Tyrant’s playbook at work: Getting to power

 For the last eight years, India has been experiencing high octane politics. Since 2014 the political discourse has been dominated by a single ideology of polarisation. While the ruling side has been unapologetic about its practices, the opposition has failed miserably to convince people of the consequences of the authoritarian practices.

However, the issue arises with the silence of the majority despite the process of marginalisation not only being executed in open but rather showcased. As a citizen of democratic India, not many can stay without scratching their heads and questioning ‘where did we go wrong’?

The answer, to the surprise of many, is nowhere. Every now and then, authoritarian right-wing strongmen, in other words, tyrants get support from their citizens, all thanks to the mistakes of their so-called liberal opposers.

In this article, we will be looking at those mistakes, the sex appeal offered by strongmen and tyrants and the conditions that make people turn against their own people, just because their leader asked them to do so. Looking at their techniques, and scrutinising the tyrant’s playbook. 

Courtesy: Montredo

As we go by the common perception and the dictionary meaning, a Tyrant can be defined as a cruel and oppressive leader. But no, tyranny is a government for people who want results. The end of hope in democratic processes and frustration due to the constant bickering of political rivals manifesting in the form of failure paves the way for the rise of tyrants.

Further, if we look at human history freedom has not been a norm, humans love being ruled. When one is living in a difficult time, there's an appeal to someone who comes up, finds their moment, and says, “I alone can fix it all ”. History's most successful tyrants have done that, making full use of the distressed times, or as we say an aapda, and transforming their society from top to bottom.

He is one of us, but special

Before taking the reins of society into his hands, the tyrant needs to stand out from the rest of the crowd. For this, the leader needs to gain the trust of the people, and when it comes to vesting one’s faith, there is no alternative to being the messenger god. 

According to North Korean legend, at the moment of Kim Jong-il's birth, a new glowing star lit up the sky, a double rainbow appeared and winter turned into spring. In Iraq, Saddam Hussein claimed that he was anointed by God to rule Iraq forever and pointed to the times he escaped death as proof of his divine favour. 

Now, when you see someone worshipping the idol of your country’s leader, or building temples in his name then it is not just some blind follower. There is no coincidence if your beloved leader is being compared to the lord whose temple played a role in bringing this man to power.

But being related to the almighty is not enough. A relationship with the god might make people worship you, but that will not attract votes. Being a tyrant, you need to be the face of the nation, and for that, you need to convince your people that yours is the face they feel connected to by showing your people you are one of them.

Italian dictator Benito Mussolini addressing a rally in Rome (Courtesy: Encyclopedia Britannica)

For example, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini proudly referred to himself as the “man of the people,” frequently playing up his humble roots as the son of a small-town blacksmith. At the start of his reign, Idi Amin drove himself around Uganda in an open Jeep and was known for showing off his instrumental skills in public gatherings. No doubt a relation established between some chai and pakoras delivered similar results in India.

Hate is the best product

History tells us that authoritarian leaders require people to be exasperated. A happy population can never deliver a verdict in favour of the extremists. But on the tyrant’s part, genius is understanding the nature of resentment that already exists and presenting yourself as the means to overcome that, as the means to get even with the people that you resent. 

To get people's attention, just show them that their enemies, intellectuals, deplorable, loose women, liberals, and immigrants, are your enemies, and you will take them down no matter what.

Like, from an early age Mummar Gaddafi gave fiery speeches against the Western-backed monarchy that he called corrupt. He was received as a hero when he took power after toppling the regime. The Founding father of North Korea never kept from reminding people of the humiliation they suffered at the hands of the Occupying Japanese army. 

On the other hand, Idi Amin after rising to power focused the frustration of his people on their former colonial master, Britain, and later on the Indians. If the people are convinced that there is a threat to the nation, then the unity in the motherland’s name will not take time to turn into your personal army.

Ugandan dictator Idi Amin Dada

Similar to what we have been seeing in our country lately, Hitler railed against the Jewish led conspiracy holding the proud German people down. What Hitler sold was not only anti-Semitism but he claimed that the deep pockets of Wall Street and Communists in Moscow are all one part of the same Jewish plot. As absurd as it might seem, this convinced the German people.

However, many of us might believe that we are better than those gullible citizens of erstwhile Germany. But self-proclaimed intellectuals tend to forget that a crowd has a very short term memory, which makes me remind them of  Ali vs Bajrangbali and abba jaan rhetorics.

It will be sheer idiocy to believe that German people in the 1920s were worse than us or the people around us today. If you feel genuinely that there's an enemy within, then you would want your politicians to do something about it.

Selling the messenger with the message

Like any product, for your budding movement to break from the pact you will need a marketing strategy. It is important to understand that it is one thing to have the man around whom you want to build the cult, it is essential to have the iconography to go with it, as a symbol is an immortal and powerful tool for binding people to a monolith.

However, as powerful as your symbol might be, your real power is your people and they need to be dressed for your success. It was not only Hitler who put this page of the playbook into action with his brown shirt militia. Not very different from the parades that we witness in Nagpur.

Nazi party symbol, one of the most powerful icons in the human history(Courtesy: Holocaust Matters)

The parades, the ideology and the uniform make people believe in the cause, turning them into identically working machines with no difference in opinion and unquestioned loyalty. Tyrants always strive for conformity. Intriguing is the fact that successful tyrants convince people that it's not conformity, it's unity towards a single cause.

As the known historian and author, Wendy Lower puts it “that very act of obtaining the uniform and being a part of something greater than yourself, being part of a movement was very significant in the kind of German psyche. That uniform meant sacrifice, that meant duty, that meant obedience and loyalty.”

Be patient and take control

Waller R. Newell, Professor of Political Science at Carleton University, rightly suggested that “you have to have cobra-like patience before you pounce. The ability to play a long game, to wait.”

Authoritarian leaders, generally, do not inherit the throne from their ancestors. Barring North Korea, no other tyrant has been able to pass on the reins of their state to the next generation, therefore, they are self-made leaders who build their base and wait for the right opportunity before claiming what is theirs.

When Saddam Hussein was Iraq's Vice President, he spent a decade building a secret service loyal to him before using it to seize power from his boss. Similarly, Joseph Stalin spent seven long years cosying up to Leni before the father of Russia finally put him in charge. In Uganda, Idi Amin patiently stacked the army with the members of his tribe, the Kakwa, who then helped him topple the president.

Today, in India, we might blame the situation, but the truth is that the potential tyrants that we have in power today rose to the initial 282 from a mere 2 in 1984. The base building for hoisting the saffron flag in North-East India started even before independence in 1946 when three RSS workers - Dadarao Pamanath, Vasant Rao Oak and Krishna Paranjpe - arrived there on October 26 and organised the first shakha.

But just rising to power is not enough, there is always a parallel power of authority above to keep the elected leader in check. That's the time when they have got to start taking opportunities that are gonna straighten their grip on power, and nothing says opportunity than a good crisis. Again, patience is all that it takes to strike down those challenging a leader’s rise to absolute power.

Tyrant's playbook at work is a blog series by Tricky Politricks. Fresh articles will come on every Sunday.