his torture cells that the pampered local disposal team—the crocodiles—couldn’t eat them fast enough The horrifying pageant of tyranny has trailed in its wake a vicious train of exploitation, intolerance and oppression—war, conquest, subjugation, slavery, imprisonment, torture and execution—which continues unabated to the present day. Dictators never disappoint when it comes to proving that absolute power corrupts absolutely. This is the perfect handbook for educators, armchair historians, and pop-culture pundits. |
| biggest dictators in history: The World's Most Evil Dictators Diane Law, 2006 |
| biggest dictators in history: 20 Dictators of The World Kalyani Mookherji, 2020-09-15 In the late nineteenth and twentieth century; with the disappearance of monarchies in many parts of the world; a new autocratic system emerged – the dictatorship; in which all power over a state or community was again concentrated into the hands of one person; without being restricted by constitution; laws or opposition. The individual with this kind of absolute authority was known as the dictator. Here are the twenty dictators of modern times whose actions have left a strong imprint on destiny of the country they ruled; and sometimes even influenced the very history of the world. More often though; dictators rose to the power by leading a coup d’état; in which often a weak monarch of government was deposed and instead a dictatorship established. A nice read book to deep into history. Selected Stories of Honoré de Balzac by Honoré de Balzac: In this collection, Honoré de Balzac presents a selection of his acclaimed short stories, showcasing his incredible talent for vivid storytelling and character development. With its rich language and engaging narratives, this book is a must-read for fans of classical literature. Key Aspects of the Book Selected Stories of Honoré de Balzac: Collection of Short Stories: The book features a collection of acclaimed short stories by Honoré de Balzac. Vivid Storytelling and Character Development: The stories showcase Balzac's incredible talent for vivid storytelling and character development. Useful for Literature Enthusiasts: The book is useful for fans of classical literature and those interested in the works of Balzac. Honoré de Balzac was a French novelist and playwright who is regarded as one of the greatest writers of Western literature. His book, Selected Stories of Honoré de Balzac, is highly regarded for its captivating storytelling and rich language. |
| biggest dictators in history: Mussolini and the Eclipse of Italian Fascism R. J. B. Bosworth, 2021-03-02 An incisive account of how Mussolini pioneered populism in reaction to Hitler's rise--and thereby reinforced his role as a model for later authoritarian leaders On the tenth anniversary of his rise to power in 1932, Benito Mussolini (1883-1945) seemed to many the good dictator. He was the first totalitarian and the first fascist in modern Europe. But a year later Hitler's entrance onto the political stage signaled a German takeover of the fascist ideology. In this definitive account, eminent historian R.J.B. Bosworth charts Mussolini's leadership in reaction to Hitler. Bosworth shows how Italy's decline in ideological pre-eminence, as well as in military and diplomatic power, led Mussolini to pursue a more populist approach: angry and bellicose words at home, violent aggression abroad, and a more extreme emphasis on charisma. In his embittered efforts to bolster an increasingly hollow and ruthless regime, it was Mussolini, rather than Hitler, who offered the model for all subsequent authoritarians. |
| biggest dictators in history: How Dictatorships Work Barbara Geddes, Joseph George Wright, Erica Frantz, 2018-08-23 Explains how dictatorships rise, survive, and fall, along with why some but not all dictators wield vast powers. |
| biggest dictators in history: Dictatorland Paul Kenyon, 2018-01-11 A Financial Times Book of the Year 'Jaw-dropping' Daily Express 'Grimly fascinating' Financial Times 'Humane, timely, accessible and well-researched' Irish Times The dictator who grew so rich on his country's cocoa crop that he built a 35-storey-high basilica in the jungles of the Ivory Coast. The austere, incorruptible leader who has shut Eritrea off from the world in a permanent state of war and conscripted every adult into the armed forces. In Equatorial Guinea, the paranoid despot who thought Hitler was the saviour of Africa and waged a relentless campaign of terror against his own people. The Libyan army officer who authored a new work of political philosophy, The Green Book, and lived in a tent with a harem of female soldiers, running his country like a mafia family business. And behind these almost incredible stories of fantastic violence and excess lie the dark secrets of Western greed and complicity, the insatiable taste for chocolate, oil, diamonds and gold that has encouraged dictators to rule with an iron hand, siphoning off their share of the action into mansions in Paris and banks in Zurich and keeping their people in dire poverty. |
| biggest dictators in history: Top 5 Dictators of The World Kalyani Mookherji, 2021-01-19 Explore the dark and tumultuous history of the 20th century with Top 5 Dictators of the World by Kalyani Mookherji, a compelling and insightful examination of some of the most notorious authoritarian rulers who left an indelible mark on their nations and the world at large. Join Kalyani Mookherji as she delves into the lives and legacies of five of the most infamous dictators in modern history, whose reigns were marked by tyranny, oppression, and widespread human rights abuses. Through meticulous research and vivid storytelling, Mookherji offers readers a sobering glimpse into the rise to power, reign of terror, and eventual downfall of these despotic rulers. Delve into the ruthless regime of each dictator as Mookherji explores the methods they used to seize and maintain power, from propaganda and censorship to violence and repression. From Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany to Joseph Stalin's Soviet Union, readers gain insight into the brutal tactics and totalitarian ideologies that defined their rule. Experience the human cost of dictatorship as Mookherji chronicles the suffering and resistance of those who dared to oppose these tyrants. From political dissidents to ethnic minorities, readers encounter the stories of individuals who risked everything to resist oppression and fight for freedom in the face of overwhelming odds. Consider the lasting impact of these dictators on their nations and the world as Mookherji examines their legacies and the ongoing struggle for justice and accountability in the aftermath of their rule. From the scars of war and genocide to the challenges of rebuilding societies torn apart by dictatorship, readers gain a deeper understanding of the complexities of political power and its consequences. With its blend of history, politics, and human drama, Top 5 Dictators of the World offers a timely reminder of the dangers of unchecked power and the importance of remaining vigilant in the defense of democracy and human rights. Whether you're a student of history, a concerned citizen, or simply curious about the darker chapters of our past, this compelling book provides valuable insights into the nature of dictatorship and its impact on the world. Don't miss your chance to explore the rise and fall of some of history's most infamous dictators with Kalyani Mookherji's gripping account. Order your copy today and confront the realities of tyranny and oppression in the modern world. |
| biggest dictators in history: The Dictator's Handbook Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, Alastair Smith, 2011-09-27 Explains the theory of political survival, particularly in cases of dictators and despotic governments, arguing that political leaders seek to stay in power using any means necessary, most commonly by attending to the interests of certain coalitions. |
| biggest dictators in history: History's Worst Dictators Michael Rank, 2013-04-08 Nasty, brutish, and short. This is the way English philosopher Thomas Hobbes described the living conditions into which humans inevitably fall without a strong, central authority. However, Hobbes would agree that living under a brutal dictator could lead to the same conditions. He would know -- he lived a century after the bloody reign of Henry VIII, 150 years after Spanish conquistadors witnessed Montezuma II offering up thousands of human sacrifices, and four centuries after Genghis Khan rode throughout Eurasia and left behind enough death and destruction to depopulate major parts of the globe.This exciting new book from historian Michael Rank looks at the lives and times of the worst dictators in history. You will learn about their reigns and violent actions, such as...- Emperor Nero's murder of family members, suspected arson of Rome, and widespread execution of religious minorities, which caused many early Christians to believe that he was the Antichrist - Herod the Great's use of crowd slaughter, family killings, and even infanticide to hold on to his rule- Genghis Khan's military conquests that killed tens of millions and caused millions more to flee their homes in fear, resulting in forests reclaiming abandoned farmland and carbon levels plummeting, actually creating man-made global cooling- Vlad the Impaler (also known as Vlad Dracul, the namesake of the vampire) and his use of impalement to kill more than 20,000 victims, even causing a superior army turn around and avoid fighting him when they witnessed his carnageThese leaders and 6 others fill this book. Learn about how they earned their reputation as the worst dictators in history and why they are so infamous in popular culture today. |
| biggest dictators in history: Dictators and their Secret Police Sheena Chestnut Greitens, 2016-08-16 This book explores the secret police organizations of East Asian dictators: their origins, operations, and effects on ordinary citizens' lives. |
| biggest dictators in history: Spin Dictators Daniel Treisman, Sergei Guriev, 2023-04-04 How a new breed of dictators holds power by manipulating information and faking democracy Hitler, Stalin, and Mao ruled through violence, fear, and ideology. But in recent decades a new breed of media-savvy strongmen has been redesigning authoritarian rule for a more sophisticated, globally connected world. In place of overt, mass repression, rulers such as Vladimir Putin, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Viktor Orbán control their citizens by distorting information and simulating democratic procedures. Like spin doctors in democracies, they spin the news to engineer support. Uncovering this new brand of authoritarianism, Sergei Guriev and Daniel Treisman explain the rise of such “spin dictators,” describing how they emerge and operate, the new threats they pose, and how democracies should respond. Spin Dictators traces how leaders such as Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew and Peru’s Alberto Fujimori pioneered less violent, more covert, and more effective methods of monopolizing power. They cultivated an image of competence, concealed censorship, and used democratic institutions to undermine democracy, all while increasing international engagement for financial and reputational benefits. The book reveals why most of today’s authoritarians are spin dictators—and how they differ from the remaining “fear dictators” such as Kim Jong-un and Bashar al-Assad, as well as from masters of high-tech repression like Xi Jinping. Offering incisive portraits of today’s authoritarian leaders, Spin Dictators explains some of the great political puzzles of our time—from how dictators can survive in an age of growing modernity to the disturbing convergence and mutual sympathy between dictators and populists like Donald Trump. |
| biggest dictators in history: The Secret History of the Great Dictators: Idi Amin & Emperor Bokassa I Diane Law, 2011-08-18 A fascinating history of the lives of two of Africa's most notorious dictators. Each in their own ways, Idi Amin and Bokassa set new levels of sheer madness and cruelty, and helped to define the modern tyrant. From Idi Amin's obsession with Queen Victoria, to Bokassa's cruel, cannibalistic excesses, this is a brief, but very readable guide to two dark chapters in post-colonial African history |
| biggest dictators in history: The Infernal Library Daniel Kalder, 2018-03-06 A mesmerizing study of books by despots great and small, from the familiar to the largely unknown. —The Washington Post A darkly humorous tour of dictator literature in the twentieth century, featuring the soul-killing prose and poetry of Hitler, Mao, and many more, which shows how books have sometimes shaped the world for the worse Since the days of the Roman Empire dictators have written books. But in the twentieth-century despots enjoyed unprecedented print runs to (literally) captive audiences. The titans of the genre—Stalin, Mussolini, and Khomeini among them—produced theoretical works, spiritual manifestos, poetry, memoirs, and even the occasional romance novel and established a literary tradition of boundless tedium that continues to this day. How did the production of literature become central to the running of regimes? What do these books reveal about the dictatorial soul? And how can books and literacy, most often viewed as inherently positive, cause immense and lasting harm? Putting daunting research to revelatory use, Daniel Kalder asks and brilliantly answers these questions. Marshalled upon the beleaguered shelves of The Infernal Library are the books and commissioned works of the century’s most notorious figures. Their words led to the deaths of millions. Their conviction in the significance of their own thoughts brooked no argument. It is perhaps no wonder then, as Kalder argues, that many dictators began their careers as writers. |
| biggest dictators in history: India's First Dictatorship Christophe Jaffrelot, Pratinav Anil, 2021-04-01 In June 1975 Prime Minister Indira Gandhi imposed a 'State of Emergency', resulting in a 21-month suspension of democracy. Jaffrelot and Anil explore this black page in India's history, a constitutional dictatorship of unequal impact, with South India largely spared thanks to the resilience of Indian federalism. India's First Dictatorship focuses on Mrs Gandhi and her son, Sanjay, who was largely responsible for the mass sterilisation programmes and deportation of urban slum-dwellers. However, it equally exposes the facilitation of authoritarian rule by Congressmen, Communists, trade unions, businessmen and the urban middle class, as well as the complacency of the judiciary and media. While opposition leaders eventually closed ranks in jail, many of them collaborated with the new regime--including the RSS. Those who resisted the Emergency, in the media or on the streets, were few in number. This episode was an acid test for India's political culture. While a tiny minority of citizens fought for democracy during the Emergency, in large numbers the people bowed to a strong woman, even worshipped her. Equally importantly, Hindu nationalists were endowed with a new legitimacy. The Emergency was not a parenthesis, but a turning point; its legacy is very much alive today. |
| biggest dictators in history: The Most Evil Dictators in History Shelley Klein, 2004 Herod the great, Genghis Khan, Shaka Zulu, Josep Stalin, Adolf Hitler, Mao Tse-Tung, Anastasio Garcia Somoza, Francois Papa Doc Duvalier, Kim Il Sung, Augusto Ugarte Pinochet, Nicolae Ceausescu, Pol Pot, Idi Amin, Saddam Hussein, Robert Mugabe. |
| biggest dictators in history: How to Be a Dictator Frank Dikötter, 2019-09-05 'Brilliant' NEW STATESMAN, BOOKS OF THE YEAR 'Enlightening and a good read' SPECTATOR 'Moving and perceptive' NEW STATESMAN Mussolini, Hitler, Stalin, Mao Zedong, Kim Il-sung, Ceausescu, Mengistu of Ethiopia and Duvalier of Haiti. No dictator can rule through fear and violence alone. Naked power can be grabbed and held temporarily, but it never suffices in the long term. A tyrant who can compel his own people to acclaim him will last longer. The paradox of the modern dictator is that he must create the illusion of popular support. Throughout the twentieth century, hundreds of millions of people were condemned to enthusiasm, obliged to hail their leaders even as they were herded down the road to serfdom. In How to Be a Dictator, Frank Dikötter returns to eight of the most chillingly effective personality cults of the twentieth century. From carefully choreographed parades to the deliberate cultivation of a shroud of mystery through iron censorship, these dictators ceaselessly worked on their own image and encouraged the population at large to glorify them. At a time when democracy is in retreat, are we seeing a revival of the same techniques among some of today's world leaders? This timely study, told with great narrative verve, examines how a cult takes hold, grows, and sustains itself. It places the cult of personality where it belongs, at the very heart of tyranny. |
| biggest dictators in history: How to Feed a Dictator Witold Szablowski, 2020-04-28 “Amazing stories . . . Intimate portraits of how [these five ruthless leaders] were at home and at the table.” —Lulu Garcia-Navarro, NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday Anthony Bourdain meets Kapuściński in this chilling look from within the kitchen at the appetites of five of the twentieth century's most infamous dictators, by the acclaimed author of Dancing Bears and What’s Cooking in the Kremlin What was Pol Pot eating while two million Cambodians were dying of hunger? Did Idi Amin really eat human flesh? And why was Fidel Castro obsessed with one particular cow? Traveling across four continents, from the ruins of Iraq to the savannahs of Kenya, Witold Szabłowski tracked down the personal chefs of five dictators known for the oppression and massacre of their own citizens—Iraq’s Saddam Hussein, Uganda’s Idi Amin, Albania’s Enver Hoxha, Cuba’s Fidel Castro, and Cambodia’s Pol Pot—and listened to their stories over sweet-and-sour soup, goat-meat pilaf, bottles of rum, and games of gin rummy. Dishy, deliciously readable, and dead serious, How to Feed a Dictator provides a knife’s-edge view of life under tyranny. |
| biggest dictators in history: Encyclopedia of Modern Dictators Frank J. Coppa, 2006 Original Scholarly Monograph |
| biggest dictators in history: The Dictators Richard Overy, 2005-04-28 Half a century after their deaths, the dictatorships of Stalin and Hitler still cast a long and terrible shadow over the modern world. They were the most destructive and lethal regimes in history, murdering millions. They fought the largest and costliest war in all history. Yet millions of Germans and Russians enthusiastically supported them and the values they stood for. In this first major study of the two dictatorships side-by-side Richard Overy sets out to answer the question: How was dictatorship possible? How did they function? What was the bond that tied dictator and people so powerfully together? He paints a remarkable and vivid account of the different ways in which Stalin and Hitler rose to power, and abused and dominated their people. It is a chilling analysis of powerful ideals corrupted by the vanity of ambitious and unscrupulous men. |
| biggest dictators in history: Dictators Without Borders Alexander A. Cooley, John Heathershaw, 2017-02-07 A penetrating look into the unrecognized and unregulated links between autocratic regimes in Central Asia and centers of power and wealth throughout the West Weak, corrupt, and politically unstable, the former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan are dismissed as isolated and irrelevant to the outside world. But are they? This hard-hitting book argues that Central Asia is in reality a globalization leader with extensive involvement in economics, politics and security dynamics beyond its borders. Yet Central Asia’s international activities are mostly hidden from view, with disturbing implications for world security. Based on years of research and involvement in the region, Alexander Cooley and John Heathershaw reveal how business networks, elite bank accounts, overseas courts, third-party brokers, and Western lawyers connect Central Asia’s supposedly isolated leaders with global power centers. The authors also uncover widespread Western participation in money laundering, bribery, foreign lobbying by autocratic governments, and the exploiting of legal loopholes within Central Asia. Riveting and important, this book exposes the global connections of a troubled region that must no longer be ignored. |
| biggest dictators in history: Defeating Dictators George B. N. Ayittey, 2011-11-08 Despite billions of dollars of aid and the best efforts of the international community to improve economies and bolster democracy across Africa, violent dictatorships persist. As a result, millions have died, economies are in shambles, and whole states are on the brink of collapse. Political observers and policymakers are starting to believe that economic aid is not the key to saving Africa. So what does the continent need to do to throw off the shackles of militant rule? African policy expert George Ayittey argues that before Africa can prosper, she must be free. Taking a hard look at the fight against dictatorships around the world, from Ukraine's orange revolution in 2004 to Iran's Green Revolution last year, he examines what strategies worked in the struggle to establish democracy through revolution. Ayittey also offers strategies for the West to help Africa in her quest for freedom, including smarter sanctions and establishing fellowships for African students. |
| biggest dictators in history: Dictators' Dinners Victoria Clark, Melissa Scott, 2020-03 What did dictators eat? Sometimes simply obscene amounts of the best their nations could offer, but more often their humble origins, or embarrassing medical conditions, or simple lack of interest in food meant their tastes were unpretentious--ranging from human flesh, to raw garlic salad, to Quality Street. Here we learn of their foibles, their eccentricities and their frequent terror of poisoning--something no number of food tasters was ever able to assuage. For a selection of 25 former national figureheads across the world, each section comprises an outline of the dictator's history, a short essay on their particular eating habits, table manners, digestive systems etc. and one or two of their favorite recipes. |
| biggest dictators in history: My Favourite Dictators Chris Mikul, 2020-07-21 “I’m personally against seeing my pictures and statues in the streets, but it’s what the people want.” — Saparmurat Niyazov, dictator of Turkmenistan Dictators may be among the worst people in history, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t laugh at them. In My Favourite Dictators, Chris Mikul tells the stories of eleven of the twentieth century’s most colourful and reviled human beings, including Benito Mussolini, Mao Zedong, Muammar Gaddafi, Idi Amin, Saddam Hussein and Kim Jong-il. In each case, he examines the political backgrounds to their rise to power and eventual downfall, but the focus here is on the personalities, peculiarities and private lives of these very strange men. You’ll be amazed and appalled by their effortless cruelties, voracious sexual appetites, absurd personality cults, ostentatious uniforms, promotion of dreadful art and pretensions to being great writers – not to mention their terrible taste in interior decoration. |
| biggest dictators in history: The End of Europe James Kirchick, 2017-03-07 Once the world’s bastion of liberal, democratic values, Europe is now having to confront demons it thought it had laid to rest. The old pathologies of anti-Semitism, populist nationalism, and territorial aggression are threatening to tear the European postwar consensus apart. In riveting dispatches from this unfolding tragedy, James Kirchick shows us the shallow disingenuousness of the leaders who pushed for “Brexit;” examines how a vast migrant wave is exacerbating tensions between Europeans and their Muslim minorities; explores the rising anti-Semitism that causes Jewish schools and synagogues in France and Germany to resemble armed bunkers; and describes how Russian imperial ambitions are destabilizing nations from Estonia to Ukraine. With President Trump now threatening to abandon America's traditional role as upholder of the liberal world order and guarantor of the continent's security, Europe may be alone in dealing with these unprecedented challenges. Based on extensive firsthand reporting, this book is a provocative, disturbing look at a continent in unexpected crisis. |
| biggest dictators in history: On Tyranny Timothy Snyder, 2017-02-28 #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A “bracing” (Vox) guide for surviving and resisting America’s turn towards authoritarianism, from “a rising public intellectual unafraid to make bold connections between past and present” (The New York Times) “Timothy Snyder reasons with unparalleled clarity, throwing the past and future into sharp relief. He has written the rare kind of book that can be read in one sitting but will keep you coming back to help regain your bearings.”—Masha Gessen The Founding Fathers tried to protect us from the threat they knew, the tyranny that overcame ancient democracy. Today, our political order faces new threats, not unlike the totalitarianism of the twentieth century. We are no wiser than the Europeans who saw democracy yield to fascism, Nazism, or communism. Our one advantage is that we might learn from their experience. On Tyranny is a call to arms and a guide to resistance, with invaluable ideas for how we can preserve our freedoms in the uncertain years to come. |
| biggest dictators in history: The Dictator Next Door Eric Roorda, 1998 A diplomatic history of the Dominican Republic and the successes and failures of the Good Neighbor Policy. |
| biggest dictators in history: Dealing with Dictators Ernest R. May, 2006 The United States continues to proclaim its support for democracy and its opposition to tyranny, but American presidents often have supported dictators who have allied themselves with the United States. This book illustrates the chronic dilemmas inherent in US dealings with dictators under conditions of uncertainty and moral ambiguity. Dealing with Dictators offers in-depth analysis of six cases: the United States and China, 1945-1948; UN intervention in the Congo, 1960-1965; the overthrow of the Shah of Iran; US relations with the Somoza regime in Nicaragua; the fall of Marcos in the Philippines; and US policy toward Iraq, 1988-1990. The authors' fascinating and revealing accounts shed new light on critical episodes in US foreign policy and provide a basis for understanding the dilemmas that US decision makers confronted. The chapters do not focus on whether US leaders made the right or wrong decisions, but instead seek to deepen our understanding of how uncertainty permeated the process and whether decision makers and their aides asked the right questions. This approach makes the book invaluable to scholars and students of government and history, and to readers interested in the general subject of how intelligence analysis interacts with policymaking. |
| biggest dictators in history: Universities Under Dictatorship John Connelly, Michael Grüttner, 2010-11-01 |
| biggest dictators in history: Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini Bruce F. Pauley, 2014-09-15 The fourth edition of Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini: Totalitarianism in the Twentieth Century presents an innovative comparison of the origins, development, and demise of the three forms of totalitarianism that emerged in twentieth-century Europe. Represents the only book that systematically compares all three infamous dictators of the twentieth century Provides the latest scholarship on the wartime goals of Hitler and Stalin as well as new information on the disintegration of the Soviet empire Compares the early lives of Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini, their ideologies, rise to and consolidation of power, and the organization and workings of their dictatorships Features topics organized by themes rather than strictly chronologically Includes a wealth of visual material to support the text, as well as a thorough Bibliographical Essay compiled by the author |
| biggest dictators in history: Dictator Literature Daniel Kalder, 2018-04-05 A Book of the Year for The Times and the Sunday Times ‘The writer is the engineer of the human soul,’ claimed Stalin. Although one wonders how many found nourishment in Turkmenbashi’s Book of the Soul (once required reading for driving tests in Turkmenistan), not to mention Stalin’s own poetry. Certainly, to be considered great, a dictator must write, and write a lot. Mao had his Little Red Book, Mussolini and Saddam Hussein their romance novels, Kim Jong-il his treatise on the art of film, Hitler his hate-filled tracts. What do these texts reveal about their authors, the worst people imaginable? And how did they shape twentieth-century history? To find out, Daniel Kalder read them all – the badly written and the astonishingly badly written – so that you don’t have to. This is the untold history of books so terrible they should have been crimes. |
| biggest dictators in history: The Dictator's Learning Curve William J. Dobson, 2013-03-12 In this riveting anatomy of authoritarianism, acclaimed journalist William Dobson takes us inside the battle between dictators and those who would challenge their rule. Recent history has seen an incredible moment in the war between dictators and democracy—with waves of protests sweeping Syria and Yemen, and despots falling in Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya. But the Arab Spring is only the latest front in a global battle between freedom and repression, a battle that, until recently, dictators have been winning hands-down. The problem is that today’s authoritarians are not like the frozen-in-time, ready-to-crack regimes of Burma and North Korea. They are ever-morphing, technologically savvy, and internationally connected, and have replaced more brutal forms of intimidation with subtle coercion. The Dictator’s Learning Curve explains this historic moment and provides crucial insight into the fight for democracy. |
| biggest dictators in history: Economic Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy Daron Acemoglu, James A. Robinson, 2006 This book develops a framework for analyzing the creation and consolidation of democracy. Different social groups prefer different political institutions because of the way they allocate political power and resources. Thus democracy is preferred by the majority of citizens, but opposed by elites. Dictatorship nevertheless is not stable when citizens can threaten social disorder and revolution. In response, when the costs of repression are sufficiently high and promises of concessions are not credible, elites may be forced to create democracy. By democratizing, elites credibly transfer political power to the citizens, ensuring social stability. Democracy consolidates when elites do not have strong incentive to overthrow it. These processes depend on (1) the strength of civil society, (2) the structure of political institutions, (3) the nature of political and economic crises, (4) the level of economic inequality, (5) the structure of the economy, and (6) the form and extent of globalization. |
| biggest dictators in history: Deadly Dictators Terry Stafford, 2010-08-11 One hundred million people died in twentieth century wars, but during the same period, more than a quarter of a billion people were murdered by their own governments. This human catastrophe is the subject of Deadly Dictators: Masterminds of Twentieth Century Genocides. This thought-provoking chronology explores the lives and crimes of Joseph Stalin, father of the Soviet Gulag; Dominican dictator Raphael Trujillo, who committed serial sexual violation of his nation's women; Adolf Hitler, the Nazi fanatic who unleashed the Holocaust; the Kims of North Korea, who imposed a savage slavery on their people; Mao Zedong, the last emperor of China, who starved tens of millions; the Duvaliers of Haiti, who used Voudou hit squads in their vicious repression; Idi Amin, who launched a tribally-based genocide in Uganda; Pol Pot, the Cambodian ideologue who cultivated the Killing Fields; Saddam Hussein, who exterminated Iraqi citizens with nerve agents and Th�oneste Bagosora, the architect of the apocalypse in Rwanda that slaughtered 800,000 people in only one hundred days. |
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