The Difference Of Views In Dictatorship And Democracy

A dictatorship is a single individual who takes complete charge of a situation and makes every decision without consulting anyone else. This could be for a country, a workplace or even within a family. The dictator usually takes over through force or through elections that are rigged, or voters are manipulated by fear of violence.

A military dictatorship can happen when the military of a country aren’t happy with the way that the democratic government are performing, or the strength of the leader, therefore, they take over in order run the country as they see fit. Usually, once a military leader is elected, they modify the entire system to ensure that nobody can remove them from being in charge. People often feel worried and afraid under a military dictatorship, as the dictator does not have to follow the same laws as its citizens.

A historical example of a military dictatorship can be seen in Argentina. In July 1974, when the president Juan Peron suffered a heart attack, his wife Isabel took over as president. She could not, however control the country. Over the next two years, increasing terrorism and violence, inflation at 300% and striking workers led to political and economic instability. In 1976 a military junta took over ruling the county. They appointed Jorge Rafael Videla, a senior commander in the Argentine Army, as the president. The military took advantage by doing this and brought terror into the country. An official figure of 9,000 people were said to have disappeared or been killed by armed forces under his direct command, however, other estimates put the figure at around 30,000. During this time, the military controlled the televisions, newspapers, and even had patrols on the streets. In 1983, the military set a date for a democratic election, the first one in 10 years. Before the election, however, the military went ahead and made sure they weren’t known for anything in ‘The Final Document’. They burned records and tried to come up with many excuses for their crimes. The election was won by Raúl Alfonsín, and his first act was to investigate the disappearances. The military men that ruled were out on trial and were sentenced to life in prison.

Other well-known dictators are Kim Jong-il, the Former Supreme Leader of North Korea, who killed an estimated 500,000 to 1 million people. Another is Adolf Hitler, the Fuhrer of Germany, whose rule lead to the deaths of at least 40,000,000 people. In my opinion, many dictators that came to power were the blame for most of the mass genocides that have occurred across the world. Surprisingly there are currently 50 military dictatorships in the world and all the dictators are male.