Abstract
This paper traces the political life and views of Vaclav Havel, 1989 President of Czechoslovakia and President of the newly formed Czech Republic in 1993. The paper examines Havel's life-long struggle against classical dictatorship and analyzes his views on the subject in his work ?Power of the Powerless.? It looks at the terms classical dictatorship and post-totalitarian dictatorship and compares the two.

From the Paper
"It superficially appears that both system types benefit from certain aspects of the system. In the case of a classical dictatorship, the strength of the system is might. Without use of force to suppress any opposition and open interpretation of law to determine crimes against the state, the dictator loses respect drawn mostly from a compromise of fear mixed with compliance. In the Post-Totalitarian system, centralization is the strengthening force. There is a State power structure to answer to and work with bureaucratically. The State is a sort of bastard mother or wet nurse who provides for her children while answering to their father world."

Tags:democratic, Velvet, Revolution, absolutism

Abstract
This paper evaluates the claim that Napoleonism (Napoleon's Reign) was in essence a benevolent dictatorship?

Tags:POLITICAL SCIENCE / STUDIES IN DEMOCRACY, LIBERALISM, napoleon reign benevolent

Abstract
On 13 September 1923, General Miguel Primo de Rivera launched a successful and bloodless coup d'etat, beginning seven years of dictatorship in Spain. Primo de Rivera was a maladroit politician filled with the fervor of Spanish patriotism thought sufficient to navigate his dictatorship through the murky waters of politics. This paper will argue that the regime was more of a developmental dictatorship than one based in the usual fundamentals of autocracy. It concerns itself instead with describing the political realities in which the Primo de Rivera dictatorship was based, before moving on to discuss the objectives and achievements of the regime. The paper concludes by suggesting ways in which the dictatorship may have influenced the cataclysmic developments that drew the nation into Civil War less than a decade after the collapse of the Primo de Rivera regime.

Tags:miguel, primo, de, rivera

Abstract
An analysis of Stalinism, his dictatorship and personal style of leadership. The author examines the dictator's measures of leadership and their consequences on the social world.

From the Paper
"One wonders what would possess a man to such extreme lengths of cruelty and severity. As Adam Ulam observes, "the poverty and harshness of Stalin's early life left indelible imprints on him. Quite early in life he became a crude, unsentimental, and mistrustful person, tormented by an inferiority complex and very ambitious. Always displaying contempt for the traditions of kinship and personal friendship, usually so important to Georgians"( Ulman 20)".

Tags:dictator, russia, soviet, stalin, stalinism, ussr, wwii

Abstract
In 1933, Adolph Hitler introduced to the government an act that would establish his dictatorial role in Germany. This legislation, known as The Enabling Act, provided unmitigated authority to Hitler and the Reich. As a significant moment in German history, the Enabling Act represents the culmination of Hitler's political ambition for total control over German activity both at home and abroad. This essay summarizes the events leading up to this act and considers the details of the act itself.

From the Paper
"The purpose of this research is to examine Barrington Moore's Social origins of Dictatorship and Democracy: Lord and Peasant in the Making of the Modern World with a view toward showing the extent to which different material conditions in England and France influenced the character of class alliances that formed in each country and eventually contributed to the emergence of industrial democracy in both. The plan of the research will be to set Moore's approach to comparative analysis in appropriate context, and then to show, by reference to Moore's examination of the French and English cases, how different structures of social-class alliance in each country led eventually to roughly the same result in social structure.

To understand the importance of different material conditions in England and France as central to the manner of.."

From the Paper
"Dictatorship, as a form of government, has fallen into opprobrium in the course of the 20th century. This was not always the case. "Dictator" was originally a Roman constitutional office, exercising absolute powers for a limited term during emergencies. Later, with repeated renewals of authority extending it to an indefinite term, it was used or abused by Julius Caesar before his assassination.

In modern times "dictator" has come to mean an autocratic ruler whose power is not hereditary or otherwise traditional in origin; that is, in contrast to an autocratic monarch. This writer is not aware of any ruler of modern times who has self-adopted it as a title, but in the earlier part of the 20th..."

Abstract
This paper delves into Vladimir Ilyich Lenin's life, his childhood, his political life and writings, his final days, changes of thought and death. It also shows how Lenin was an important communist political theorist and has changed the course of modern political thought.

From the Paper
?The proletariat's unity is its greatest weapon in the struggle for the socialist revolution!? One of the most influential political leaders of our century is Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. The typical closed-mindedness of matters related to Communism and his person more often than not shields his greater achievements. Lenin's life can be separated into three sections: his childhood, his political life and his writings, and his final days and changes of thought.

Tags:communism, democratic, ilyich, marx, russia, socialism, ulyanov, vladimir, biography

Abstract
This paper explores how some films portrayed totalitarian dictatorships, two in Nazi German and the other in Stalinist Russia. First, the paper analyzes the film "The Tin Drum," which was set in Nazi Germany. According to the review, in this film the young protagonist of the film, Oskar, reacts to the growing chaos around him and decides never to grow up. Next, the paper considers "Diamonds of the Night," a Czech film about Nazi German which examines the concept of blind followers. Finally, the paper analyzes the film "The Stalker" which illustrates the feeling in Europe after the war. The paper concludes by stating that these films demonstrate the brutality and ideologies of these dictatorships, and the effect they had on the people and the countries.

From the Paper
"Clearly, Nazism had its roots in Hitler spreading his ideology, but he had to have support, and he gained that support by rallying the people and convincing them of his ideas. In a way, it is as if they were lambs or lemmings, ready to believe anything from a charismatic if not obsessed man, who made them feel important and as if they were better than the Jews they rounded up so willingly. What this shows is that people can be easily swayed, and they do not question as much as they should, they blindly follow instead. That is how both of these leaders gained a following - they preyed on the weak and easily manipulated, and waited for them to convince others of their beliefs.
""Diamonds of the Night," a Czech film, continues this theme of blind followers, as well. Two young Jews escape from a train heading to a Nazi concentration camp, and the film follows their horrifying four-day attempt to escape a vigilante search party searching for them over the theft of a loaf of bread. Of course, the underlying theme here is the Nazis and their blind faith in following their leader, even if it meant murdering millions of innocent people. That is shown in the scene with the ants crawling on the boys' hands and face. They follow the one in front of them without knowing why or where they are going, and this symbolizes how people decide to follow a dictator like Stalin or Hitler. Both of these dictatorships gained large followings in a relatively short amount of time, as these films indicate."

Tags:totalitarianism, Nazism, communism, Stalin

Abstract
This paper explains that a dictator's abundance of power results in human rights violations, economic difficulties and an overall poor quality of life among the nation's citizens. The author points out that only 47% of all countries are considered free, which leaves 53% of the nations either partly free or not free at all translating into over three billion people being denied rights, justice and denied a chance at happiness. The paper describes the dictatorships in North Korea, Cuba, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Sudan, Vietnam, Turkmenistan, Burma and Zimbabwe. The paper includes an annotated bibliography.

From the Paper
"No matter what method is used to come to power, the number of dictatorships has increased drastically since the early 19th century. Currently, Freedom House's extensive list of "not free" nations includes: Belarus, Burma, Cambodia, Chad, China, Congo, Cuba, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Laos, Libya, North Korea, and Pakistan. This, however, is only in addition to Qatar, Russia, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Thailand, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe, to only name the more popular few.These nations are infamous for having total control over their people and ways of life."

Tags:rights, justice, sudan, russia, organizations