Such a dynamic isn’t built overnight; it arises slowly, as the leader wins hearts by capitalizing on frustration, disillusionment, or nostalgia for a past that he claims only he can revive.
Beyond Fear: The Power of Devotion
From Hitler’s night-lit spectacles to Putin’s rigorously managed ballots, from Orbán’s total hold on Hungary’s media to Trump’s TV performances and rousing rallies, each leader has leveraged a critical pivot: the shift from ruling through intimidation to ruling through near-religious devotion. Fear alone can muzzle people; faith in a leader’s mission captivates them. Once supporters believe their own destiny is tied to this single figure, attempts to expose wrongdoing are cast as “fake news” or traitorous sabotage, and accusations of abuse of power can be waved off as vindictive smears.
This is the crucial second step on the autocrat’s ladder. Once you’ve sparked fear, you nurture a narrative so powerful that people rally around you, trusting you above all else. You reward their loyalty, punish their doubt, and steadily blur the lines between yourself and the nation’s identity. Before long, institutions meant to check your power—courts, legislatures, watchdogs—seem petty, even disloyal. And so you solidify your place, not just as a ruler who terrifies people into submission, but as a figure of hope they’ll follow to the very end.
That’s the real danger: in the hands of a charismatic or cunning leader, devotion blinds people to the cracks in the façade. By the time the machinery of government is fully bent toward one man’s ends, it’s no longer a matter of whether people fear him—it’s that they can’t imagine life, or the country, without him.