Dictatorship

INTRODUCTION

The United States has been regarded as the bastion of freedom, equality, and democracy throughout the modern world. Its greatness is embedded deep within the soil in which remarkable Americans have spilled their blood in the name of priceless liberty. The momentous year was 1776 when the US formally declared independence form foreign intervention; likewise, this was the time that the world rejoiced at the dawn of a new age of democracy.

More than two centuries have passed and the once great country that espoused democracy to the rest of the civilized world is now regarded as the biggest global bully. The aftermath of the Second World War was not just mass carnage but mass paranoia as well. Although the Allied forces successfully toppled the fascist movement of Germany, Italy, and Japan, it nevertheless introduced a new world order that still resonates up to this day and age. World War II showcased the great nations’ atomic and nuclear capabilities; hence, this brought forth the race for absolute supremacy and world domination. A country’s quest for an eschewed type of greatness was manifested during the First and Second World Wars. Now, the United States’ quest for glory both produces and is fueled by war and paranoia. It is through these two aspects that a nation is prone to molding a dictator, and adopting a dictatorship type of political governance.

The discussion shall center on the propensity of a sovereign democratic nation such as the United States to develop a dictatorship by illustrating the different elements that make up a dictatorship. In addition, the paper shall also indicate certain conditions that prepare the population to wish for or accept a dictator and the circumstances that catapult him to power. In conclusion, the paper shall formulate a resolve that the circumstances that currently surround the United States’ foreign and domestic policies are closely reminiscent of the past dictatorships of Nazi Germany and Stalinist USSR.

NAZI GERMANY

Reference to the term “Nazi Germany” corresponds with the infamous name Adolph Hitler. Born in Austria-Hungary, a brief background indicated that Hitler had beginnings similar to any normal person. However, it must be noted that economic and social conditions during his early times in Germany were somewhat averse to majority of the German population. The citizenry was characterized as struggling and poor, wherein only a handful of Germans were able to live up to reasonable living standards. On the other hand, German Jews had a different story altogether. Even though majority of the German population were feeling the brunt of economic depression during those times, the Jewish people employed industrious means to counter the hardships that Europe was facing. They were perceived in a different light and oftentimes regarded as the root cause of German suffering.

In the early 1920s, every European country had a parliament, yet, within the next few years, dictatorial or semidictatorial, so-called strong man regimes arose in Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Austria, Romania, Poland, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, and the three Baltic states. These regimes were nationalistic, anti-liberal, antiparliamentarian, and occasionally somewhat anti-Semitic. The rise and triumph of Hitler in Germany marked one of the last steps in this series of right-wing victories with the difference that unlike most of the strong-man regimes, Hitler Germany was radical and not conservative. The alpha and omega of its creed was racist anti-Semitism. Although many regarded Hitler as a man of change, the hope that the people reposed upon him came with great consequences.

In 1933, Adolph Hitler was lawfully appointed Chancellor of Germany. Hitler and his Nazi Party ruthlessly took over all aspects of German life. The atmosphere was somewhat clouded with intense paranoia, and the State ran its affairs with an iron hand. The Nazis jailed most political opponents, and cold-bloodedly murdered over a thousand of their rivals. The judicial system was tainted in such a way that independent judges were dismissed and replaced by obedient Nazis. Moreover, labor unions, churches, and the military were similarly placed under Nazi control. The intention of the Nazis was very clear, which was to eliminate from German life all political dissidents and any alleged non-Aryans. Among these included the Gypsies, the mentally ill, homosexuals, and, most pointedly, the Jews. Their expressed aim was to create more “living space” for the German people (Gold and Coulson, 93).

The systematized thinking that the Nazis learned to acquire proved to be their most defining characteristic. This ideology materialized from the combination of three factors: post-World War I anti-Semitism, Social Darwinist racial theory, and Nietzschean belief. The Nazis put forth great effort through science and philosophy towards satisfying the apparent urge to legitimize their treatment of the Jews. It is very important to note that Hitler thrived on the people’s hatred and paranoia. The environment that he created made the people believe that his words were the gospel truth and he was their chosen leader. Since it has been long established that during those times, life was hard for the Germans, this situation prompted Hitler to point the finger at the Jews mainly because they were in a better situation than others. Although the disparity of wealth was not an accurate indication of social oppression by the Jews, Hitler made it seem as such and the Germans persecuted any culprit that he may identify.

STALINIST RUSSIA

Stalinist Russia may be characterized as a regime grounded on a deep history of despotism. Although its leaders constantly reminded the people of utmost patriotism for the Fatherland, the State ensured that centralized power rested in one power group. In the height of its existence, Soviet Russia remained tyrannical, isolationist, and wildly suspicious of the West; it was, in turn, generally suspected and despised in the West.

In the late 1920s, Stalin considered the democratic Western powers as its major enemies, calling even the German and other European Social Democrats, “Social Fascists.” In Germany, the Communist Party contributed significantly to the triumph of Hitler by violently opposing the pro-Western Weimar Republic and by invariably voting with the Nazis in the German Parliament. Around 1935, however, Stalin and the Communist International finally realized that Nazism, not the Western democracies, represented the greater threat to the Soviet Union. There followed one of the characteristic, drastic reversals in Stalinist foreign policy. The new policy line of a Popular