Dictatorship is government that has the power to govern without consent of those being governed. Dictatorship is generally contrasted with democracy. It is totalitarianism when a state regulates nearly every aspect of public and private behavior of the people. Totalitarianism also corresponds to pluralism. Military dictatorship may be official or unofficial and may not qualify as stratocratic. Military dictatorships is contrasted with Communist State.
A dictatorship and authoritarianism are characterized by a single leader or group of leaders and little or no toleration for political pluralism or independent programs or media. - Ezrow, Natasha (2011).
Dictators and dictatorships : understanding authoritarian regimes and their leaders. Frantz, Erica. New York: Continuum. A dictatorship has been defined as a form of government in which the absolute power is concentrated in the hands of a leader, and it aims to abolish political pluralism and civilian mobilization. - Olson, Mancur (1993). "Dictatorship, Democracy, and Development" The American Political Science Review.
Between the two world wars, four types of dictatorships have been described: Constitutional, Communist (nominally championing the "dictatorship of the proletariat"), Counterrevolutionary and Fascist. In military dictatorship political power resides with the military. Military dictatorship is similar to a Stratocracy, a state ruled directly by the military.
Since World War II, a broader range of dictatorships has been recognized, including Third World dictatorships, theocratic or religious dictatorships and dynastic or family-based dictatorships. - Frank J. Coppa (1 January 2006). Encyclopedia of Modern Dictators: From Napoleon to the Present.
Fascism is political doctrine opposed to democracy and demanding submission to political leadership and authority. A key principle of fascism is the belief that the whole society has a shared destiny and purpose which can only be achieved by iron discipline, obedience to leadership and an all-powerful state.
Fascism first developed in Italy, under the leadership of Benito Mussolini (dictator of Italy from 1922 to 1943) and later influenced the development of German fascism in the Nazi movement led by Adolf Hitler (dictator of Germany from 1933-1945).
Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany
Hideki Tojo's Japan
Benito Mussolini's Italy
Francisco Franco's Spain
Ion Antonescu's Romania
Stalin's Soviet Union
Mao Zedong and Xi Jinping's People's Republic of China
Carrie Lam's Hong Kong
Kim dynasty's North Korea
Ho Chi Minh's Vietnam, and
Nicolae Ceauşescu's Romania.