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| [[File:lighterstill.jpg]][[File:Diego_rivera_dictatorship_1936.jpg|right|frame]] | | [[File:lighterstill.jpg]][[File:Diego_rivera_dictatorship_1936.jpg|right|frame]] |
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− | *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/16th_century 1542] | + | *[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/16th_century 1542] |
| ==Definitions== | | ==Definitions== |
| *1: the office of dictator | | *1: the office of dictator |
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| A '''dictatorship''' is defined as an [[autocratic]] form of [[government]] in which the government is ruled by an [[individual]], the dictator. It has three possible [[meanings]]: | | A '''dictatorship''' is defined as an [[autocratic]] form of [[government]] in which the government is ruled by an [[individual]], the dictator. It has three possible [[meanings]]: |
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− | *1. A [[Roman]] dictator was the incumbent of a political office of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Republic Roman Republic]. Roman dictators were allocated [[absolute]] power during times of [[emergency]]. Their power was originally neither [[arbitrary]] nor unaccountable, being subject to [[law]] and requiring retrospective justification. There were no such dictatorships after the beginning of the 2nd century BC, and later dictators such as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulla Sulla] and the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Emperor Roman Emperors] exercised power much more personally and arbitrarily. | + | *1. A [[Roman]] dictator was the incumbent of a political office of the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Republic Roman Republic]. Roman dictators were allocated [[absolute]] power during times of [[emergency]]. Their power was originally neither [[arbitrary]] nor unaccountable, being subject to [[law]] and requiring retrospective justification. There were no such dictatorships after the beginning of the 2nd century BC, and later dictators such as [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulla Sulla] and the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Emperor Roman Emperors] exercised power much more personally and arbitrarily. |
| *2. A [[government]] controlled by one [[person]], or a small group of people. In this form of government the power rests entirely on the person or group of people, and can be obtained by [[force]] or by [[inheritance]]. The dictator(s) may also take away much of its peoples' [[freedom]]. | | *2. A [[government]] controlled by one [[person]], or a small group of people. In this form of government the power rests entirely on the person or group of people, and can be obtained by [[force]] or by [[inheritance]]. The dictator(s) may also take away much of its peoples' [[freedom]]. |
| *3. In contemporary usage, dictatorship refers to an [[autocratic]] form of absolute rule by [[leadership]] unrestricted by [[law]], [[constitutions]], or other [[social]] and [[political]] [[factors]] within the state. | | *3. In contemporary usage, dictatorship refers to an [[autocratic]] form of absolute rule by [[leadership]] unrestricted by [[law]], [[constitutions]], or other [[social]] and [[political]] [[factors]] within the state. |
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− | In the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/20th_century 20th century] and early 21st century hereditary dictatorship remained a relatively common [[phenomenon]]. | + | In the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/20th_century 20th century] and early 21st century hereditary dictatorship remained a relatively common [[phenomenon]]. |
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− | For some [[scholars]], a dictatorship is a form of [[government]] that has the power to govern without [[consent]] of those being governed (similar to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authoritarianism authoritarianism]), while [[totalitarianism]] describes a state that regulates nearly every aspect of [[public]] and [[private]] [[behavior]] of the people. In other [[words]], dictatorship concerns the source of the governing power (where the power comes from) and [[totalitarianism]] concerns the scope of the governing power (what is the government). | + | For some [[scholars]], a dictatorship is a form of [[government]] that has the power to govern without [[consent]] of those being governed (similar to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authoritarianism authoritarianism]), while [[totalitarianism]] describes a state that regulates nearly every aspect of [[public]] and [[private]] [[behavior]] of the people. In other [[words]], dictatorship concerns the source of the governing power (where the power comes from) and [[totalitarianism]] concerns the scope of the governing power (what is the government). |
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| In this sense, dictatorship (government without people's [[consent]]) is a [[contrast]] to [[democracy]] (government whose power comes from people) and [[totalitarianism]] (government controls every aspect of people's life) opposes [[pluralism]] (government allows multiple lifestyles and opinions). | | In this sense, dictatorship (government without people's [[consent]]) is a [[contrast]] to [[democracy]] (government whose power comes from people) and [[totalitarianism]] (government controls every aspect of people's life) opposes [[pluralism]] (government allows multiple lifestyles and opinions). |
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− | Other [[scholars]] stress the [[omnipotence]] of the [[State]] (with its consequent [[suspension]] of [[rights]]) as the key element of a dictatorship and argue that such [[concentration]] of [[power]] can be legitimate or not depending on the [[circumstances]], objectives and [[methods]] employed.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dictatorship] | + | Other [[scholars]] stress the [[omnipotence]] of the [[State]] (with its consequent [[suspension]] of [[rights]]) as the key element of a dictatorship and argue that such [[concentration]] of [[power]] can be legitimate or not depending on the [[circumstances]], objectives and [[methods]] employed.[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dictatorship] |
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| [[Category: Political Science]] | | [[Category: Political Science]] |