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

Abstract
The paper explores countries like Paraguay, Chile, Argentina and Ecuador and attempts to find answers to the following four questions: what role has the Church - and the Catholic faith - played during dictatorial times; how has the church's role changed over time despite being confronted by dictatorial regimes; to what extent can the Church be considered a monolithic and/or heterogeneous entity; and what has been the influence of the Church upon Latin American politics? The paper discusses how some countries saw the church almost entirely eclipsed (Paraguay being one under Francia) whilst others saw the church assume a greater role (Chile being the best example). Moving onward, the paper discusses how there were national churches that saw an abrupt end to the traditions of the past (Paraguay) whilst others were able to maintain their status as an effective lobbyist for the down-trodden and defenceless in the face of dictatorial oppression; it appears as though some churches had stronger and more resilient leadership than others. The paper shows how the role of the Church during dictatorial times in Latin America seems directly proportional to the resolve of the dictator in question, the toughness and resilience of the national church, and the sort of leadership which guided the church in question.

From the Paper
"This essay will look at the relationship between the Catholic Church and Latin American dictatorships over the course of the nineteenth - and especially twentieth - centuries. The paper will explore countries like Paraguay, Chile, Argentina and Ecuador and attempt to find answers to the following four questions: what role has the Church - and the Catholic faith - played during dictatorial times; how has the church's role changed (and also not changed) over time (and why these changes or continuities have taken place) despite being confronted by dictatorial regimes; to what..."

Tags:american, latin, dictatorships

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
The paper features an in-depth analysis of the still-life paintings of Cuban artist Julio Larraz, which combine deep symbolism and emotion in vibrantly colorful palettes and scenes infused with drama, humor and psychological references representing the perspective of Latin American life under oppressive dictatorship in the 20th century. Julio Larraz is a celebrated contemporary painter who began to exhibit his works in the U.S. after 1967: the paper closely examines a number of specific works produced during the 1980s. Julio Larraz is currently an active, prolific artist, exhibiting his works in the U.S. , Europe , and Latin America .

From the Paper
?Within his still-life paintings, Larraz achieves visual transmission of his sentiments through the handling and selective placement of the natural forms of everyday objects. The still-lifes feature objects derived primarily from nature such as vibrant fruits, flowers, and shells, usually placed within or upon a man-made vessel, pedestal, or table. Repetitive use of the containment of organic objects within such vessels in works such as Four Lobsters in a Tub (1984) and All Hands Aboard (1983) is reflective of Cuba's position in regard to U.S. "containment" policies of the Cold War era, isolation of Cuba as a Communist regime within a Latin American sphere striving to embrace democracy and develop free-market economies, the economic isolation imposed by the U.S. trade embargo of the 1960s, and the futile attempts to halt the continuous outflow of millions of Cubans to U.S. borders. Larraz also made reference to disguised elements within society in portrayals of baskets filled with a variety of colorful fruits, among which the viewer may glimpse such espionage hardware as a camera, his chosen instrument of exposure (The Spy Ship (1980) and Mango Boat (1986)).?

Tags:artist, castro, color, eclipse, fruit, kalishnikof, latin, life, miami, ocean, painting, sea, still, symbolism

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
This paper examines the political theory of Niccolo Machiavelli. The author deals with his theory and writings on the use of dictators during war times and the citizens rights.

From the Paper
"Niccolo Machiavelli's ideology toward popular government can be seen as him being against a democratic form of government. He says that dictatorship works best because ordinary people do not have the ability to govern themselves. A dictatorship is necessary because thee Prince is able to instill fear in the people the threat of punishment exists which makes it easier to govern. Dictatorship allows the Prince to decide what is in the best interests of its citizens. "Men love at their own free will, but fear at the will of the Prince. A wise Prince must rely on what is in his power and not on what is in the power of others." (Mc Donald, 1986)"

Tags:discources, machiavelli, political, theory, dictatorship, power, govern

Abstract
This paper talks about the rise and fall of Adolf Hitler, from his childhood up to his eventual suicide at the end of World War II. It also talks about the rise of the other major dictators of the time period, namely Stalin and Mussolini, and how the Axis Powers were eventually crushed by the Allied Forces in WWII.

From the Paper
"Coming off of World War I, and wrapped up in the Age of Anxiety, morale was low among the people of Europe. People were losing hope in their lives, and countries began to look for security and stability anywhere they could find it. This led to the rise of dictatorships, mainly two opposing forces: Communism and Fascism. It was the beginning of the "totalitarianism" era in Europe, and would plunge the continent, as well as much of the rest of the world, into another World War. Chapter twenty-nine of A History of Western Society (Mc Kay, Hill, Buckler 956-88) goes into great detail about this chaotic period of European history."

Tags:communism, dictators, fascism, hitler, ii, mussolini, nazis, stalin, war, world, wwii