RUNNING HEAD: DICTATORS: THEIR RISE TO POWER 1

Dictators: Their Rise to Power

Isabelle McCall

STEM School and Academy

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A ruler with total power over a country, typically one who has obtained power by force,

(Google Definitions). This is how a dictator rules and they will stop at nothing to obtain all

power and control of the people and the country. Many dictatorships have happened in the past,

such as Adolf Hitler, who is a perfect example of how dictatorship can be good as well as bad.

Hitler brought hope, jobs and excitement to Germany after such a long time living in the

economic crisis. Hitler, also brought terror, destruction and power to Germany and the other

countries. He wont stop until he gets what he wants, which is total power and control.

However, dictators need to rise at the right time, or the people wont support them and they

wont have any power. This type of environment needs to have certain variables that make the

citizens vulnerable and weak, creating an opportunity for a dictator to come to power. For a

dictator to rise they need an environment that includes, economic crisis, war and the government.

To begin, one of the parts of an environment that helps a dictator rise is a country that is

in crisis because of the problems and the people. One of the reasons why a country in an

economic crisis is appealing to people wanting to be a dictator is because of the problems that

need to be fixed. There are so many problems, such as no jobs, that are so big and no one wants

to take over and try to fix them because they know they will fail. This gives dictators an

opportunity to take over for the saner or more qualified people, and the dictators arent afraid to

fail, because in their mind it wont ever happen, they are overconfident in their abilities to fix

everything. As the 1919: The Situation in Germany at the end of WWI PowerPoint slide states,

The Kaiser has abdicated and left Germany, Germany had lost their leader and no longer had

hope, which leads us to our next point. Next, the people of the country in economic crisis were

weak and vulnerable. They hadnt had a good meal in a week or more, there was no jobs or

money and their families were dying. So, the people were looking for any opportunity to get out
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of the hole they dug themselves into. Teachersites explains, In Germany and Italy, dictators

appealed to desperate citizens by promising to restore prosperity. Dictators promised to regain

the power for their country and that brought out hope and joy in the people. Finally, many

countries were in a Great Depression when a dictator rose because how easy it is to make other

countries believe that it is the right thing. In general it can be shown that unresolved social

tensions and economic crises, sense the other countries agree and just want it to all to be over,

they wont pay attention and the dictators can take advantage of that (encyclopedia). In

conclusion, there are parts in the environment which makes dictators have an easier time rising

and this is because of the economic challenges.

With this in mind, a second variable that needs to be present for a dictator to rise is a

recent war or something similar that tore the country apart because of the military changes,

territory changes, and the guilt. First, one of the reasons why a war helps a dictator take control

is because of all the changes that happened, especially the military ones. For example, after WWI

Germany could only have 100,000 men, with not tanks or heavy artillery, limited the German

navy to 15,000 men and Germany couldve have any air forces. Therefore, Germany had very

little protection and the people were more open to change after the drastic limits were set (Major

Provisions of the Treaty of Versailles). In addition, another change that happened because of a

war that will then let dictators rise is territorial change. Again, Germany suffered from this

change because of the Treaty of Versailles. This made the citizens feel powerless , agriculture

went down, which caused a chain reaction, making Hitler seem fresh and new to the country.

Finally, the last variable that war caused was the guilt. Often times the loser of the war was

declared the sole reason why the war started. This made the country feel defeated no matter
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what, when a dictator comes along and changes how they think and view the country, it shows a

new perspective.

As a result, the government took a hit from the economic crisis and the wars, this helped

the dictators take control. Once the government started to fail, the people didnt believe in it

anymore and wanted it gone. The citizens want change because change hadnt failed them, their

government didnt so, no established form of government happened, this made the people want

change and the dictators could bring that to the table (1919: The Situation in Germany at the

end of WWI, Haydel). When the government was ruined and there really was no government,

the dictators could bring in everything themselves. They could build up the country the way they

wanted, not by using someone elses work they didnt agree with, this attracted the dictators.

Finally, dictators can play their cards. When the government is in a bad spot with the citizens,

the dictator can get easily on the good side by agreeing with the people. Once they have the

people in the palm of their hand, they can do anything, they could change their mind, whether the

citizens like it or not. The encyclopedia says internal weakness of democracy are undoubtedly

among the main causes of the establishment of dictatorial rule and this is true, Germany

demonstrates that. Clearly, there are many parts of an environment that attracts a dictator and

this includes a broken down government.

In the final analysis, there are many different parts that come together to make the perfect

environment for a dictator to rise these include, the economics hardships, the endings of wars,

and the ruining of the government. Dictators prey on the weak countries and citizens that have

experienced hardship and need someone to lead them back to what they once had. Dictators want

control and when the people are willing to give you that control without hesitation, it just makes

it easier to be the one and only leader. The environment plays a part in who the dictator is and
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when they rise. The country needs to think they need a dictator to bring power and control to

their country. That is why Hitler was supported he would bring change, even if it was bad, at

least it was change. A dictatorship can start in the blink of an eye and the times can change even

faster. Whether they are better times or worse times, everything changes. Change is the only

thing constant in life and this gives dictators the opportunity to rule.
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References

Dictator. (n.d.). Retrieved from dictionary website: http://www.dictionary.com/browse/dictator

Dictatorship. (n.d.). Retrieved from Encyclopedia website: http://www.encyclopedia.com/social-

sciences-and-law/political-science-and-government/political-science-terms-and-concepts-

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The Rise of Dictators and World War II. (n.d.). Retrieved from teachersites website:

http://teachersites.schoolworld.com/webpages/TBurke1/files/25.2%20The%20Rise%20of

%20Dictators%20and%20World%20War%20II.pdf