A Typology of Authoritarian Leadership

Autocratic political leaders assume power through a myriad of means. Their ideological and political aspirations reveal a range of intentions and goals. That said, the tactics employed by authoritarian politicians in our recent history evidence a largely predictable approach to gaining power. As has been discussed, the bid for power is based upon the creation of a crisis of the dominant culture, one that is fueled by emotional themes of fear and threat. The tactic for power is to deepen social divisions and create a winner-loser culture in which a targeted group of followers will serve to maintain the hegemony of the leader. Analyses of leader speeches via Pennebakers’ LIWC analytic software provided insight to the needs and motives of our subjects. Speech analyses helped to identify the routine of stereotype activation via the use of scapegoating outgroups and through the employment of social stereotypes that eradicate a common ground for a civil society. The leader establishes their unique ability to resolve the cultural crisis via the use of force, coercion, and threat to the questioning members of the ingroup. These aspects of the pitch may evolve into even more forceful and compelling means of control of their followers with the refinement of social media and big data strategies to shape and maintain dominance over the general population.