In a 1990 Vanity Fair article, Ivana Trump, Donald Trump’s first wife, noted that he sometimes read a collection of Adolf Hitler’s speeches titled My New Order, which he kept on his bedside table. My New Order described Hitler’s roadmap to gain power. Throughout history, dictators have used a series of calculated steps to gain and hold onto power. Here are a few examples. Each one of these authoritarian figures has left us examples of every one of these steps.
Step 1: Exploit Fear
In 1933, Adolf Hitler capitalized on the Reichstag fire to incite public fear of communism. He persuaded President Hindenburg to sign the Reichstag Fire Decree, suspending civil liberties and allowing the arrest of political adversaries, thereby consolidating his power.
Step 2: Build Loyalty
Upon seizing power in 1922, Benito Mussolini secured the allegiance of Italy’s industrialists and military leaders by promising to restore national pride and order. He established the Grand Council of Fascism, positioning loyalists in key roles to fortify his regime.
Step 3: Control Information
In the 1990s, Alberto Fujimori of Peru manipulated the media to shape public perception. His intelligence chief, Vladimiro Montesinos, bribed television stations to broadcast favorable content, ensuring the populace received a curated narrative that bolstered Fujimori’s image.
Step 4: Silence Opposition
Following a failed coup in 2016, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan initiated a widespread purge, arresting thousands of military personnel, educators, and journalists. This crackdown stifled dissent and deterred future opposition.