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Home / IAS Preparation / Democracy vs Dictatorship

Difference between Democracy and Dictatorship - Get Detailed Comparison & Their Features!

Last Updated on Nov 23, 2023
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The Difference between Democracy and Dictatorship is that in a democracy, the government has less influence over citizens’ daily activities and belief systems. Everyone can join clubs, political parties, and other organizations. In a dictatorship, the party and the government are completely under the power of one person. In India, we have a democratic form of government, and countries like Egypt, Cambodia, and Sudan have a dictatorship rule.

Difference between Democracy and Dictatorship

The Difference between Democracy and Dictatorship is one of the most important topics for the UPSC IAS exam. It covers a significant part of the General Studies Paper-4 syllabus.

In this article, we shall study in detail the Difference between Democracy and Dictatorship UPSC and their features.

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Differences between Democracy and Dictatorship

The term “democracy” describes a form of government in which the representatives are chosen by the general public and other elected state representatives through elected representatives. A government system known as a dictatorship is one in which a person, group, or both exercise unchecked constitutional power. Let’s examine the differences between democracy and dictatorship in detail in order to better understand the topic.

Differences between Democracy and Dictatorship

Democracy

Dictatorship

The early democracies were adopted by the Athenians, who founded the first democracy in 508–507 BC, in Ancient Greece.

Gaius Julius Caeser and Lucius Cornelius established the dictatorship in Rome.

The Constitution safeguards a citizen’s fundamental rights in a democratic system. Every individual has the freedom to join any political party and other organizations.

Fundamental rights are not given much weight in a dictatorship system, in the general population is typically subject to continual observation, policing, and violence.

In a democratic government, the person who receives the most votes during a general election becomes the leader of the nation.

There is the only person in charge of the nation, known as a dictator, and there are no institutions in place to limit their power.

Political parties compete for the votes of the population and represent many points of view in democracies. Winning a fair election is how political power is established in a democracy.

In a dictatorship, the government strictly regulates every area of the state and frequently forbids or strictly restricts associations and gatherings.

As they closely monitor the government’s every move and criticize it when mistakes are made, the media are regarded as the fourth pillar of democracy in democracies.

An authoritarian regime uses the media as its spokesman. Whatever a dictator does, the media will only present what the public needs to see in order to sustain a personality culture.

In a democracy, newspapers can publish the facts and criticize the government.

The rights of individual citizens are completely disregarded under a dictatorship. All citizens will be subject to state control through legislation, the police, monitoring, and the use of force.

The most crucial element of a dictatorship is the state and its government.

There is typically less restriction over the movies and literature that people can see in a democracy.

There is just one party in a dictatorship; all rival groups are eliminated and outlawed. Elections and opposition are prohibited in totalitarian nations.

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What is Dictatorship?

The term “Dictatorship” refers to a form of government in which a person or group is given a majority of the power. Since they are subjects and have no control over government structures, the people who have held authority have no option in how they should behave. Modern autocrats frequently resemble tyrants from antiquity rather than other dictators. Dictators frequently use deceit or force to seize autocratic political power, which they then maintain via intimidation, repression of basic civil liberties, and terrorism. Mass propaganda techniques are another tool that dictators may use to maintain public support.

Examples of Dictatorship

Some of the Dictatorship examples are listed below.

  • Nazi Germany: Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany in 1933 and established a totalitarian dictatorship. He suppressed all opposition and used propaganda to control the population. The Nazi regime was responsible for the Holocaust, in which millions of Jews and other minorities were killed.
  • Soviet Union: Joseph Stalin came to power in the Soviet Union in 1924 and ruled for nearly 30 years. He established a totalitarian dictatorship and used a system of terror to suppress all opposition. Millions of people were killed or imprisoned under Stalin's rule.
  • China: Mao Zedong came to power in China in 1949 and established a communist dictatorship. He launched a series of disastrous policies, including the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, which led to the deaths of millions of people.
  • Cuba: Fidel Castro came to power in Cuba in 1959 and established a communist dictatorship. He has ruled Cuba for over 60 years, suppressing all opposition and controlling the media.
  • North Korea: Kim Jong-un has ruled North Korea since 2011. He is the third generation of his family to rule the country. North Korea is a totalitarian dictatorship and is one of the most repressive countries in the world.

Check out the article on the Difference between Democracy and Monarchy to boost your UPSC preparation!

What is Democracy?

Democracy is frequently described as a government where the people vote for their representatives. Citizens hold the utmost authority in a democratic form of governance. They wield their authority through a representative system that includes recurring free elections, either indirectly or directly. The fundamental ideas of political equality serve as the foundation for democratic values. A political community’s members all have equal rights that impact the decisions taken in their name. This straightforward and thoughtful formula guarantees that social groupings and individuals will be treated with respect and dignity and will also need to have the essential autonomy and freedom to grow.

Examples of Democracy

Some of the Democracy examples are listed below.

  • The United States: The United States is a representative democracy. It means that citizens elect representatives to make decisions on their behalf. The United States has a two-party system, with the Democratic Party and the Republican Party being the two main political parties.
  • Canada: Canada is also a representative democracy. However, unlike the United States, Canada has a multi-party system, with a number of different political parties represented in Parliament.
  • The United Kingdom: The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy, which means that the monarch is the head of state, but the people elect the government. 
  • France: France is a semi-presidential republic, which means that the president is both the head of state and the head of government. The people elect the president. The government is formed by the party or coalition of parties that wins the most seats in the National Assembly.
  • Germany: Germany is a federal republic, which means it is made up of a number of states with a certain amount of autonomy. The Federal Convention elects the president. 

Also, check out the article on the Difference Between Democrats and Republicans for UPSC preparation!

Previous Year UPSC Questions on the Difference between Democracy & Dictatorship

Q Discuss economic backwardness as a major challenge to Indian democracy. Can Democracy and development go together smoothly? (2006)

Conclusion

The term “democracy” describes a form of government in which the representatives are chosen by the general public and other elected state representatives through elected representatives. A government system known as a “dictatorship” is one in which a person, group, or both exercise absolute power over others. Dictatorship and Democracy are two popular types of government that frequently clash compared to political systems. The difference between democracy and dictatorship is that since it may be said that the two kinds of governance are complete opposites, it stands to reason that they are frequently compared.

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Difference between Democracy & Dictatorship - FAQs

Democracy and dictatorship differ in that in a democracy, the populace elects its leaders, whereas, under a dictatorship, a single person or political body dominates the nation.

Some examples of modern totalitarian dictatorship are Nazi Germany under Hitler and the Soviet Union under Stalin.

Democracy is a system of government in which the citizens of the nation hold the ultimate power. Governing structures other than democracies are referred to as non-democracies. A democratic government is one that upholds the democratic political system.

Democracy is better than dictatorship as people prefer democratic forms of government because they provide them with a lot of freedom and put the majority's power in their hands. Dictatorship, on the other hand, revokes all of these liberties and privileges. Furthermore, one individual holds all the power.

There are many democratic nations that are in fact dictatorships since there has never been a change in government because the incumbent has never lost an election in those countries.

In a democracy, the government's leader is chosen by all citizens, whereas in a dictatorship, there is only one party and one leader in charge of maintaining law and order. For example, India, Norway, and Iceland are democratic countries while the Republic Of The Congo, Sudan, and Cuba are countries among dictatorships.
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