Origins of Power
Dictators may attain power in a number of ways.
- Family dictatorship - inheriting power through family ties
- Military dictatorship - through military force or coup d'etat. In Latin America, military dictatorships were often ruled by committees known as military juntas.
- Constitutional dictatorship - dictatorial powers provided for by constitutional means (often as a proviso in case of emergency)
- Self-coup - by suspending existing democratic mechanisms after attaining office by constitutional means
Read more about this topic: Dictatorship
Famous quotes containing the words origins of, origins and/or power:
“Grown onto every inch of plate, except
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The origins of art.”
—Howard Moss (b. 1922)
“The settlement of America had its origins in the unsettlement of Europe. America came into existence when the European was already so distant from the ancient ideas and ways of his birthplace that the whole span of the Atlantic did not widen the gulf.”
—Lewis Mumford (1895–1990)
“The dissident does not operate in the realm of genuine power at all. He is not seeking power. He has no desire for office and does not gather votes. He does not attempt to charm the public, he offers nothing and promises nothing. He can offer, if anything, only his own skin—and he offers it solely because he has no other way of affirming the truth he stands for. His actions simply articulate his dignity as a citizen, regardless of the cost.”
—Václav Havel (b. 1936)