In this book, Fathali Moghaddam presents his springboard model of dictatorship, derived from both a substantive analysis of the common structures underlying dictatorial regimes and his own personal experience of life in a modern dictatorship. He discusses the importance of psychological processes such as displacement of aggression, conformity, obedience, fear, and cognitive dissonance as tools that aid the development and maintenance of dictatorships, as well as the crucial role of ideology in cementing the allegiance of elites. Since even democracies contain an ever-shifting relationship between democratic and dictatorial tendencies, with elements that can pull democracies back to dictatorship, this book has important implications for citizens of all nations, even our own.--AMAZON.com

Psychology and dictatorship : the historic and contemporary challenge -- Explaining dictatorship : what kind of psychological science is needed? -- The springboard model of dictatorship -- Sacred carriers and narratives : unraveling the puzzle of dictatorship continuation -- Dictatorship, displacement of aggression, and group cohesion -- Conformity, obedience, and behavior regulation -- From torture to cognitive dissonance : varieties of coercion in dictatorship -- Leadership and dictatorship -- Cognition and action supportive of dictatorship -- The future of dictatorship and democracy.