92
votes
Accepted
Why do dictators ban their people from traveling?
People are resources, dictators (and oppressive regimes in general) don't want them to defect to other countries because they want them working for their regime. Some of them are going to be people ...
- 6,570
90
votes
What would stop a representative democracy becoming a dictatorship?
The only obstacle between a government by the people and a dictatorship are the people.
- 9,363
87
votes
Accepted
Why don't right-wing dictators crown themselves king?
tl;dr: Because the middle ages are over.
You no longer want to be King - you want to be President
Most of the world used to be ruled by kings and emperors, but today the only remaining absolute ...
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81
votes
Accepted
What would stop a representative democracy becoming a dictatorship?
Most democratic countries have a constitution which says how the state functions and what kinds of laws can and can not be made. Laws which contradict the constitution are usually declared invalid by ...
- 74.7k
61
votes
Accepted
How do dictators maintain their grip on power?
This is a question that the selectorate theory tries to answer. Essentially:
As a dictator, you need to identify the people who are essential to you remaining in power. For example: the controllers ...
- 981
53
votes
Why do dictators ban their people from traveling?
I am old enough to have caught the communism era within one Eastern-European country (Romania). Trying to leave the country was a criminal offence and many died trying to do so.
Many people that had ...
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47
votes
Why do (some) dictator colonels not appoint themselves general?
It is not necessary. The army generals are OK taking orders from "Colonel X", because he is the head of state, whether or not he is a higher rank. (If they weren't, the Colonel wouldn't be ...
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44
votes
What would stop a representative democracy becoming a dictatorship?
A good example of a system trying to prevent this is the Constitution of Norway.
The constitution has various ways to protect itself from being altered in undesirable ways.
Changes to the ...
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42
votes
Why don't right-wing dictators crown themselves king?
The short answer would be: Because even dictators cannot simply do whatever they want.
Let's for example take a look at one of the oldest dictators of history: Caesar Augustus.
Now, technically ...
- 6,079
41
votes
Accepted
What is a "democratic dictatorship", and how is it not a a contradiction in terms?
The term 'democratic' literally means 'rule by the people'. In the West we normally associate that with a particular set of institutions — capitalist property rights, free and fair elections, open ...
- 67.7k
39
votes
What did Putin do to ensure that he doesn't get overthrown by a military coup or to reduce the likelihood of it?
The President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin protected himself against the possibility of a military coup or a popular uprising by a combination of measures:
FSB (formerly KGB) officers ...
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34
votes
Why do dictators ban their people from traveling?
An excellent example is the German Democratic Republic.
In the view of the leading socialists they were the worker's paradise and a counterexample to the fascist Germany in the West (that was not ...
- 4,692
34
votes
When the dictators execute the coup and become the head of the country do they pay the international debts of country?
Sovereign debt is not cancelled by a change in regime. But sovereign nations cannot be compelled to do anything.
If I have a personal or business debt that I can't or won't pay, then there is a ...
- 115k
31
votes
How do dictators maintain their grip on power?
What makes you think there is a common secret? There are parallels and differences between all those cases.
A government will not hold unless it is supported by a significant part of the population. ...
- 106k
29
votes
Why do (some) dictator colonels not appoint themselves general?
In both the French and British militaries, colonel is the highest rank short of general. Colonels generally command regiments; generals are in charge of larger groups like divisions, corps, or entire ...
- 67.7k
29
votes
What is a "democratic dictatorship", and how is it not a a contradiction in terms?
"War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength."
A dictatorship can always manipulate terminology towards whatever they say it is. It's not like democracies can't manipulate ...
28
votes
In general, is the ineffectivness to provide basic standards of living of authoritarian states more attributable to malice or incompetence?
Authoritarian governments don't "suck at their jobs", because their job is a different one than that of a democratically elected government.
In order to stay in power, a democratically ...
- 74.7k
25
votes
Accepted
Why didn’t the Framers of the US Constitution clarify who has the power to suspend habeas corpus?
I'd expect that if you asked the framers, they would say that they were pretty clear about who can suspend habeas corpus-- Congress. The only reference to habeas corpus in the Constitution is in ...
- 6,203
24
votes
What did Putin do to ensure that he doesn't get overthrown by a military coup or to reduce the likelihood of it?
The question mentions "military coup", but traditionally in Russia (including the Soviet and pre-Soviet times), the military didn't play a significant political role, despite its might. ...
- 1,143
21
votes
Accepted
Why is Singapore currently considered to be a dictatorial regime and a multi-party democracy by different publications?
Why is Singapore considered to be a dictatorial regime and a
multi-party democracy at the same time?
Because it isn't fully one or the other.
"Competitive authoritarian" is an intermediate ...
- 73k
20
votes
What is a "democratic dictatorship", and how is it not a a contradiction in terms?
I don't know anything about the Chinese constitution, but the original meaning of the word dictator came from the Roman republic. The idea was that the democratic assembly was good for peacetime ...
- 309
19
votes
What makes North Koreans to never manifest any rebellion or movement for democracy or civil rights? How come Kim Jong-un so successful at this?
To some extent because the Kims have fully embraced being despots and successfully coopted their military in supporting them.
A lot of the successful rebellions, or at least protest movements, in the ...
19
votes
What is a "democratic dictatorship", and how is it not a a contradiction in terms?
This is possibly a vestige of the term "dictatorship of proletariat", re-assessed.
The Marxist-Leninists believe that any form of state (government) is the dictatorship of the ruling class. ...
- 10k
18
votes
How do dictators maintain their grip on power?
If you really want to know the details, the best resource I know of for the layman is the Cannonical Arab Tyrant's Manual. It was started as a hashtag during the beginning of the Arab Spring by online ...
- 14.1k
17
votes
Accepted
Why are there so few democratic governments with multiple rulers?
Multiple co-equal rulers are used as a check and balance on each other. For example, in a triumvirate at least two have to agree. This, in theory, avoids one corrupt ruler from sending their nation ...
- 4,618
16
votes
Accepted
What does an absolute monarchy or dictatorship do when the king goes mad?
First, one needs to understand that no autocratic ruler rules alone. They always need key supporters. These key supporters might be called generals, dukes, ministers, cardinals, corporations, senators,...
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16
votes
Why do dictators ban their people from traveling?
An example from Romania:
Before the fall of socialism, it was very difficult to travel into capitalist countries. It was not completely impossible, but very difficult, so it was practically ...
- 2,684
16
votes
Why don't right-wing dictators crown themselves king?
(I'll assume that these dictators you're referring to actually want absolute power. It's not obvious that this is the case in general.)
The following quote is from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows....
- 32.4k
15
votes
Why don't right-wing dictators crown themselves king?
One of the primary characteristics of leadership is legitimacy: a leader needs to present him/herself as as having a legitimate right to hold the powers of authority granted to leaders. Up until the ...
- 67.7k
14
votes
Accepted
What can a democratic government do that an autocrat cannot?
There are, but what exactly those things are will depend on the specific political context the autocrat and democratic government find themselves in.
The Theory
A government of any kind is ...
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