History Professor Ruth Ben-Ghiat Discusses Dictatorship and Fascism | WIRED Tech Support

Authoritarianism scholar Ruth Ben-Ghiat joins WIRED to answer the internet's questions about dictators and fascism, exploring why people support authoritarian regimes.

History Professor Ruth Ben-Ghiat Discusses Dictatorship and Fascism | WIRED Tech Support
WIRED
3.3M views • Mar 18, 2025
History Professor Ruth Ben-Ghiat Discusses Dictatorship and Fascism | WIRED Tech Support

About this video

Professor and authoritarianism scholar Ruth Ben-Ghiat joins WIRED to answer the internet's burning questions about dictators and fascism. Why do people support dictators? How do dictators come to power? What's the difference between a dictatorship, an autocracy, and authoritarianism? What are the most common personality traits found in tyrants and dictators? Is Xi Jinping a dictator? How do dictators amass wealth? Professor Ben-Ghiat answers these questions and many more on Tech Support: Dictator Support.

0:00 Dictator Support
0:16 wtf is fascism fr
1:41 Shirtless Putin
2:53 What defines a dictator?
3:38 Dictatorship v. Authoritarianism v. Autocracy
4:25 Dictators maintaining power amidst mass unpopularity
5:51 Fascist dictatorships v. Communist dictatorships
6:55 What all tyrants have in common
8:48 What’s with all the statues and such
10:17 How do dictators come to power?
11:07 "self-coup d'etat"
12:03 The Beer Hall Putsch
13:18 Reproductive rights in authoritarian states
14:22 Tacit fascists? In MY populace? It’s more likely than you think.
16:03 How dictators accrue wealth
17:20 Senator Self-Own
18:14 Dictators: Why though
19:53 Rallies
20:57 The internet was a mistake(?)
22:21 Is Orbán a fascist?
23:56 Benevolent dictator? (Nah)
24:24 Rigged!
25:41 A coup by the richest, for the rich
27:04 When oligarchs outlive their use
28:28 Can a dictator be good?
29:47 Game recognizes game
30:35 Blame “the enemy”
31:55 Is Xi Jinping a dictator?
32:30 More power, more assets, more control

Buy Ruth Ben-Ghiat's book *Strongmen*
https://www.amazon.com/Strongmen-Mussolini-Present-Ruth-Ben-Ghiat/dp/0393868419/?tag=wiredyoutube-20

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Director: Lisandro Perez-Rey
Director of Photography: Ben Dewey
Editor: Paul Tael
Expert: Ruth Ben-Ghiat
Line Producer: Joseph Buscemi
Associate Producer: Paul Gulyas; Brandon White
Production Manager: Peter Brunette
Production Coordinator: Rhyan Lark
Casting Producer: Nicholas Sawyer
Camera Operator: Constantine Economides
Sound Mixer: Sean Paulsen
Production Assistant: Caleb Clark
Post Production Supervisor: Christian Olguin
Post Production Coordinator: Rachel Kim
Supervising Editor: Erica DeLeo
Additional Editor: Brenda Cespedes; JC Scruggs
Assistant Editor: Andy Morell

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Duration

33:49

Published

Mar 18, 2025

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