Dictatorships in the World Today - Term Paper Example

This has resulted in a global demand for capitalism, democracy, and individual rights. The 2010 and 2011 protests in the Middle East and North Africa corroborate this observation to the extent that those uprisings were motivated by, and carried out on behalf of, an opposition to dictatorial rule. Even one of the last few true dictatorships in the world, which is the reign of Muammar Al-Gaddafi, is under attack right now from American-supported rebels in the Libyan Civil War. This wave of change means that while dictatorships remain in the world in a few particular places, it seems that in only a decade the world may not have the problems associated with dictatorial rule.

A poignant example of dictatorship in today’s world is the hereditary succession of Kim Il-Sung (“the Great Leader”) and Kim Jong-Il of North Korea (“the Dear Leader”). Kim Jong-Il represents dictatorship because of the cult of personality that he attracts from the citizens of North Korea. As opposed to modern democracies, which tend to rely on notions of politicians as pragmatic champions of the people, a cult of personality attracts an idealized or heroic public imagery to an individual.

That is, instead of merely arguing for policies conducive to a better life for average citizens, a leader like Kim Il-Sung or Kim Jong-Il is thought to be directly responsible for a country’s success and he does this through absolute authority. Kim Jong-Il in particular is thought of having god-like powers, control of magic, and the ability to perform feats that no other men can (Kang & Rigoulot, 2005). In addition, nationwide celebrations are held for his birthdays. The motivations behind these celebrations are partly that the citizens of North Korean truly respect him, or that they fear punishment for not partaking (Mansourov, 2007).

In this manner, the regime of North Korea truly represents a modern dictatorship. Like North Korea, the country of Libya is led by a dictator who commands instant respect from his people. Colonel Muammar Al-Gaddafi, who is the unofficial leader of the Libyan government, operates under the title of “Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution”, which refers to the late 1960s Socialist coup d’etat that Al-Gaddafi led. In many ways, Al-Gaddafi fits the mold of a 20th century dictator. Today, his regime is defined by condemnable acts, including the outlawing of dissent, removal of foreign languages from schools, censoring of the press, central planning of the economy, assassinations of foreign leaders abroad, the creation of weapons of mass destruction program, and sponsorship of the Lockerbie bombing incident (BBC, 2009).

Unlike the North Korean regime, the Libyan government led by Al-Gaddafi has been challenged in the Libyan Civil War and as of 2011, the government controls only half of the country due to resistance from the uprising. Despite Al-Gaddafi’s explicitly and well-known dictatorial style, he has forged connections with a broad base of European and Asian powers to boost the status of Libya in the world. For instance, he brokered deals with French President Nicolas Sarkozy in 2007 and met with Russian leaders in 2008 to discuss the supply of weapons to Libya (Reuters, 2008).

In addition, the Chinese government has extensive economic interest tied with Libya with regard to the growing demand for oil in East Asia (Ford,