Talk:Military dictatorship

United States

I don't think America is a dictatorship. Or is it? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Spb10 (talk • contribs) 19:56, 24 September 2010 (UTC)

American has a state of emergency and dictatorial powers under the so-called Patriot Act, but does that mean America is a military regime? I don't think so. Though the use of illegal military "courts", and the military overriding the civilian president (such as when Obama tried to cancel the assassination of Bin Laden, and was overriden), could suggest that it is a military regime. I think a better description is a civilian dictatorship. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.197.15.138 (talk) 08:11, 21 May 2011 (UTC)

CIA

How come there isn't a single reference to CIA influence and action in these dictatorships (particularly in Latin America)? --190.31.122.96 (talk) 15:36, 14 June 2010 (UTC)

typo? vandalism?

Although there are squirrels, military regimes usually have little respect for human rights and use whatever means necessary to silence political opponents, who are viewed as opposing the army as enemies.

Squirrels? I might not understand an alternate meaning of the word, so if that is the case I don't think I would be the only one and more explanation is required in the article. My instinct is that it is silly vandalism, but I just wanted to bring it up in case I was wrong. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 160.36.61.73 (talk) 14:38, 20 October 2009 (UTC)

The Case of Iran

I think it's clear now that Iran has changed from an Islamic Republic to a military dictatorship. Effective political control has shifted from Islamic clerics and the popular vote to the Revolutionary Guard, the elite armed forces of the country. Notable commentary would seem to agree. I move that Iran be included on the present-day list. Lothar76 (talk) 21:05, 6 July 2009 (UTC)

No. The Revolutionary Guard is part of the clerical power elite, not the army. Power lies with the hardline clerics. Iran is a clerical dictatorship, not a military regime.

5/1 Revision

Mostly I cleaned up grammar and miscellaneous wording stuff. However, I did delete the sentence:
Few Communist regimes are military dictatorships, and controlling the military so that it cannot challenge the party has been a persistent concern of these regimes.
Not because it was innacurate or controversial, but because it is basically repeated later in the article and it destroys the flow of the article where it was.
--Xinoph 23:03, May 1, 2004 (UTC)

Argentina

Argentina under Juan Domingo Perón (1946-1955) was not a military dictatorship, Peron was elected by the people of Argentina in elections everyone recognized as fair. Malau1

This is the debate that I think should be addressed in wikipedia, WHEN IS A PERSON A DICTATOR. I am Venezuelan, and I beleive that even when Hugo Chavez has been elected he is indded a dictator who does what he wants in my country. Wikipedia , alas, will not call him for what he is. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 190.79.222.123 (talk) 03:10, 2 September 2009 (UTC)

Do you think that Chávez is a dictator because he does what HE wants? I strongly disaagree: if Chávez won so many fair elections, it must be because he does what he and most of the people want. In a true dictatorship there are no fair elections, there are no opposition media, journalists who criticize the Govt. are imprisoned (or killed), opposition parties are banned, right of strike is suspended, etc etc. Sebasbronzini (talk) 12:43, 3 May 2010 (UTC)

This question is irrelevant. The article is for military regimes, not civilian dictatorships. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.197.15.138 (talk) 08:14, 21 May 2011 (UTC)

The Confederacy

Why is the Confederate States of America listed as a military dicatorship? It had a democratically elected government which was in power until the end of the American Civil War. --203.52.130.138 02:19, 18 Mar 2005 (UTC)

The article does not give a clear distiction or definition of stratocracy. The wikidictionary link provided defines stratocracy as military government.

---

I have moved the stratocracy link out to the Wikipedia article on this. It's not much better, though. Mgw854 (talk) 21:09, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

The Confederacy did not have a military dictatorship, but the Union held a military dictatorship over it during the Reconstruction. Perhaps that was what was meant by the person who put it on there. - Woverdude —Preceding unsigned comment added by Woverdude (talk • contribs) 16:30, 3 November 2010 (UTC)

Pakistan

Why is Pakistan listed as a military dictatorship under its present form. Despite their being a coup in '99, the Supreme Court of Pakistan has since recognized Musharraf as the president and a referendum was held and extended his current executive power for five more years. Read the note under "Executive Branch" [1]. Pepsidrinka 04:38, 20 March 2006 (UTC)

As I understand immediately after coup in '99 all Supreme Court Judges had to take the oath again to confirm faith in new rulers..I remember that time one judget refused and he was sacked .So recognition of Musharraf by the Supreme Court does not carry much weight.About referendum many dictators get themselves "elected" .One recent example is of dictator of Belarus.

In military dictatorship there are two words .Militray -Yes Mussharaf is uniformed chief of army staff .Dictatoship - we need to find what poewrs does he have .We know he himself has made the law as who can contest elections and who can not( denied n Shariff and Bhutto to contest elections) ,who are eligible to vote and many more laws .He has power to dismiss the prime minister -he selected a new prime minister a few years back , he has all executive powers in practice , he receives all foreign dignataries ( recently Pakisitani PM was nowehere to be seen when President Bush visited Pakistan) and he has a constituted body which has military people in majority and that body can overule any decision of cabinet .So all in all it is dictatorship .And Military dictatorship to be specific. Shyamsunder 12:38, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

Not only does the Chief of Army Staff hold, in practice, all executive power, serving army officers are running many of the civil institutions of Pakistan. Much recent legislation was through presidential ordinance as well. Parts of that which were of a constitutional nature have gone through parliament as well, but since parliament is nowhere near free from military pressure, this hardly constitutes a democratic act. I think Pakistan should stay on the list. --82.41.33.42 10:55, 12 May 2006 (UTC) Salman

Portugal (1933-1968)

Portugal was not a military dictatorship from 1933 to 1968. It was ruled under a civil constitution, the Estado Novo.

--MiguelFC 04:14, 23 August 2006 (UTC)

Nonetheless, it' still a military dictatorship. From the article:

"Like any dictatorship, a military dictatorship may be official or unofficial, and as a result may not actually qualify as stratocratic (some military dictators, like Panama's Manuel Noriega, are nominally subordinate to the civil government). Mixed forms also exist, where the military exerts a very strong influence without being entirely dominant." Evenfiel 05:13, 27 April 2007 (UTC)

Burma

One part of the article says that Burma's been under a military dictatorship since '62, while another one gives it a two-year hiatus. I'll change that hiatus one, since I think it's a misrepresentation of events in the country. BigHaz - Schreit mich an 06:30, 12 November 2006 (UTC)

Pakistan

I won't give my opinion on this, but Pakistan's entry in the "Nations with a legacy of military dictatorship(s)" section, Pakistan lists "Pakistan (1958-1971; 1977-1988; 1999-present)" yet it does not appear in the list of countries currently under military dictatorship. This is inconsistent. --A Sunshade Lust 19:48, 3 December 2006 (UTC)

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Was not a military dictatorship under Mobutu. The military never became the government. Aside from Mobutu, virtually every member of the government during his rule was a civilian. And while Mobutu relied on the military to remain in power, true power was vested in the country's sole political party, the MPR, and himself, rather than in the armed forces. [2] Josh 21:23, 27 February 2007 (UTC)

Hitler

wasn't Nazi Germany a Military dictatorship. -Mrsanitazier

No. Josh 07:27, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

The article needs to be re-written. Nazi Germany was NOT a military dictatorship. The military was strictly subservient to the civilian authorities. Many military officers were Nazi's, but many were not.203.184.55.172 (talk) 04:11, 27 August 2008 (UTC)

Help, please!

We have a young Wikipedia contributer named User:Shark kid, who has been adding a lot of material to military articles, including this one just today. He means well, but he seems to have no idea what is appropriate and what is not. In this article on Military Dictatorship, he has just added a large and inappropriate section on "Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich". I have already deleted too much of his material, and I don't want to stalk him. If you folks who pay attention to this article see fit, please edit or delete his addition, and leave a note in his user page. —Aetheling 18:26, 28 April 2007 (UTC)

Ok. -Evenfiel 20:05, 28 April 2007 (UTC)

Latin America and Cold War

The end of the Cold War didn't had much to do with the end of military dictatorships in Latin America. By the time Gorbachev started his government, there weren't that many dictators in Latin America and the fact the remaining few became democracies had a lot more to do with internal problems than external. For example, in Brazil the slow democratization process started way back in the 70s.

Poland

There is a wrong years. During interbellum there was a military dictatorship since 1923 (May Coup) till 1939 not 1935. In 1935 marshal Piłsudski died but his protégé successors drifted toward even worst authoritarianism. Another mistake is giving years 1981-1989. Martial law in Poland, only time of military dictatorship during communist period was in 1981-83 —Preceding unsigned comment added by Pszeszczep666 (talk • contribs) 23:46, 10 September 2007 (UTC)

Authoritarianism is not military rule, necesaarily. Poland did not have military government in the 1980's. It was still a communist regime, with martial law. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.197.15.138 (talk) 08:08, 21 May 2011 (UTC)

Egypt

In the section on countries with a legacy of military dictatorship, Egypt is listed with the date as to present. If this is so, shouldn't it be in the list of countries currently ruled by a military dictatorship? If it no longer is then presumably the date needs amending.Crana (talk) 23:31, 27 December 2007 (UTC)

Cuba

How is Cuba NOT a Military dictatorship??? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 200.93.117.192 (talk) 17:07, 5 April 2008 (UTC)

Just because Fidel liked to wear a uniform shirt, didn't make him part of the military. Cuba is giverned by the Communist Party of Cuba, not by its military. --dashiellx (talk) 19:49, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Yes it's a Single-party dictatorship (of cause they use the military, every dictatorship does) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.164.239.161 (talk) 12:32, 4 July 2008 (UTC)

Pakistan

It is NOT a military dictatorship. There is a National Assembly, which is strongly against PRESIDENT Musharraf. Get your facts right, wikipedia. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.39.7.203 (talk) 21:55, 5 April 2008 (UTC)

WikiProject Military history/Assessment/Tag & Assess 2008

Article reassessed and graded as start class. --dashiellx (talk) 19:35, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Zimbabwe

Why is Zimbabwe listed as a military dictatorship? Dictatorship or not, it has a civilian government. Josh (talk) 02:56, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

North Korea

This list just screams a need for North Korea to be listed. I can't believe we missed that one. Tubularbells1993 (talk) 00:17, 21 January 2009 (UTC)

To clarify, I meant on the Current Cases list. Tubularbells1993 (talk) 17:59, 16 March 2009 (UTC)

North Korea, just as Cuba (see comments above) is governed by it's communist party, not by its military. Tom Paine (talk) 17:39, 13 June 2009 (UTC)

This is absurd. North Korea is a Communist dictatorship. It is not a military dictatorship! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.197.15.138 (talk) 08:06, 21 May 2011 (UTC)

Merger proposal

I think the content from Military junta should be merged into this article. After that the other page should be replaced by a redirect. The two articles are both used in serveral country infoboxes. --Stephantom (talk) 00:55, 28 March 2009 (UTC)

Oppose - A dictatorship is defined as absolute rule by an individual. A junta is a committee of military leaders; while it is likely this committee will have a head of state, it leaves the possibility open of the council as a whole overriding their leader in a decision depending on the government's laws (much as the U.S. Congress may override a veto of the President). As stated in the article, the terms are not synonymous. The article just needs meat--examples, for instance, of how a junta operates. DerekMBarnes (talk) 04:45, 6 July 2009 (UTC)

Oppose-for the same reasons as DerekMBarnes, above.Veritas Omnia Vincit (talk) 10:52, 12 July 2009 (UTC)

Oppose - A bunch of grapes is not the same as one grape. Similarly, a military dictatorship can consist of either a (military) junta, or of one single strongman in charge; and they are not, cannot be, the same thing. Stephantom ought to ask himself, "Can a junta be composed of just one man?". --AVM (talk) 18:17, 9 July 2010 (UTC)

YES MERGE IT

I SAY MERGE IT THEY'RE BOTH MAINLY THE SAME.

TOMASIO9768.80.102.205 (talk) 22:27, 14 April 2009 (UTC)

Europe: Russia, USSR, Nazi Germany

Russia up to 1917 was an authocracy (Czar), USSR's government a one party rule (communist), Nazi Germany was a totalitarian dictatorship with extensive civilian support. None or them proceded from a coup started from military ranks. Tom Paine (talk) 17:52, 13 June 2009 (UTC)

Ladies and Gents, Nazi Germany was put back into the list of countries with a military dictatorship. I have removed it. Before Germany in any form is added again, there should be discussion here of why exactly it should be there. So far as I know, Germany has never had an indigenous military government (between 1945 and 1949, Germany was under military governments from the armed forces of Britain, the US, the Soviet Union and France). It had an attempted military coup (July 20, 1944), but has never had an actual military government.

Hitler and his party were civilians. Military personnel were not allowed to join political parties of any description after 1919. Keitel was presented with an honourary Gold Nazi Party Badge, but that was it. Hitler's regime was a civlian government. The fact that they wore paramilitary uniforms is irrelevant. Anyone can parade around in a gay costume. CMarshall (talk) 13:55, 8 July 2009 (UTC)

Hitler was a german military leader Category:German_military_leaders

Head of the Nazi regime and head of the german army. What is that if not a military dictatorship?

--Csendesmark (talk) 20:26, 19 February 2011 (UTC)

Presidents of the most countries are also heads of their armies (like the USA, for example). The position of the commander of army usually comes in pair with the position of head of state. HeadlessMaster (talk) 11:54, 17 February 2012 (UTC)

Hitler was discharged from the German Army shortly after World War 1. After becoming Fuhrer and Chancellor, he appointed himself to several military positions. This is not a military dictatorship, it is a civilian dictatorship. Hitler did not draw his power from his leadership of the Wehrmacht, but from his position as leader of the Nazi Party, and Chancellor of the Reich. CMarshall (talk) 12:36, 27 January 2012 (UTC)

Protectorate of England

As described in The Protectorate, shouldn't the Commonwealth/Protectorate be on the list of past Military Dictatorships? JuliusNero (talk) 22:55, 5 November 2009 (UTC)

Agreed, as it was ruled by Cromwell and the Roundheads. Zolstijers (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 00:03, 7 November 2009 (UTC).

Mauritania

Mauritania is not a military dictatorship at this time. Military administration was transformed into a civil administration. President was elected by popular vote.The military junta removed from power. As in the Sudan. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 93.125.87.2 (talk) 11:11, 10 December 2009 (UTC)

Nicaragua

Can Nicaragua be classified as a military dictatorship? Under the Somozas it was more of an authoritarian family dynasty/quasi-dictatorship in which the Somoza family and their allies/associates held the reins of power, not the armed forces. Josh (talk) 10:24, 17 January 2010 (UTC)

Possible false info?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_dictatorship#Current_cases

Did something happen recently to Canada, or is this info false?

Military rule

This was a disambig page, which was originally a redirect here years ago. it really works better as a redirect in my opinion, as the disambig page didnt list uses of "military rule", just phrases from a thesaurus, essentially.Mercurywoodrose (talk) 04:51, 1 March 2011 (UTC)

Dictatorship in Uruguay

I've corrected the starting year of the regime in Uruguay to 1973, a well-known fact. Inquisitorial officials are kindly invited to verify so here and there and everywhere. --Izmir2 Let's talk 05:40, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

This article is fundamentally wrong

Most of the listed military dictatorships are nothing of the sort. They may be civilian dictatorships, or single party regimes. But most are not military regimes. I propose to delete the references to those that are not clearly military regimes. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.197.15.138 (talk) 08:16, 21 May 2011 (UTC)