Indeed, many countries such as Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Egypt have lost their democracy over the past century. So how exactly does a democracy slide into a dictatorship? Dictators may rise to power in a democracy through several ways. One way is the result of political polarization , where the competing political sides no longer want to cooperate with one another, allowing violent or extremist groups to take over politics instead. When these elites feel that losing an election may mean forfeiting their power and influence over the country, they may seek to take over the country by force, turning it into a dictatorship.
Or, democracies can fall the other more subtle way, when elites first grab on to power via democratic means, before then stripping away democratic rights. Democracies are characterized by lively but peaceful debate between a variety of political parties and interest groups. In a healthy democracy, these groups agree to make compromises that will benefit their group of voters, or constituencies.
But sometimes, these political groups begin disagreeing with each other so much that they no longer believe that compromise with the other group is possible.
When the political arena no longer becomes about compromise, it becomes a matter of dominating by one group over the other. In some situations, such as in the case a major economic collapse or a significant military defeat, voters may seek extreme options by choosing political parties which promise to single-handedly save the country from its economic or political woes, usually through authoritarian means.
The often unforeseen cost of electing these parties, however, is that they tend to destroy democratic principles once they enter power. In , after the end of World War I, Germany was defeated, its monarchy ousted, and a republican democracy was formed in its place.
The young Weimar Republic had a highly innovative constitution that, for the first time in German history, granted all Germans broad representation and the universal right to vote. The Entente powers imposed the harsh and deeply humiliating Treaty of Versailles that forced Germany to pay massive indemnities to the Entente powers, which left the country impoverished. The defeat also significantly destabilized German society and politics, leading to a series of revolutions and attempted coups Putsches throughout the s as various different radical groups ranging from communists to militarists sought to take over the Weimar government.
Amidst the disorder, a fringe group slowly rose to prominence: they were the National Socialists, or Nazis. They first emerged on the German political scene in when they attempted the Beer Hall Putsch in Munich, a plot where they sought to take over the Weimar government by force.
After six years of recovery and even some economic prosperity for Germany, the Great Depression of once again threw Weimar Germany in a desperate economic state, prompting many German voters to seek radical political options, including National Socialism. In , the Nazis were elected to become the leading party of the German parliament, campaigning on the promise to restore German greatness by taking revenge on Britain and France for the Treaty of Versailles.
The next year, an arsonist attempted to burn the German parliament building the Reichstag , which Hitler and his Nazi Party used as a pretext to seize full dictatorial control of Germany. Over the next twelve years, they entirely dismantled the democratic political establishment; instituted the worst genocide in human history, the Holocaust; and started the bloodiest war humankind has ever experienced, World War II.
As a result, they may seek non-democratic alternatives that will protect their wealth, status, or political influence from being taken away by rival elites, or even average voters.
These non-democratic alternatives may then take power through a variety of methods. One means is to use democracy against itself. In this situation, a specific party wins an election and then uses its position as the leader of the government to curtail democratic rights, such as cancelling future elections.
At other times, a democracy may collapse in a significantly more violent fashion, such as through a coup or revolution. In the case of a revolution, a significant portion of the population mobilizes itself against the current reigning government and then overthrows that government, promptly instating an alternative government which is not necessarily democratic in nature.
Answer Expert Verified This leads to political instability. There is no scope for morality. It leads to political instability. Begin typing your search term above and press enter to search. Press ESC to cancel. Skip to content Home Social studies What do democracies and dictatorships have in common? Social studies. Ben Davis April 6, What do democracies and dictatorships have in common? What is an example of a dictatorship country? What are the main differences between democracy and dictatorship give three points Class 9?
Baltimore: John Hopkins University, Need a custom Essay sample written from scratch by professional specifically for you? Similarities and Differences between Democracy and Dictatorship. We use cookies to give you the best experience possible. If you continue, we will assume that you agree to our Cookies Policy. Table of Contents. Introduction Description of democracy and dictatorship Similarities between democracy and dictatorship Differences between democracy and dictatorship Conclusion Works Cited.
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