Dictatorships: Ancient and Modern
Democracy today is challenged by a new form of government, called dictatorship. This form of government was known to the ancient Greeks and Romans who called it “tyranny” and “dictatorship”, respectively. The Greek tyrant captured political power by force and held it by force. ‘But the Roman dictator was appointed to this supreme office under the law and with the consent of die Roman Senate, the supreme authority in the Roman Republic, for the specific purpose of resolving the crisis confronting the State. He held power for a specified period which never exceeded seven years.
At the end of this period he rendered account to the Senate and laid down his office. Thus the Roman dictatorship was a temporary legal expedient to overcome an emergency. Modern dictatorship is established by means of a coup d’etat or revolution and is a lifelong, affair. Hence it resembles more with the ancient Greek “tyrannous” rather than with the Roman “dictatorship”. As early as 1922, when modem dictatorships had not yet really arisen. Lord Bryce wrote in his Modem Democracies that there was a “growing disposition to trust one man, or a few led by one, rather than an elected assembly.”
Dictatorship is defined as the rule of one man who exercises absolute power in the State, sometimes derived from and aided by a political party, or by a clique. It is an antithesis to democracy, because dictatorship is, firstly, government by decree rather than by law; secondly, the dictator is not accountable before any parliament or representative body, and thirdly, there is no limitation on the duration of the dictator’s authority. He holds power till he dies or is overthrown.