IB History How Was Authoritarian Rule Maintained?

What did Lord Acton warn about?

Unchecked authority can become corrupt when power is absolute.

Why do authoritarian leaders often rise to power?

They often rise during crises.

What three factors help maintain authoritarian power?

Coercion legitimacy and popular support.

What three areas can authoritarianism affect?

Political social and economic life.

Which three authoritarian leaders are studied?

Hitler in Germany Mao in China and Nasser in Egypt.

What sensitive subjects must historians confront?

Famine repression persecution and genocide.

Why must historians use care with authoritarianism?

They must recognize suffering while analyzing complex dynamics.

What three dynamics should historians analyze?

Political economic and social dynamics.

What should historians never lose sight of?

The human consequences of authoritarian rule.

Why do societies sometimes turn to authoritarian rule?

Existing systems may fail during periods of crisis.

What is one example of crisis leading to Hitler?

Economic depression and political gridlock in Weimar Germany.

What crisis helped Mao gain power?

Decades of civil war and foreign invasion.

Does every crisis create an authoritarian regime?

No. Crises alone do not explain authoritarianism.

Why does ideology matter?

Ideology can offer solutions and a blueprint for change.

Which ideologies offered authoritarian solutions?

Marxism-Leninism fascism and nationalism.

Can ideology alone explain authoritarianism?

No. Historical and cultural context also matters.

What does authoritarianism offer when institutions fail?

Temporary order and direction.

What three factors help dictators emerge?

Crises ideology and historical context.

What is needed to seize power?

Conditions that allow a leader or movement to gain authority.

Why is maintaining power different from seizing it?

Holding power requires continued strategies and support.

What strategies do authoritarian rulers use?

Military force surveillance law propaganda and control.

How does military strength help authoritarian rulers?

It provides force to suppress challenges.

How does secret police surveillance help?

It monitors and intimidates potential opposition.

What are legal methods in authoritarian rule?

Laws that create an appearance of legitimacy.

What example of legal segregation is given?

Apartheid in South Africa.

What is propaganda used for?

To shape beliefs and cultivate support for the regime.

What does propaganda often create around leaders?

A cult of personality.

What does controlling education media and culture accomplish?

It helps shape public beliefs and loyalty.

How can loyalty to a leader become national loyalty?

The regime equates loyalty to the leader with loyalty to the nation.

Why can't authoritarian regimes rely only on coercion?

They need some degree of consent or acceptance.

What happens with too much coercion?

It can breed instability.

What happens with too little coercion?

It can undermine control.

How can legal structures and propaganda sustain legitimacy?

They create an appearance of lawful and accepted rule.

What must legitimacy reflect to last?

Lived realities.

How is popular support continually cultivated?

Through performance and reward.

Why isn't eliminating all challenges enough?

Citizens must still see the ruler as necessary or preferable.

Where can authoritarianism appear in daily life?

Family work school and community.

What areas beyond politics does authoritarianism reshape?

Economies societies and culture.

How can authoritarianism affect economies?

It can create major changes while imposing sacrifices.

What is an example of economic transformation?

Stalin's Five-Year Plans industrialized Russia.

What can authoritarian economic policies determine?

Whose needs are prioritized and whose are ignored.

How can authoritarianism reshape social identities?

It changes identities hierarchies conformity and surveillance.

How did Mao's China change traditional hierarchies?

It challenged traditional class and gender hierarchies.

How did Nazi Germany approach women's roles?

It emphasized traditional roles and motherhood.

How did Mao's China approach women?

It mobilized women as workers and revolutionaries.

What did both regimes limit despite expanding opportunities?

Individual autonomy through strict boundaries.

Who are marginalized groups under authoritarian rule?

Political opponents ethnic minorities and dissidents.

How are marginalized groups treated?

They may be coerced excluded or persecuted.

Can authoritarian rule help one group while harming another?

Yes. Its effects can be uneven.

What apparent benefit can authoritarianism provide?

Security or stability while restricting freedom.

What can authoritarian unity require?

Silencing diversity.

Are authoritarian governments ever uncontested?

No. Resistance can take many forms.

What are two forms of resistance?

Open rebellion and quiet non-compliance.

Where can resistance emerge?

Ruling parties intellectuals students workers or religious groups.

What is political opposition?

Organized opposition to the ruling government.

What example of political opposition challenged Nasser?

The Muslim Brotherhood.

What forms can mass resistance take?

Mass protests civic resistance and armed uprisings.

What does opposition often demand?

Reform despite possible violent repression.

What happens if opposition becomes popular?

It can threaten the regime.

Can violence sometimes prolong authoritarian rule?

Yes. Violence can sometimes strengthen or prolong it.

What is international pressure?

Pressure from foreign governments or international actors.

How can international pressure affect resistance?

It can amplify internal resistance.

What example involves international pressure against apartheid?

International sanctions against South Africa.

Do external actors always determine outcomes?

No. They can accelerate or hinder success.

What is a monarchy?

Rule centered in a royal family often through hereditary succession.

How is monarchical authority justified?

Tradition divine right or religion.

How are monarchies often structured?

Power is concentrated in a royal family with limited checks.

What is an oligarchy?

Rule by a small elite group.

Who might form an oligarchy?

Military officers landowners or privileged racial groups.

What is an oligarchy's main goal?

Preserve elite power and social and economic dominance.

How is political participation treated in oligarchies?

It is often tightly controlled.

What is a colonial government?

Foreign rule over a territory through administrators or rulers.

How did colonial governments maintain control?

Military force and bureaucracy.

What did colonial governments seek?

Resources and suppression of resistance.

How did colonial rulers justify their control?

They often claimed a civilizing mission.

What is a dictatorship?

Rule centered around one leader with extensive personal power.

How do dictators justify their authority?

Promises of stability reform or national unity.

When are these promises often made?

During times of crisis.

What political structure backs many dictatorships?

One-party rule backed by the leader's authority.

What are totalitarian states?

The most extreme form of authoritarianism.

What does a totalitarian state seek to control?

All aspects of public and private life.

What tools do totalitarian states use?

Ideology surveillance propaganda and coercion.

What is a major goal of totalitarianism?

Silence dissent and remake society.

Are authoritarian regimes static?

No. They are often fluid and change over time.

Why can authoritarian regimes change?

Internal pressure and external challenges.

What is the paradox of authoritarianism?

It can emerge from instability and become a source of instability.

What four things should you always examine in IB History?

Emergence maintenance impact and challenges.

What does emergence ask?

How did authoritarian rule emerge?

What does maintenance ask?

How was authoritarian rule maintained?

What does impact ask?

How did authoritarian rule affect people's lives?

What do challenges ask?

How was authoritarian rule challenged?

What should you compare across authoritarian regimes?

Patterns across time and place.

When did the Weimar Republic exist?

1918–1933.

What happened to Kaiser Wilhelm II?

The November Revolution forced his abdication.

What government replaced the Kaiser?

A parliamentary republic called the Weimar Republic.

When did WWI end?

November 11 1918.

What was the armistice?

The agreement that ended fighting in WWI.

Why was the Weimar Republic vulnerable?

It faced internal and external political and economic problems.

What political event created a power vacuum?

Germany's defeat and the collapse of the Kaiserreich.

What was the Spartacist Uprising?

A 1919 radical socialist revolt in Berlin that failed.