Dictators and Autocrats

<p>In order to truly understand the emergence, endurance, and legacy of autocracy, this volume of engaging essays explores how autocratic power is acquired, exercised, and transferred or abruptly ended through the careers and politics of influential figures in more than 20 countries and six regions.</p><p>The book looks at both traditional "hard" dictators, such as Hitler, Stalin, and Mao, and more modern "soft" or populist autocrats, who are in the process of transforming once fully democratic countries into autocratic states, including Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Turkey, Brazilian leader Jair Bolsonaro, Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines, Narendra Modi in India, and Viktor Orbán in Hungary. The authors touch on a wide range of autocratic and dictatorial figures in the past and present, including present-day autocrats, such as Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, military leaders, and democratic leaders with authoritarian aspirations. They analyze the transition of selected autocrats from democratic or benign semi-democratic systems to harsher forms of autocracy, with either quite disastrous or more successful outcomes.</p><p>An ideal reader for students and scholars, as well as the general public, interested in international affairs, leadership studies, contemporary history and politics, global studies, security studies, economics, psychology, and behavioral studies.</p> <p>Part 1: THE NOTORIOUS THREE 1. Joseph Stalin: Autocrat par excellence (The Soviet Union) 2. Adolf Hitler: From Democracy to Dictatorship (Germany) 3. Mao Zedong: Communist Party Dictatorship (China) Part 2: PATHBREAKING AUTOCRATS OF THE 20TH CENTURY 4. Fidel Castro: From Grassroots Dictatorship to Communist Autocracy (Cuba) 5. Augusto Pinochet: The Emergence of One-Man Rule (Chile) 6. Robert Mugabe: Ruthless Authoritarian who Preferred Democratic Clothing (Zimbabwe) 7. Joseph Kabila: the “Raïs” of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) 8. Hugo Chávez: Was he an Autocrat? (Venezuela) 9. Lee Kuan Yew: Autocracy, Elections, and Capitalism (Singapore) Part 3: 21ST CENTURY AUTOCRATS – THE MAJOR POWERS 10. Vladimir Putin: Russia’s Neo-Patrimonial Façade Democracy (Russia) 11. Xi Jinping: The Rise of an Authoritarian Leader (China) 12. Narendra Modi: Elected Authoritarian (India) 13. Donald J. Trump: The Authoritarian Style in American Politics (USA) Part 4: 21ST CENTURY AUTOCRATS – OTHER INFLUENTIAL AUTOCRATS 14. Ali Hosseini Khamenei: Routinizing Revolution (Iran) 15. The Assad Dynasty: Quo Vadis Damascus? (Syria) 16. Kim Jong un: Rise to Power and Leadership Style (North Korea) 17. Abd al Fattah al Sisi: The One and Only Egyptian Dictator (Egypt) 18. Prayuth Chan-o-cha: From the Barracks to the Ballot Box (Thailand) 19. Muhammad bin Salman Al-Saud: King in All But Name (Saudi Arabia) 20. János Kádár and Viktor Orbán: From Communist to Post-Communist Autocracy (Hungary) 21. Recep Tayyip Erdogan: From “Illiberal Democracy” to Electoral Authoritarianism (Turkey) 22. Rodrigo Duterte: Macho Populism and Authoritarian Practice (Philippines) 23. Jair Bolsonaro: Beyond the Pale, Above the Fray (Brazil)</p>