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'''Dictator''' is originally the title of a [[magistrate]] in [[ancient Rome]] appointed by the [[Roman Senate|Senate]] to rule the state in times of emergency. In modern usage, it refers to an absolutist or [[autocratic]] ruler who assumes sole power over the state (though the term is normally not applied to an [[monarch|absolute monarch]]). Like the term [[tyrant]], and to a lesser degree autocrat, it was a respectable title in the ancient world, but has some come to be used almost exclusively as a non-titular term for oppressive, even abusive, [[despot]] who rules with no regard for any existing [[constitutional]] [[democratic]] structures, organs or other entities. Almost always marked by a resilient resistance to reality and rational thought. This enables the dictator to act in a manner otherwise impossible. As such, grave [[human rights]] violations, [[torture]], disappearances, pervasive [[police state]] [[surveillance]] and the repeal of existing [[human rights]] laws and ignoring [[Bill of Rights|constitutional protections]], become the norm in societies ruled by dictators (even when "democratically" elected by the "majority"). Summary [[execution]]<ref>http://www.wnd.com/2013/02/when-a-republican-murders-u-s-citizens by [[Ted Nugent]] Accessed March 28, 2014</ref> by [[Executive Order]]<ref>"Few things are as dangerous to [[America]]n [[liberty]] as the proposition that the [[government]] should be able to kill [[citizen]]s anywhere in the world on the basis of legal standards and evidence that are never submitted to a [[court]], either before or after the fact. Anyone willing to trust President [[Obama]] with the power to secretly declare an American [[citizen]] an [[enemy of the state]] and order his [[extrajudicial]] killing should ask whether they would be willing to trust the next president with that dangerous power." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/05/us-targeted-killings-eric-holder_n_1320515.html Accessed March 28, 2014</ref> is the punishment of choice for a wide variety of offenses, both [[criminal]] and [[political]], under the rule of a dictator.

'''Dictator''' is originally the title of a [[magistrate]] in [[ancient Rome]] appointed by the [[Roman Senate|Senate]] to rule the state in times of emergency. In modern usage, it refers to an absolutist or [[autocratic]] ruler who assumes sole power over the state (though the term is normally not applied to an [[monarch|absolute monarch]]). Like the term [[tyrant]], and to a lesser degree autocrat, it was a respectable title in the ancient world, but has some come to be used almost exclusively as a non-titular term for oppressive, even abusive, [[despot]] who rules with no regard for any existing [[constitutional]] [[democratic]] structures, organs or other entities. Almost always marked by a resilient resistance to reality and rational thought. This enables the dictator to act in a manner otherwise impossible. As such, grave [[human rights]] violations, [[torture]], disappearances, pervasive [[police state]] [[surveillance]] and the repeal of existing [[human rights]] laws and ignoring [[Bill of Rights|constitutional protections]], become the norm in societies ruled by dictators (even when "democratically" elected by the "majority"). Summary [[execution]]<ref>http://www.wnd.com/2013/02/when-a-republican-murders-u-s-citizens by [[Ted Nugent]] Accessed March 28, 2014</ref> by [[Executive Order]]<ref>"Few things are as dangerous to [[America]]n [[liberty]] as the proposition that the [[government]] should be able to kill [[citizen]]s anywhere in the world on the basis of legal standards and evidence that are never submitted to a [[court]], either before or after the fact. Anyone willing to trust President [[Obama]] with the power to secretly declare an American [[citizen]] an [[enemy of the state]] and order his [[extrajudicial]] killing should ask whether they would be willing to trust the next president with that dangerous power." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/05/us-targeted-killings-eric-holder_n_1320515.html Accessed March 28, 2014</ref> is the punishment of choice for a wide variety of offenses, both [[criminal]] and [[political]], under the rule of a dictator.

Dictators come to power in a variety of ways. They can be elected fairly and then refuse to give up power; they may seize control of the country in a [[coup d'etat]]; or they may be placed in power as the puppet of a stronger country that desires influence in the region. Alternatively, some countries such as the former [[Soviet Union]] are ruled by a single party which appoints a succession of dictators without regard for its people; this is known as a systemic dictatorship.

Dictators come to power in a variety of ways. They can be elected fairly and then refuse to give up power; they may seize control of the country in a [[coup d'état]]; or they may be placed in power as the puppet of a stronger country that desires influence in the region. Alternatively, some countries such as the former [[Soviet Union]] are ruled by a single party which appoints a succession of dictators without regard for its people; this is known as a systemic dictatorship.

Since the nature of dictatorship is fundamentally at odds with the principals of [[democracy]], dictators are usually condemned by the international community. Consequently, many adopt tactics to try and give their regime an air of legitimacy, such as holding sham or coerced [[election]]s, or declaring a state of emergency in the country with the implication that democracy will be restored in due course (almost always an empty promise).

Since the nature of dictatorship is fundamentally at odds with the principals of [[democracy]], dictators are usually condemned by the international community. Consequently, many adopt tactics to try and give their regime an air of legitimacy, such as holding sham or coerced [[election]]s, or declaring a state of emergency in the country with the implication that democracy will be restored in due course (almost always an empty promise).