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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).
Notable dictators in world history have included [[Adolf Hitler]], Chancellor of Germany from 1933-45, [[Josef Stalin]], General Secretary of the Communist Party of the [[Soviet Union]] from 1928-53, [[Pol Pot]], head of the [[Khmer Rouge]] and ruler of [[Cambodia]] (or Kampuchea) from 1963-98, [[MaoZMao Mao|Mao Tzedong]], ruler of China from 1945-76, and Islam Karimov, current ruler of Uzbekistan since 1991, [[Kim Jong Il]] of [[North Korea]], and [[Muamar Ghaddafi]], long-time terrorist leader of [[Libya]].
Some rulers take on the traits of a dictator but have failed to secure totalitarian rule. Examples include [[Augusto Pinochet]] of Chile, and [[Fidel Castro]] of Cuba.
