BOOK REVIEW Dictators instill fear to stay in power
This combined photo by The Korea Times shows, from left, Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler and Kim Il-sung. Korea Times file
Dutch historian Frank Dikotter analyzes rise of dictators, their tactics to survive
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Frank Dikotter's “How to Be a Dictator” charts the rise of eight dictators, including the founder of North Korea Kim Il-sung and Mao Zedong of China, examining the mobilization of resources that allowed them to remain in power for decades.
Although the book deals with twentieth century dictators in Europe, communist countries and the developing world, the Dutch historian's book still relates to today's democratic nations in which political leaders are elected once their predecessors' tenures are terminated.
In some democratic nations, accusations of fake news became an excuse to repress the media. Some politicians depict critical stories as fake news and use such stories as a reason to repress ideas and to persecute dissenters and journalists.
In democratic nations, freedom of expression is in peril because of political leaders who use the idea of fake news to serve their own agendas.
In “Dictator,” Dikotter says dictators are facing a complicated situation. “The paradox of the modern dictator, in short, is that he must create the illusion of popular support,” his book reads.
The Dutch historian says dictatorship is the devastating result of the politicians' ceaseless endeavors to rise to power and their skillful campaigns to remove political rivals and weaken opponents and critics by using the propaganda machine to sustain their cult of personality.
“Who built up the cult? There were hagiographers, photographers, playwrights, composers, poets, editors, and choreographers,” the book reads. “There were powerful ministers of propaganda, and sometimes entire branches of industry.”
The rise of dictators is almost impossible without the propaganda apparatus. The media has been used to glorify them and disseminate their idiosyncratic ideas to brainwash their people.
The eight twentieth century dictators ― Benito Mussolini, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, Kim Il-sung, Francois Duvalier, Nicolae Ceausescu and Mengistu Haile Mariam ― mentioned in the book were the masters of media manipulation. According to Dikotter, they all had different personalities but what they had in common is that they “made all the key decisions that led to their own glorification.”
It is no surprise that propaganda is an inevitable tool of sustaining a dictatorship. Their illegitimate rise to power and mismanagement of their economies, which led to widespread famine and poverty, needed to be justified to keep them in power.
One of the most commonly used ideas promoted in the media were that they were born leaders and saviors of their countries.
“How to be a Dictator” by Frank Dikotter, published by BLOOMSBURY
Unlike what is said about him in North Korea, Kim Il-sung, for example, had a humble beginning. Born to a Christian family, Kim was a low-ranking military officer before he was suddenly elevated by the Soviet Union to lead the country after Korea was liberated from Japanese colonial rule in 1945.
The Soviet Union helped him create a mythical image as a legendary guerrilla fighter who devoted his entire life to removing Japan from the Korean peninsula. The Soviet Union needed a leader who could appeal to the North Koreans. Kim was one of the three candidates it considered to fill the leadership post. Compared to the two others ― Cho Man-sik and Pak Hon-young ― Kim was a relatively minor figure.
Cho, a renowned Christian nationalist who was called the “Gandhi of Korea,” was a towering figure in Korea's independence movement, whereas Pak was the founder of Korean Communist Party in Seoul who later moved to the North and served as foreign minister.
It was pure luck that Kim was able to take the helm and become the founder of North Korea.
After ascending to power in North Korea under the influence of the Soviet Union, Kim needed to justify why he was leadership material. His childhood and credentials were exaggerated and some were made up, in order to create the image that he was the one to save the country.
The propaganda machine was critical to help him avoid the fallout of his miscalculated decision to go to war with South Korea and the catastrophic impact it had on the two Koreas. The three-year war took the lives of millions and the two Koreas were torn apart.
The 38th parallel remained intact, as Kim's initial plan to unify Korea after “liberating the South from the imperialistic forces” went in vain.
Political rivals, opponents and critics raised their voices against him for his wrong judgment. Facing escalating pressure which could end his days in the top job, he maneuvered to turn the tide in his favor which was successful.
Kim purged his foes from key posts and skillfully used the propaganda machine to ensure they couldn't challenge his power again. Placing his followers in key posts, Kim was able to keep a tight grip on the country until his death in 1994.
“Kim proclaimed victory,” Dikkoter's book reads. “From the beginning, the propaganda machine had presented the Fatherland Liberation War as a just war of defense, one in which the United States was the invader. The imperialist scheme to colonize the entire peninsula had been successfully foiled thanks to the brilliant foresight of the Great Leader. It was a great lie, but one made credible by endless indoctrination and complete isolation from the outside world.”
Dikkoter insightfully observes that deep inside, dictators are weak. “Had they been strong, they would have been elected by majority.”