History Main / TheDictatorship

While there's not exactly a clear line between a dictatorship and a monarchy, the two forms of government are generally considered distinct, even when it comes to monarchies that hold significant power in both theory and practice. Generally, a monarchy is an established hereditary system, where the monarch has to share power with the court, the aristocracy and/or an elected legislature. There are also generally traditions limiting how far the monarch can go. A dictatorship, on the other hand, generally has no checks on its power. Another difference is that a monarchy is usually an established hereditary system with the weight of tradition behind it, whereas a dictatorship's power is usually considered illegitimate, often at least partly because it came to power through underhanded or extralegal means. That being said, there can be overlap, especially when the monarch is an absolute monarch with no respect for the rule of law. Some monarchies can become dictatorial if the monarch gathers all power to themself. On the other hand, a dictator may attempt to obtain legitimacy and/or cement their rule by proclaiming themself a monarch. There's even a term for a government that is both a monarchy and a dictatorship: a monarchic dictatorship. Before the term "monarchic dictatorship" was coined, dictatorial monarchs were typically referred to as despots. Or, if they were particularly forward-thinking, enlightened despots.

* UsefulNotes/{{Cuba}} is a single-party state which officially recognises the Communist Party of Cuba as the "leading force of society and of the state" in its Constitution. The First Secretary of the Communist Party is the highest-ranked political position in the country, and the President of Cuba is the second-highest: both are usually occupied by the same person (currently Miguel Díaz-Carnal) but UsefulNotes/FidelCastro and his brother Raúl each remained as First Secretary for three years after stepping down as President. Fidel Castro was in charge of Cuba for decades after the Cuban Revolution, but constitutional reforms in 2019 shifted Cuba's dictatorship away from the "personalist" type towards the "single-party" type as described above. The President is officially appointed by the national legislature, which is always dominated by the Communist Party: although anyone can be nominated to stand for the legislature, the committees which narrow down the nominees to a single candidate per district are controlled by Communist Party members.

* The Republic of Wadiya in ''Film/TheDictator'' is a North African nation that is under the undemocratic rule of [[VillainProtagonist Admiral General Shabazz Aladeen]]. He is presented as a {{narcissist}}ic and buffoonish [[TheCaligula madman]] with complete unchecked power over his nation. He constantly gives himself titles and awards he didn't earn, has had his people {{unperson}}ed at his leisure (though they are usually sent to America as immigrants without him knowing), is [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain racist, sexist, and anti-Semitic]] to the point where he uses giving women and minorities the right to vote [[DemocracyIsBad as points against democracy]], has aspirations of eliminating Israel because he hates Jews so much and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking has an odd habit of changing random words in the Wadiyan dictionary to "Aladeen"]]. Even when he is convinced to make his country into a democracy in the end by his love interest, he has his military "convince" the unwashed masses to vote for him as their President-Prime Minister.

* ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'': Oceania is under the control of a political party called English Socialism (known as "Ingsoc" in {{Newspeak}}), led by [[GloriousLeader Big Brother]], the omnipresent but shadowy dictator who [[ShadowDictator nobody seems to ever see in the flesh]] and may or may not actually exist as a person. It's implied that its geopolitical rivals Eurasia and Eastasia practice the same style of government, if they exist at all and aren't just made up by the Party.

* UsefulNotes/SaudiArabia is modern-day example of a monarchic dictatorship. They are ruled by a royal family, but they have more in common with a family dictatorship than a traditional absolute monarchy and is considered the most authoritarian out of the few remaining absolute monarchies still in existence. Media is heavily censored to be pro-government that it's ever so pervasive, resulting in the curtailing of free speech. Privately-owned media companies even practice self-censorship to avoid running afoul of the government. People critical of the Royal Family or the regime have a tendency to disappear. Unlike North Korea, Iran, Russia, or any country on this list, they're very overt of the fact that they're not a democracy as well as their lack of elections. By some accounting measures, the Saudis are the '''actual''' wealthiest individuals on the planet, not people like Elon Musk, Bernard Arnault, or Bill Gates, since the Saudi royals have no legal obligation to make the size of their assets public knowledge, allowing them to extend their influence in the business world.

[[caption-width-right:350:Big Brother is watching you.]]

A dictatorship is an undemocratic government, typically under the control of a singular leader or a group, that controls a country through repression of dissent and not permitting alternative political factions. Dictatorships are always authoritarian and sometimes outright totalitarian, demanding the obedience of the citizenry, controlling how the people can express themselves, promoting support through {{propaganda|Machine}}, and persecuting, torturing, imprisoning, exiling, or killing anyone who refuses to play ball; SecretPolice are a time-honored dictatorial tactic for repression. Other methods may include keeping the masses pacified through BreadAndCircuses, encouraging citizens to spy on each other, or giving the people "Emmanuel Goldstein"-style enemies (that may or may not actually exist) to rail against. They may justify the measures they take by claiming to be promoting internal stability, saying they're protecting the citizens from internal or external threats, or using any number of other explanations. Whether they [[WellIntentionedExtremist believe]] these explanations or [[NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist not]] varies.

* UsefulNotes/SaudiArabia is modern-day example of a monarchic dictatorship. They are ruled by a royal family, but they have more in common with a family dictatorship than a traditional absolute monarchy and is considered the most authoritarian out of the few remaining absolute monarchies still in existence. Media is heavily censored to be pro-government that it's ever so pervasive, resulting in the curtailing of free speech. Privately-owned media companies even practice self-censorship to avoid running afoul of the government. People critical of the Royal Family or the regime have a tendency to disappear. Unlike North Korea, Iran, Russia, or any country on this list, they're very overt of the fact that they're not a democracy as well as their lack of elections. By some accounting measures, the Saudis are the '''actual''' wealthiest individuals on the planet, not people like Elon Musk, Bernard Arnault, or Bill Gates, since the Saudi royals have no obligation to make the size of their assets public knowledge, allowing them to extend their influence in the business world.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': The Boiling Isles is on the verge of being a dictatorship under [[Characters/TheOwlHouseEmperorBelos Emperor Belos]], if it isn't already there. Fifty years ago, Belos rose to power and began to force all witches outside of those he chooses to be part of his own personal coven to only practice one form of magic each. All their other magic is permanently sealed away, and those who refuse to fall in line and join a coven are branded criminals and hunted down. This keeps the population from embracing their full magical potential and makes a rebellion unlikely if not impossible. Those considered undesirable (often for [[FelonyMisdemeanor harmless things]], like believing in conspiracy theories or writing fanfiction) are [[IndividualityIsIllegal imprisoned in the Conformatorium]], and people who are considered an actual threat to Belos' power are [[TakenForGranite turned to stone]] in a particularly twisted form of public execution. Belos ''claims'' to be following the will of the Titan, but it's heavily implied that he's delusional or lying, and either way, he is the sole authority in the Isles in practice, since all law enforcement reports to him and there's no form of checks and balances in place to keep him from abusing his position. And he gives a lot of discretionary power to coven officials like Lilith or Warden Wrath. Perhaps the creepiest part is that, thanks to [[PropagandaMachine a steady stream of propaganda]] and a focus on indoctrinating children from a young age, most of the citizens see Belos' rule as a ''good'' thing. And, he’s also had statues of himself erected after Season 1 to remind everyone who’s boss.

* UsefulNotes/SaudiArabia is modern-day example of a monarchic dictatorship. They are ruled by a royal family, but they have more in common with a family dictatorship than a traditional absolute monarchy and is considered the most authoritarian out of the few remaining absolute monarchies still in existence. Media is heavily censored to be pro-government that it's ever so pervasive, resulting in the curtailing free speech. Privately-owned media companies even practice self-censorship to avoid running afoul of the government. People critical of the Royal Family or the regime have a tendency to disappear. Unlike North Korea, Iran, and Russia, they're very overt of the fact that they're not a democracy as well as their lack of elections. By some accounting measures, the Saudis are the '''actual''' wealthiest individuals on the planet, not people like Elon Musk, Bernard Arnault, or Bill Gates, since the Saudi royals have no obligation to make the size of their assets public knowledge.

* UsefulNotes/SaudiArabia is modern-day example of a monarchic dictatorship. They are ruled by a royal family, but they have more in common with a family dictatorship than a traditional absolute monarchy and is considered the most authoritarian out of the few remaining absolute monarchies still in existence. Media is heavily censored to be pro-government that it's ever so pervasive, resulting in the curtailing free speech. People critical of the Royal Family or the regime have a tendency to disappear. Unlike North Korea, Iran, and Russia, they're very overt of the fact that they're not a democracy as well as their lack of elections. By some accounting measures, the Saudis are the '''actual''' wealthiest individuals on the planet, not people like Elon Musk or Bill Gates, since the Saudi royals have no obligation to make the size of their assets public knowledge.

** In order to protect themselves from future aggression, the Soviets and their local collaborators set up [[PuppetState satellite states]] between themselves and the West. The Warsaw Pact, which included the [[UsefulNotes/EastGermany German Democratic Republic]], the [[UsefulNotes/{{Hungary}} Hungarian People's Republic]], the [[UsefulNotes/CzechRepublic Czechoslovak Socialist Republic]], and the [[UsefulNotes/{{Poland}} Polish People's Republic]], were run very much like their masters in Moscow, consisting of the local communist party and utilizing security services to crush dissent.

** "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS2E42TheEyeOfTheBeholder The Eye of the Beholder]]" is set in a nation that is built on conformity in all things, to the point where the Hitler-esque Leader often gives televised speeches all about glorifying the concept and preaching hatred against anything different from the established norm. People with untreatable physical deformities are shipped off to ghettos, and it's implied that [[BigBrotherIsWatching everyone is under surveillance]], a nurse at one point warning the doctor to not speak too loudly about his doubts about the system.
** "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS2E65TheObsoleteMan The Obsolete Man]]" features a nation which rules with an iron fist and declares that anyone deemed obsolete -- whether they be old, or deformed, or hold jobs or beliefs that have been outlawed -- is subjected to a KangarooCourt and subsequently executed. Tellingly, when protagonist Romney Wordsworth makes comparisons to Hitler and Stalin, the Chancellor smugly states that they didn't go ''far enough''.
** "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS3E71TheMirror The Mirror]]" is set in a BananaRepublic that has just recently seen the decades-long dictatorship of [[TheGeneralissimo General De Cruz]] overthrown in a revolution by UsefulNotes/FidelCastro expy Ramos Clemente. Clemente quickly proves himself [[FullCircleRevolution no better than De Cruz]], spiraling into paranoid madness as he enacts mass executions of suspected De Cruz loyalists and kills his own allies when he believes they're plotting against him.
** "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS5E137Number12LooksJustLikeYou Number 12 Looks Just Like You]]", just like "The Eye of the Beholder", is set in a world where conformity is enforced, in this case by means of plastic surgery upon reaching maturity, which turns people into one of a small set of pre-selected appearances. And while officially it's a voluntary process, the protagonist's efforts to refuse are ignored and she's forced into it against her will, showing it to actually be mandatory.

A dictatorship is an undemocratic government, typically under the control of a singular leader or a group, that controls a country through repression of dissent and not permitting alternative political factions. Dictatorships are always authoritarian and sometimes outright totalitarian, demanding the obedience of the citizenry, controlling how the people can express themselves, promoting support through {{propaganda|Machine}}, and persecuting, torturing, imprisoning, exiling, or killing anyone who refuses to play ball. Other methods may include keeping the masses pacified through BreadAndCircuses, encouraging citizens to spy on each other, or giving the people "Emmanuel Goldstein"-style enemies (that may or may not actually exist) to rail against. They may justify the measures they take by claiming to be promoting internal stability, saying they're protecting the citizens from internal or external threats, or using any number of other explanations. Whether they [[WellIntentionedExtremist believe]] these explanations or [[NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist not]] varies.

* ComicBook/DoctorDoom rules the Balkan nation of Latveria as an absolute monarch, though he disdains any crown or title. He deposed the hereditary monarchs of that nation and transformed Latveria from a backward feudal monarchy into a thriving dictatorship that's the crown jewel of Europe. Among his people, especially the Latverian Romani, he's hailed as a redeemer, while the rest of the world regards him as a dangerous megalomaniac.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': The Boiling Isles is on the verge of being a dictatorship under [[Characters/TheOwlHouseEmperorBelos Emperor Belos]], if it isn't already there. Fifty years ago, Belos rose to power and began to force all witches outside of those he chooses to be part of his own personal coven to only practice one form of magic each. All their other magic is permanently sealed away, and those who refuse to fall in line and join a coven are branded criminals and hunted down. This keeps the population from embracing their full magical potential and makes a rebellion unlikely if not impossible. Those considered undesirable (often for [[FelonyMisdemeanor harmless things]], like believing in conspiracy theories or writing fanfiction) are [[IndividualityIsIllegal imprisoned in the Conformatorium]], and people who are considered an actual threat to Belos' power are [[TakenForGranite turned to stone]] in a particularly twisted form of public execution. Belos ''claims'' to be following the will of the Titan, but it's heavily implied that he's delusional or lying, and either way, he is the sole authority in the Isles in practice, since all law enforcement reports to him and there's no form of checks and balances in place to keep him from abusing his position. And, he gives a lot of discretionary power to coven officials like Lilith or Warden Wrath. Perhaps the creepiest part is that, thanks to a steady stream of propaganda and a focus on indoctrinating children from a young age, most of the citizens see Belos' rule as a ''good'' thing. And, he’s also had statues of himself erected after Season 1 to remind everyone who’s boss.

* The [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn Soviet Union]], especially under UsefulNotes/JosefStalin, was a place where political dissidents and other perceived "enemies of the state" (i.e. kulaks) were sent to the gulags or outright executed after a sham trial held by a KangarooCourt of party loyalists and outright ethnic cleansing of specific groups, with the Holodomor famine in Ukraine being one of the more infamous examples. His successors attempted a somewhat more humane strategy, simply institutionalizing people under fake diagnoses designed to pathologize dissidence, but were still highly totalitarian until ''Glasnost'' in the 1980s.

* [[UsefulNotes/TheFrancoRegime Fascist Spain]] held the distinction of being the only fascist country in Western Europe to survive World War II, outliving both Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy by another thirty years thanks to both their declaration of neutrality during the war and their alliance with the United States during the subsequent UsefulNotes/ColdWar. UsefulNotes/FranciscoFranco came to power following the UsefulNotes/SpanishCivilWar and maintained a totalitarian regime in which thousands of people were killed by political repression. Eventually, Franco instituted reforms which softened his rule, though not by much, allowing Spain to begin to rejoin the international community. Shortly before his death in 1975, Franco restored Juan Carlos as the King of Spain, who then [[{{Cincinnatus}} swept away the fascist government and successfully restored democratic rule]].

* The [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn Soviet Union]], especially under UsefulNotes/JosefStalin, was a place where political dissidents and other perceived "enemies of the state" (i.e. kulaks) were sent to the gulags or outright executed after a sham trial held by a KangarooCourt of party loyalists and outright ethnic cleansing of specific groups. His successors attempted a somewhat more humane strategy, simply institutionalizing people under fake diagnoses designed to pathologize dissidence, but were still highly totalitarian until ''Glasnost'' in the 1980s.

** "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS2E42TheEyeOfTheBeholder The Eye of the Beholder]]" is set in a nation that is built on conformity in all things, to the point where the Hitler-esque Leader often gives televised speeches all about glorifying the concept and preaching hatred against anything different from the established norm. People with untreatable physical deformities are shipped off to ghettos, and it's implied that [[BigBrotherIsWatching everyone is under surveillance]], give a nurse at one point warning the doctor to not speak too loudly about his doubts about the system.

** "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS3E71TheMirror The Mirror]]" is set in a BananaRepublic that has just recently seen the decades-long dictatorship of [[TheGeneralissimo General De Cruz]] has been overthrown in a revolution by UsefulNotes/FidelCastro expy Ramos Clemente. Clemente quickly proves himself [[FullCircleRevolution no better than De Cruz]], spiraling into paranoid madness as he enacts mass executions of suspected De Cruz loyalists and kills his own allies when he believes they're plotting against him.

* UsefulNotes/FascistItaly can be considered the TropeMaker since it shares many of the same traits as Nazi Germany (one-party rule, persecution of certain groups, etc). Unlike Germany, Italy's government was still a monarchy led by Victor Emmanuel III, though the real power was vested in the hands of UsefulNotes/BenitoMussolini and his Fascists until 1943.

* The Islamic Republic of UsefulNotes/{{Iran}} is also one of the worst contemporary dictatorships. It's also TheTheocracy, with power residing not in the President of Iran but in the Supreme Leader and his council of elders, who vet political candidates and can and will veto anything they don't like. It's also a totalitarian police state with numerous human rights violations, whose disproportionately large military is essentially being used to occupy ''itself''. The previous regime was a monarchical dictatorship with its own abuses, which eventually got overthrown in the UsefulNotes/IranianRevolution, but wasn't quite as constricting as the current one.
* UsefulNotes/SaudiArabia is modern-day example of a monarchic dictatorship. They are ruled by a royal family, but they have more in common with a family dictatorship than a traditional absolute monarchy. Media is heavily censored to be pro-government, curtailing free speech. Unlike North Korea, Iran, and Russia, they're very overt of the fact that they're not a democracy as well as their lack of elections. By some accounting measures, the Saudis are the '''actual''' wealthiest individuals on the planet, not people like Elon Musk or Bill Gates, since the Saudi royals have no obligation to make the size of their assets public knowledge.
* With good reason, the [[UsefulNotes/{{Belarus}} Republic of Belarus]] has the nickname "Europe's last dictatorship." Alexander Lukashenko, who openly prides himself on being "Europe's last dictator," has ruled the country for nearly 30 years as its first and only president, with subsequent elections giving him an improbable vote of over 90%. Even the [[StateSec internal security agency]] is still called the KGB, unchanged since the collapse of the USSR.

* UsefulNotes/SaudiArabia is modern-day example of a monarchic dictatorship. They are ruled by a royal family, but they have more in common with a family dictatorship than a traditional absolute monarchy. Media is heavily censored to be pro-government, curtailing free speech. Unlike North Korea, Iran, and Russia, they're very overt of the fact that they're not a democracy as well as their lack of elections. By some accounting measures, the Saudis are the '''actual''' wealthiest individuals on the planet, not people like Elon Musk or Bill Gates, since they have no obligation to make the size of their assets public knowledge.

* UsefulNotes/SaudiArabia is modern-day example of a monarchic dictatorship. They are ruled by a royal family, but they have more in common with a family dictatorship than a traditional absolute monarchy. Media is heavily censored to be pro-government, curtailing free speech. Unlike North Korea, Iran, and Russia, they're very overt of the fact that they're not a democracy as well as their lack of elections. By some accounting measures, the Saudis are the '''actual''' wealthiest individuals on the planet, since they have no obligation to make the size of their assets public knowledge.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'': in the fourth Book, Kuvira became the "Grand Unifier", the equivalent of Supreme Leader, thanks to her subduing the bandits, and then overthrew the decadent Earth Kingdom to proclaim the Earth Empire, where she had absolute power.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': The Boiling Isles is on the verge of being a dictatorship under [[EvilOverlord Emperor Belos]], if it isn't already there. Fifty years ago, Belos rose to power and began to force all witches outside of those he chooses to be part of his own personal coven to only practice one form of magic each. All their other magic is permanently sealed away, and those who refuse to fall in line and join a coven are branded criminals and hunted down. This keeps the population from embracing their full magical potential and makes a rebellion unlikely if not impossible. Those considered undesirable (often for [[FelonyMisdemeanor harmless things]], like believing in conspiracy theories or writing fanfiction) are [[IndividualityIsIllegal imprisoned in the Conformatorium]], and people who are considered an actual threat to Belos' power are [[TakenForGranite turned to stone]] in a particularly twisted form of public execution. Belos ''claims'' to be following the will of the Titan, but it's heavily implied that he's delusional or lying, and either way, he is the sole authority in the Isles in practice, since all law enforcement reports to him and there's no form of checks and balances in place to keep him from abusing his position. And, he gives a lot of discretionary power to coven officials like Lilith or Warden Wrath. Perhaps the creepiest part is that, thanks to a steady stream of propaganda and a focus on indoctrinating children from a young age, most of the citizens see Belos' rule as a ''good'' thing. And, he’s also had statues of himself erected after Season 1 to remind everyone who’s boss.

** One of the most infamous was UsefulNotes/AugustoPinochet's junta in Chile. Over 30,000 people were tortured or executed during his 25-year rule. He eventually got voted out of office after an attempt to legitimize his regime via an election designed to keep him in power.

* The [[UsefulNotes/{{Russia}} Russian Federation]] under UsefulNotes/VladimirPutin has become increasingly dictatorial since he first came to power in 2000. When his term originally expired in 2008, he became prime minister while Dmitry Medvedev became president, and used the office to be the real power until he was able to run for president again in 2012. Afterwards, he's slowly made amendments to extend his term indefinitely, curtailed freedom of speech, arranged assassinations of dissidents living abroad, and in February 2022, launched a massive invasion of Ukraine. While academics are more inclined to call Putin's Russia an oligarchy rather than a dictatorship, the government's authoritarianism and imperialism resulted in many critics calling it an attempt at recreating the tsardom.

* ''Literature/TheManInTheHighCastle'' and [[Series/TheManInTheHighCastle its series adaptation]] have ''the entire globe'' controlled by one of two military dictatorships: The Empire of Japan and Nazi Germany, who in this timeline have [[AlternateHistoryNaziVictory beaten the Allies during the Second World War]] and implemented their authoritarian policies onto all their occupied territories, including the [[FallenStatesOfAmerica former United States of America]].

* During the Cold War, the United States military and intelligence community helped overthrow a number of democratically elected left-leaning governments in Latin America, overtly or covertly allying with the (usually right-wing to far-right) dictatorships that replaced them. Part of this was to prevent the spread of communism, while another part of it was the result of corporate lobbying, with businesses like the United Fruit Company (the engineers of many a BananaRepublic) relying on exploitation of cheap labor in Latin America. Partly as a result of this, anti-American sentiment is fairly strong in a number of Latin American countries.

* UsefulNotes/NorthKorea is one of the most infamous dictatorships in the modern day, a totalitarian state built around the deification of the Kim family, whose citizens are subject to strict and arbitrary laws. With its citizens and often foreign visitors disappearing for the most minor of offenses, it has been described as Oceania of Creator/GeorgeOrwell's ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'' made real. In fact, Creator/ChristopherHitchens once theorized that the nation's founder, Kim Il-Sung, was given a copy of the book when it was published, and decided to put its nightmarish vision of the future into practice.

* UsefulNotes/SaudiArabia is modern-day example of a monarchic dictatorship. They are ruled by a royal family, but they have more in common with a family dictatorship than a traditional absolute monarchy. Media is heavily censored to be pro-government, curtailing free speech. Unlike North Korea, Iran, and Russia, they're very overt of the fact that they're not a democracy as well as their lack of elections.

* In the ''Franchise/{{Injustice}}'' franchise, after the Superman of an alternate universe loses Lois and his city to a horrific scheme set up by the Joker, he kills the MonsterClown and resorts to increasingly harsher measures to prevent another tragedy from ever happening again. As the new High Councilor, he sets up the [[Characters/InjusticeOneEarthRegime One Earth Regime]], a planetwide dictatorship which includes members of the former Justice League who now support him, along with villains such as Bane, Sinestro, and Black Adam. Instead of following truth, justice, and the American Way, Regime Superman now believes in lies, injustice, and the authoritarian way, thinking that the [[BeingGoodSucks traditional model of superheroics]] [[GoodIsOldFashioned is outdated]]. Batman leads the [[LaResistance Insurgency]], made up of non-powered heroes and a few ex-villains who oppose Superman's increasingly dictatorial ways, but the tide is ultimately turned by a number of heroes from the Prime universe and the ultimate arrival of Prime Superman who helps set things to rights.

** In the three-parter "The Savage Time", Vandal Savage sends [[TimelineAlteringMacGuffin a laptop]] to his past self with a video message and a lot of helpful information. With this, his past self deposes Hitler in a coup, takes over Germany, and uses the advanced technology of the future to impose his rule over the entire world.

** In order to protect themselves from future aggression, the Soviets set up satellite states between themselves and the West. The Warsaw Pact, which included the [[UsefulNotes/EastGermany German Democratic Republic]], the [[UsefulNotes/{{Hungary}} Hungarian People's Republic]], the [[UsefulNotes/CzechRepublic Czechoslovak Socialist Republic]], and the [[UsefulNotes/{{Poland}} Polish People's Republic]], were run very much like their masters in Moscow, consisting of the local communist party and utilizing security services to crush dissent.
* The [[UsefulNotes/{{Russia}} Russian Federation]] under UsefulNotes/VladimirPutin has become increasingly dictatorial since he first came to power in 2000. When his term originally expired in 2008, he became prime minister while Dmitry Medvedev became president, and used the office to be the real power until he was able to run for president again in 2012. Afterwards, he's slowly made amendments to extend his term indefinitely, curtailed freedom of speech, arranged assassinations of dissidents living abroad, and in February 2022, launched a massive invasion of Ukraine. While academics are more inclined to call Putin's Russia an oligarchy rather than a dictatorship, the government's far-right authoritarianism resulted in many critics calling it an attempt at restoring the tsardom.

* During the Cold War, the United States helped overthrow a number of democratically elected left-leaning governments in Latin America and installed dictatorships. Part of this was to prevent the spread of communism, part of it was the result of corporate lobbying, with businesses like the United Fruit Company (the engineers of many a BananaRepublic) relying on exploitation of cheap labor in Latin America. Anti-American sentiment is consequently very high throughout Latin America.
** One of the most brutal was UsefulNotes/AugustoPinochet's junta in Chile. Over 30,000 people were tortured or executed during his 25-year rule. He eventually got voted out of office after an attempt to legitimize his regime via an election designed to keep him in power.

** General Hugo Banzer ruled Bolivia as a military dictatorship from 1971-1978, a period known to Bolivians as the ''Banzerato'', before his overthrow by General Juan Pereda. During the ''Banzerato'', Banzer had 3,000 political enemies arrested, 200 of them killed, and many more tortured. Among those who Banzer integrated into his special services to assist with this repression in the later years was former Nazi Klaus Barbie, whose atrocities as the head of the Gestapo in Lyon during the French occupation got him nicknamed [[TheButcher "The Butcher of Lyon."]]