dictator

The Other 9/11: A Ghost Story

Marc Cooper / Truthdig Aug 30, 2023 Decades after Pinochet left power, the national trauma of his dictatorship continues to visibly permeate Chilean life.

2024 Southern California Journalism Award: Second Place, Feature

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Strongman-in-Training (Video)

Mark Fiore / Truthdig Jun 13, 2019 Trump is bringing more than a touch of autocracy to his presidency. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

#PlaidShirtGuy Illustrates Trump’s Tyrannical Tastes

Juan Cole / Informed Comment Sep 11, 2018 The treatment of a local high-schooler by administration staff and Secret Service agents at a rally in Montana is an example of the president's pernicious pettiness. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Black Lives Don’t Matter in Israel

David Sheen / Truthdig May 3, 2018 Benjamin Netanyahu's war on African refugees is worse than imagined—as one Eritrean discovered after human traffickers kidnapped him in Tel Aviv. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

How U.S. Military Bases Back Dictators and Military Regimes

By David Vine / TomDispatch May 18, 2017 Critics of President Trump's public support for authoritarian rulers generally ignore the long-standing support U.S. presidents have offered repressive regimes over the decades. Dig deeper ( 10 Min. Read )

‘The Designated Mourner’: A Play on Authoritarianism, Restaged for the Trump Era

Jordan Riefe / Truthdig May 12, 2017 Twenty years after its debut, playwright Wallace Shawn’s drama has taken on new meaning for American theatergoers. (Shawn is pictured at left.) Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

Trump’s Real Sin Is Not Distinguishing Between ‘Good’ and ‘Bad’ Dictators

By Juan Cole / Informed Comment May 3, 2017 In Washington, D.C., you're supposed to diss the "bad" ones and praise the "good" ones as strong allies. But the president just seems to like them all. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

The World According to Trump Is Becoming Increasingly Dangerous — and His Actions Are One Reason

By Robert Reich / RobertReich.org Apr 17, 2017 As commander in chief, the president is empowered to manage the military might of the nation But he is not empowered to initiate warfare on his own As commander in chief, the president is empowered to manage the military might of the nation. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Who Says It Can’t Happen Here?

Staff / Truthdig Mar 1, 2017 We have endured 40 years of creeping authoritarianism, which now may run right over democracy. Dig deeper ( 9 Min. Read )

Demagogue-in-Chief

Chris Hedges / Truthdig Dec 12, 2016 Donald Trump will use the presidency to inflate his personality cult and increase his family’s wealth. Those who do not pay homage to his megalomania, or swell the profits of his financial empire, will be viciously attacked and persecuted. Dig deeper ( 7 Min. Read )

Reflections on the Death of Fidel

Steve Wasserman / Truthdig Nov 26, 2016 All previous socialist revolutionaries had seemed grimly puritanical; by contrast, Castro’s barbudos appeared almost to be bohemians with guns. Democracy and radical reform were poised to replace dictatorship and social misery. Dig deeper ( 24 Min. Read )

Turkish Government Arrests Opposition Parliament Members in Further Descent Into Dictatorship

By Juan Cole / Informed Comment Nov 4, 2016 This step is intended to give Recep Tayyip Erdogan the majority in parliament he needs to make himself president for life, and to give Turkey (currently a parliamentary government) an imperial presidency on the Egyptian model. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )