I have been writing about dictators recently but I want to take some time out for an overview. In fact two of the nations that I looked into are not yet classified as dictatorships. They still hold marginally valid elections and maintain some order according to their founding documents. They still perceive themselves as free nations, but the world is beginning to see them as less free than they have been in the past. Poland and Hungary are making moves towards authoritarianism. There are a number of online articles on this topic. I summarized a few of them in my series called Know Your Dictators. It is fairly easy to judge for yourself what could happen in these two nations if they continue in their current direction. Venezuela has been on the list of dictatorships for two years.
If you go to the site “planet rulers” you can get a true graphic picture of which nations are still classified as free and which as less than free. The data for this year claims that 49 nations are dictatorships. https://planetrulers.com/current-dictators/
“As of today, there are 49 dictatorships in the world (19 in Sub-Saharan Africa, 12 in the Middle East and North Africa, 8 in Asia-Pacific, 7 in Eurasia 2 in Americas and 1 in Europe). “
There are currently 195 nations in the world. Do the math. Although 75% of nations still meet the Freedom House criteria for being mostly free, that means that 25% of nations are run by dictators. Some countries may move towards freedom and come off the list. The list is not static. Notice that two nations have been added to bring the number to 51.
NOT FREE Countries In 2018:
- Afghanistan – Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, President of Afghanistan
- Algeria – Abdelaziz Bouteflika, President of Algeria
- Angola – João Lourenço, President of Angola (since Sept 26, 2017; replaced Jose Eduardo dos Santos)
- Azerbaijan – Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan
- Bahrain – King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, King of Bahrain
- Belarus – Aleksandr Lukashenko, President of Belarus
- Brunei – Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah
- Burundi – Pierre Nkurunziza, President of Burundi
- Cambodia – Hun Sen, Prime Minister of Cambodia
- Cameroon – Paul Biya, President of Cameroon
- Central African Republic – Faustin Archange Touadera
- Chad – Idriss Deby, President of Chad
- China – Xi Jinping, President of China
- Congo, Dem. Rep. of – Joseph Kabila, President of Congo
- Congo, Rep of (Brazzaville) – Denis Sassou Nguesso, President
- Cuba – Raul Castro, President of Cuba
- Djibouti – Ismaïl Omar Guelleh, President of Djibouti
- Egypt – Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, President of Egypt
- Equatorial Guinea – OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO, President
- Eritrea – Isaias Afwerki, President of Eritrea
- Ethiopia – Girme Wolde Giorgis, President of Ethiopia
- Gabon – Albert-Bernard Bongo, President of Gabon
- Gambia – Adama Barrow, President of Gambia
- Iran – Hassan Rouhan, President of Iran
- Iraq – Muhammad Fuad Masum, President of Iraq
- Kazakhstan – Nursultan Nazarbaev, President of Kazakhstan
- Laos – Bounnhang Vorachith, President (elected on Apr 19, 2016)
- Libya – Nouri Abusahmain, President
- Mauritania – Mohamed Ould Abd Aziz, President of Mauritania
- North Korea – Kim Jong-un, President of North Korea
- Oman – Qaboos bin Said Al-Said, Prime Minister of Oman
- Qatar – Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani
- Russia – Vladimir Putin, President of Russia
- Rwanda – Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda
- Saudi Arabia – King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz, King of Saudi Arabia
- Somalia – Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, President of Somalia
- South Sudan – Salva Kiir Mayardit, President
- Sudan – Omar H.A. Al-Bashier, President of Sudan
- Swaziland – Mswati III, King of Swaziland
- Syria – Bashar al-Assad, President of Syria
- Tajikistan – Emomalii Rahmon, President of Tadjikistan
- Thailand – Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister of Thailand
- Turkey – Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Prime Minister of Turkey – ADDED
- Turkmenistan – Gurbanguly BERDIMUHAMEDOW, President of Turkmenistan
- United Arab Emirates – Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan
- Uzbekistan – Shavkat Mirziyoyev, President of Uzbekistan
- Venezuela – Nicolás Maduro, President of Venezuela
- Vietnam – Tran Dai Quang, President of Vietnam
- Western Sahara – Brahim Ghali, President of Western Sahara – ADDED
- Yemen – Ali Abdallah Salih, President of Yemen
- Zimbabwe – Robert (Gabriel) Mugabe, President of Zimbabwe
This data is collected by an NGO called Freedom House which is described in this way in Wikipedia:
Freedom House is a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) U.S. government-funded non-governmental organization (NGO) that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom, and human rights. Freedom House was founded in October 1941, and Wendell Willkie and Eleanor Roosevelt served as its first honorary chairpersons.
Freedom House offers a more detailed look at freedom around the world in this graphic:
https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/freedom-world-2018
Expect to see me continue my researches into dictators, although with 49+ strong men around the planet my coverage will not try for any great depth. This is something that I want to keep an eye on because, at this moment, the trend towards authoritarianism is on the upswing; and because I am seeing signs that America, to my astonishment, is also making the kinds of moves that often foreshadow that one person may be insinuating his way into dominance, a dominance that could destroy democracy in our own nation.
You can also find my articles @Tremr.app
