Features of Regimes Flashcards
Features of a dictatorship
- Charismatic leader
- Ideology
- Single party state
- Terror, secret police, mass surveillance
- Communication + propaganda
- Economic control
- Foregin policy
Italy - Terror, Secret Police, Mass Surveillance
- After a 1926 assassination attempt, police were given special powers.
Secret Police (OVRA) was established: - 50,000 members.
- 100,000 informants—used for surveillance and social control.
- 130,000 files on individuals, with thousands of raids weekly.
1926: Special Tribunal for the Defense of the State was created (extrajudicial court by military for anti-Fascist subversives)
Italy - Single Party State
Mussolini’s first government lacked broad support and was a coalition with three other political parties.
Undermined the parliamentary system by changing the voting system in 1923.
* 1924: Fascists gained a majority of seats.
* 1925: Banned other political parties (although Mussolini maintained a monarchy through King Emmanuel III).
Italy - Foreign Policy
Mussolini pursued colonial conquests to achieve the Italian empire promised at the end of WWI - his dream was to recreate the Roman Empire:
* 1935: Attacked Abyssinia (Ethiopia).
* 1939: Annexed Albania.
* 1940: Invaded Greece.
Italy - Economic Control
Liberal economic policies favored state-supported companies and private enterprises.
* 1925–27: All workers had to belong to state-controlled unions (one union per industry). - The government resolved disputes between workers and employers.
* Nationalization of private ownership: Through the National Council of Corporations, industries achieved government aims.
* 1934: Due to the Great Depression, Mussolini buys failed businesses - 75% of Italy’s industry was state-owned, power to direct the economy and allocate resources.
Italy - Charismatic Leader
Benito Mussolini developed a cult of personality - adopting the title “Il Duce” (The Leader) and presenting himself as hypermasculine, superhuman, prodigiously talented.
* He was a skillful orator, remarkable rhetoric.
→ Led several rallies (most prominently the October 1922 march on Rome)
Italy - Ideology
An assertion of nationalism, and anti-democratice, anti-communist
* Emphasis on establishment of a State - “The State solves universal problems” “The Fascist conception of life stresses the importance of the State” – Benito Mussolini Doctrine of Fascism (1935)
* His manifesto: unify the nation, suppress communism, improve life for Italians, reform the (failing) government
Italy - Communication and Propaganda
Propaganda, mass media, censorship promoted his cult of personality and praised fascism.
* 1937: censorship was conducted through the Ministry of Popular Culture which could prohibit content produced in all areas of art, culture and communication → must reflect fascist values (Unity, action and empire)
* Italians knew that calls could be listened to or shut off, letters were read and sensitive topics spoken aloud could lead to accusations and penalties.
* School curricula ensured 1/5 of teaching time educated children as Fascists and to ensure that all content conformed to Fascist principles.
Japan - Terror, Secret Police and Mass Surveillance
Even before increasing militarism in the government, life was “regimented and controlled” (Japanese historian Saburo Ienaga The Pacific War 1935-45, 1978).
* 1900 Public Peace Creation and Police Law: Controlled political assembly.
* 1911: Special Higher Police established to control deviance. (Criminal investigation/espionage AKA thought police). Encouraged the population to spy on itself
* 1941: 65,000 arrested by the Tokko (Thought Police)
* Tojo controlled Kempetai (Japanese military police) to crush Kodo Ha
Japan - Foreign Policy
Aggressive imperialist agenda aimed at creating the East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere, and had an aggressive policy towards China:
* 1910: Annexing Korea.
* 1931: Initiation of the Manchurian invasion.
* 1937: Began the Second Sino-Japanese War
Japan - Communication and Propaganda
To maintain social and political stability of the Meiji Restoration, strict censorship and propaganda were implemented during even before Tojo’s regime:
* 1869: Early laws banned sensitive subjects and required reviews before publication
* Peace Preservation Laws (1925/1928): Restricted public speech and political meetings.
* 1936: Information and Propaganda Committee created to enforce censorship.
* 1940: Information Bureau combined armed forces to control all forms of information.
Japan - Charismatic Leader
- Fervent loyalty in the Emperor - the people were not allowed to look at him or speak his name - patriotism raised to a level of sacredness. There was no cult of personality, but the Japanese people devoted themselves to the military (samurai history) and the emperor (kokutai). However, the oligarchy was the real power, and Tojo the most prominent amonst them.
- Tojo’s was portrayed as a strong, decisive leader in service of the emperor and the nation
- His authority stemmed from his position within Japan’s military structure
Japan - Ideology
- Tosei Ha and Kodo Ha maintained militarism as central to Japan - history as samurais
- Kokutai: claimed that the Emperor was descended from the Sun-Goddess and asserting the superiority of Japan, and through the 1930s kokutai became infused with ultranationalist ideals → Hakko ichiu (Eight crown cords, one roof) (Greater Asia CoProsperity Sphere)
- Very national and militaristic
Japan - Single Party State
By the early 1930s, many Japanese citizens were disenchanted with multi-party politics.
* The Peace Preservation laws (1925/1928) suppressed the radical left
* In 1932, the Prime Minister was assassinated, marking the end of government by cabinet. Power rested in bureaucrats and military officers.
* 1940 Imperial Rule Assistance Association (by pressure of the military). All political parties were required to combine, and govern around the military and emperor
* The military had direct access to the Emperor and was not subject to the government. The military had direct influence on the government.
Japan - Economic Control
Japanese governments turned from liberal economic theory (free market, limited interference)
* March 1918 National Mobilisation Law: controlling unions, could nationalise key industries, draft and redirect labour into necessary industries (6.1 million civilians are relocated)
* This law was criticised by the Japanese parliment, but was passed with pressure from the military.
