Still, another was by undermining dissent, questioning the validity of opposition, and refusing to honor public will, up to and including threatening or preventing the peaceful transfer of power.”Ĭompromised: Counterintelligence and the Threat of Donald J. Another way dictators sought to secure power and legitimacy was by co-opting the power of the state, its military, law enforcement, and judicial systems, to carry out personal goals and vendettas rather than the nation’s needs. A relentless distortion of reality numbs a country’s populace to outrage and weakens its ability to discern truth from fiction. One was the desire to manipulate, control, or discredit media. That quest for legitimacy played out in a host of ways. Whether in Iran, West Africa, or Haiti, all shared common characteristics, and all taught me lessons about dictators and authoritarians and their hunger to consolidate power and obtain, or at least convey legitimacy. “I had lived through four revolutions on three continents.
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