Title: 7 Steps to Becoming a Dictator | Psychology Today
Headings: 7 Steps to Becoming a Dictator
Mark Van Vugt Ph.D.
7 Steps to Becoming a Dictator
A manual for strengthening your power position as elected leader.

Content: Keep your political enemies close to you. 5. Create and defeat a common enemy. By facing down Nazi Germany, Churchill, de Gaulle, Roosevelt, and Stalin sealed their reputations as great leaders. Legendary warlords such as Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, and Napoleon were military geniuses who expanded their countries' territories through invading their neighbours. Dictatorships feed on wars and other external threats because these justify their existence—swift military action requires a central command-and-control structure. More than half of 20th-century rulers engaged in battles at some point during their reign, either as aggressors or defenders. Among dictators, the proportion rises to 88 per cent. Democratic rulers find this tactic more difficult to adopt because most wars are unpopular with voters. To attract support, the ruler must be perceived as a defender, not a warmonger.