Dictators : the cult of personality in the Twentieth century
/ Frank Dikötter
- London : Bloomsbury Publishing, 2020
- ix, 274 pages : illustrations ; 21 cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Preface -- Mussolini -- Hitler -- Stalin -- Mao Zedong -- Kim Il-sung -- Duvalier -- Ceausescu -- Mengitsu Afterword -- Select Bibliography -- Notes Acknoledgements -- Index.
No dictator can rule through fear and violence alone. Naked power can be grabbed and held temporarily, but it never suffices in the long term. A tyrant who can compel his own people to acclaim him will last longer. The paradox of the modern dictator is that he must create the illusion of popular support. Throughout the twentieth century, hundreds of millions of people were condemned to enthusiasm, obliged to hail their leaders even as they were herded down the road to serfdom. This timely study, told with great narrative verve, examines how a cult takes hold, grows, and sustains itself. It places the cult of personality where it belongs, at the very heart of tyranny. -- back cover
9781526626998
MUSSOLINI, BENITO 1883-1945. HITLER, ADOLF 1889-1945 STALIN, JOSEPH 1878-1953. MAO ZEDONG 1893-1976. KIM IL-SUNG 1912-1994. DUVALIER, FRANÇOIS 1907-1971. CEAUȘESCU, NICOLAE 1918-1989. MENGISTU HAILE MARIAM 1937-
20TH CENTURY
POLITICAL SCIENCE PSYCHOLOGY MARXISM--POLITICAL THEORY