"But how can I rule seven kingdoms if I cannot rule a single city? He had no answer to that. Dany turned away from them, to gaze out over the city once again. My children need time to heal and learn. My dragons need time to grow and test their wings. And I need the same. I will not let this city go the way of Astapor. I will not let the harpy of Yunkai chain up those I've freed all over again."
The Dictatorship! So evil, and so oppressive!
Well, not always.
In Real Life, it's easy to associate authoritarian rule with evil. After all, there have been countless dictators or throne usurpers who have done nothing to their new subjects but bring suffering. In the rare cases where they don't commit atrocities, then it's still hard to decide their true intentions: we are not living inside their head, and things are hardly ever black and white.
Not in fiction, however. The authors can ask a simple question: Is authoritarian rule inherently bad, or is it dangerous should it fall into the hands of the wrong person?
What if people of different political ideologies can put aside their differences, and see that a simple good leader is needed, no matter their type of governing? They aren't simple good little citizens. They don't just pretend to like their country's all-powerful leader; they actually love him. They don't care that they have absolutely no choice over anything. Even if said leader doesn't bring the state into a Utopia, at least he's better than the former leader. Maybe it's such a Crapsack World that the bar is simply so low that anyone over a certain standard is good, and their way of governing doesn't matter.
Alternatively, the country may have been ruled by a supernatural being or an AI for a pretty darn long time, and there have been no troubles so far, so why complain?
Admitting that dictatorships can be good can go two routes:
- The people under said dictatorship admit so themselves. Sometimes certain people are pressured to say this, by fear or by bribing. Or other times they speak genuinely but they have been so brainwashed by propaganda that they ignore evil actions their dictators make, or perhaps they haven't even heard of any. Those don't count. It needs to be shown that most of the general population would admit it under any circumstance. Perhaps they don't need to admit, since they have set up shrines of their dictator everywhere.
- The dictator is shown to have clearly good intentions. No, this is not Utopia Justifies the Means. The leader doesn't commit heinous crimes just to put their country on the road to utopia. They do things that are great for the common people. They don't make empty promises, they act immediately.
Note that this trope uses the term 'dictatorship' in its crudest form: a single person or a group of people hold all power in the country, and they usually obtain this office through illegal means.
He doesn't have to be a literal dictator. Obtaining a throne through usurpy, and keeping the monarch's title would still count.
Although there is not much difference between an absolute monarchy and a dictatorship (besides that monarchies are usually long-established, while dictatorships are sudden), The Good King is not this trope. The Good King was supposed to rule. He inherited the throne. Dictators take power illegally. They weren't supposed to rule.
May involve a plot where the heroes save the country from the supposed evil ruler, and then it's revealed that the people would rather see things as they were before.
Sister Trope to The Good King. Sub-Trope of The Dictatorship. Related to Bait-and-Switch Tyrant. Compare and contrast The Generalissimo. See also Democracy Is Bad, Democracy Is Flawed, Hobbes Was Right, The Extremist Was Right, Intellectually Supported Tyranny.
No Real Life examples are allowed, not even when said real-life examples are in works of fiction.
Examples:
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Anime and Manga
- Overlord (2012): Ainz desperately wants to be this, despite being reincarnated as a disturbingly overpowered lich, even running his kingdom in the way he (a former overworked salaryman) would have wanted his company to be run. Unfortunately, while he has the benevolence part down, his direct underlings are nearly all truly and profoundly evil yet devoted to him, leading to a lot of needless suffering because they think he's the epitome of evil (when he tries to give vacation time, they beg to know how they've failed him) and think humans unworthy of living (when he invites humans to Nazarick, he has to make it abundantly clear they are not to be harmed). Even his taking over the world was an accident, but when he learns about it he decides to make his kingdom a place where all races can live together without discrimination.
Eventually he starts gaining more willing adherents after he accidentally vassalizes the Empire, since all that changes for them is that condemned criminals are sent to Nazarick for execution (and get sent back if they were innocent) and the borders are manned by undead troops, leaving the Puppet King with a lot of freedom to rule (and as a bonus, anyone complaining about said puppet's decisions is told "take it up with Nazarick").
Comic Books
- Zigzagged by Doctor Doom. He typically presents himself as one of these where Latveria is concerned, but whether or not he actually is tends to depends on who's writing him. At the very least Latveria is shown to have a surprisingly high standard of living with crime in particular all but eliminated thanks to Doom's armies of robots, but whether or not the average citizen genuinely likes him or not depends on the story.
- Transformers:
- The Transformers (IDW): Optimus Prime was increasingly seen as and acted like one of these in his own ongoing comic. After awakening a Titan on Earth and thus claiming Earth as one of Cybertron's colony worlds, he begins taking action unilaterally, ignoring the Council of Worlds set up on Cybertron as a parliament for the various colony worlds.note While many Transformersnote flock to his banner due to his divine act of awakening a Titan, others view him as becoming a tyrant using his divinity to justify his rule. One of the biggest bones of contention is him using Cybertronian technology to aid the humans (e.g. seeding clouds to bring rain, restoring desolate wasteland) whether or not the humans actually ask for or want his help. The Council of Worlds protests that this is against the Tyrest Accord, but Optimus brushes them off by pointing out that the Tyrest Accord forbids sharing technology with non-Cybertronian races, but Earth is a Cybertronian colony under his rule and he isn't sharing technology with the humans, merely using it to make "his" world better. While he does help humans, not all of them like him: they are still bitter from when the Decepticons conquered Earth.
- Transformers (2019): Megatron tries to be this once he launches his coup and seizes power. In the issues following his successful grasp for power, he's shown trying to reign in the excesses of his Decepticons and get neutral Cybertronians on his side, but due to the murder of the elected leader of Cybertron Sentinel Prime at the hands of the Rainmakers in a botched attempt to recapture him, the fact that many of the Decepticons are petty bullies and troublemakers, and the fact that he alienated many of the experts of industry (e.g. the doctors, the scientists) by launching a violent uprising that also resulted in the destruction of wonders like the Titans and the Tether (the latter of which provided near limitless energy to Cybertron itself), he becomes more and more desperate to become undisputed ruler of Cybertron in the belief that once everything is under his control, he can properly start to fix things. This is why he's absolutely furious when Optimus Prime and his Autobots successfully flee first the capital of Iacon and then Cybertron itself, because he's painfully aware he can never truly be in full command until Optimus is dead.
- This is one of the main conflicts in Judge Dredd. Mega-City One is one of the leftovers of what was once the United States After the End, ruled by the Justice Department as a literal Police State where whatever rights the citizens do possess are very limited. The Chief Judge is for all intents and purposes a dictator, but democracy has never been shown to be a viable alternative in the unlivable Crapsack World that Judge Dredd inhabits, with the city having faced total annihilation multiple times, sometimes even by pro-democracy terrorists. The records of the actual Chief Judges have varied, with Goodman enjoying a long and prosperous reign, but some of his successors have been either insane or more interested in solidifying their own power than serving the interests of the city. Most of them have been middle-of-the-road; decent and dutiful, but neither outstanding nor terrible.
Fan Works
- Dungeon Keeper Ami: Ami received her first Dungeon Heart and became a Keeper by (accidentally) selling her soul to the dark gods. Within the area claimed by the Heart, her word is law, and her control of creatures who have entered her service is so absolute that she can telekinetically snap their necks with a mere act of will. She's doing her best to use all of her newfound power to survive, protect as many innocents as she can reach, stop the other Keepers threatening the world, and reclaim her soul in order to return home and help her friends save Earth from the Dark Kingdom. Her light-aligned employees are loyal to her because she's a Benevolent Boss, while her Evil employees expect harsh treatment and would be suspicious of her otherwise, but she still tries to control them through good pay and working conditions, escalating to intimidation as needed, rather than torture or execution.
- With This Ring: When the Earth is affected by Anti-Life, pushing everyone toward hopelessness and depression, the Justice League reluctantly decides that to maintain order and keep people fed and moving, they'll have to assume authoritarian control. Without a clear and firm source of orders, most of the population will just lay down and wait to die. Acting like tyrants is universally agreed to be a bad plan, but less bad than other options.
Film — Live-Action
- The Expendables: General Garza, on the surface, appears to be The Generalissimo of a Latin American Police State who grows drugs for America. However, he's deeply unhappy with the role he's forced to play and would prefer to be ruling peacefully instead. Additionally, he's visibly uncomfortable with the atrocities that his supposed partner James Munroe is willing to carry out, finally deciding he's had enough when Roberts viciously tortures his daughter Sandra for information, and makes a Rousing Speech apologizing to his people and asking for their help in driving out the Americans. Munroe murders him and blames the Expendables.
- Zig-zagged and Deconstructed by San Angeles of Demolition Man.
- On the surface, society there is peaceful and prosperous, and crime and disease have been all but eliminated. The people of San Angeles are at least complacent with this arrangement, if not perfectly happy with it.
- Beneath that veneer, however, all the problems the city claims to have done away with have really only been driven underground, things like STDs have been eradicated not by medical breakthroughs, but instead banning physical intimacy outside of procreation, and the crime-free society is maintained by a surveillance system so intrusive that even private homes are fitted with automated monitors that fine people for swearing. Plus, there is no spark, personality, or ruggedness to the society; entertainment is about as baseline as it can get, and then some, and that aforementioned "underground"? It's a literal one, filled with thousands of people who couldn't tolerate an oppressive existence under Raymond Cocteau's watchful eye, and preferred to live free even if it meant living in squalor and poverty. Even worse, he believes San Angeles' modern society could stand to be more lacking and submissive!
- Raymond Cocteau, the central figure of San Angeles, believes strongly in the superiority of his own beliefs and makes a series of warped and terrible decisions to deal with these so-called troublemakers threatening his seemingly harmonious society. He decides to unleash a murderous Serial Killer on the population, hoping to use the psycho to kill his opponent Edgar Friendly. This leads to several excess deaths as Phoenix is too tough for the pacified police of San Angeles to fight, and eventually, Cocteau's own demise when Phoenix himself decides he can't stand Cocteau and his prissy ways.
Literature
- Aeon 14: In the 9th Millennium, the Scipio Empire is ruled by Empress Diana, who originally took power as a caretaker head of state after overthrowing her tyrannical father. She intended to call for elections, but a Civil War blew up that became a Cynicism Catalyst for her and led her to declare herself a monarch, though she deliberately set up the four Imperial Prelates to be a check on her power (three of them working together can easily defeat her own forces). The Empire has prospered under her rule and she's considered one of the good guys of the franchise.
- Beware of Chicken: Thousands of years ago, a man named Xiaoshi led a rebellion against a tyrannical and cruel emperor, ultimately confronting and slaying him in a duel — and to Xiaoshi's surprise and chagrin, his followers then hailed him as the new emperor. He accepted the role, however, rather than leave a power vacuum, and led the country into a golden age of harmony with the spirit of the earth, Tianlan. Unfortunately, with the death of the old emperor, the Mist Wall that kept out demons began to decay...
- Brave New World: The World State is an all-powerful government devoted heavily to Bread and Circuses. Mustapha Mond, one of the central figures of the regime, is extremely patient toward his opponents, hears out John the Savage's arguments, and allows dissidents to be sent into cushy exiles rather than being jailed or murdered.
- Cat's Cradle
- Bokonon is a wild card. Everyone under his and Mccabe's rule was a Bokononist, and when McCabe prohibited his worship (to rouse the population, although he later became serious about it), everyone pretended to hate him, but they were secretly all still Bokononists (even when being one resulted in execution after McCabe went crazy).
- Additionally, their rule is described as idealistic in its first phases, when for example the dictator duo divided the country's total income between every adult (it's another matter that this amounted to six dollars for everyone). They really did try to improve the quality of life in San Lorenzo, but as 'Papa' Monzano and everyone else, failed terribly.
- Bokonon is a wild card. Everyone under his and Mccabe's rule was a Bokononist, and when McCabe prohibited his worship (to rouse the population, although he later became serious about it), everyone pretended to hate him, but they were secretly all still Bokononists (even when being one resulted in execution after McCabe went crazy).
- Discworld: Lord Vetinari, the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork, is a benevolent tyrant who stays in power not because anyone actually likes him, but because they dislike him less than any of the other options (including each other). Unlike many of his predecessors (such as Homicidal Lord Winder and Mad Lord Snapcase), he doesn't exercise a despotic rule, but rather a chilly, efficient one, and he does it so well that he's the Trope Namer for Vetinari Job Security. The one thing Vetinari does not tolerate is the presence of mimes, who are thrown into a scorpion pit - but that is seen as one of his good points by the citizens of Ankh-Morpork.
- I'm the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire!: After dying in disgrace on Earth, the main character is reincarnated in a Space Opera setting as Liam Sera Banfield, the 5-year-old son of a planet's count, whose parents promptly foist the family holdings off on him and vamoose to the capital to live in luxury. Despite his stated intent being to rule as an exploitative tyrant and announcing the start of his reign proper with a wave of summary executions, Liam winds up as a Universally Beloved Leader on his homeworld due to his robot governess Amagi steering his desires into Enlightened Self-Interest: the family holdings are so far gone at first that he has to heavily invest in his planet's economic development in order for there to be anything for him to exploit, greatly improving the lives of the citizens, and the aforementioned purge was of corrupt government officials who reminded Liam of his Bad Boss from his previous life.
- Mistborn: The Original Trilogy: Elend Venture (reluctantly) took over the rule of the Final Empire after his girlfriend Vin killed the previous Lord Ruler. He is a truly honest and caring man who cares about his subjects and his one and only aim is to protect them from The End of the World as We Know It. Neither he nor Vin survive, giving their lives in a Heroic Sacrifice to give other people a chance to live.
- The Philosopher Kings espoused by Plato in The Republic. Though he acknowledged that would be difficult to ensure and detailed a hypothetical Orwellian police state that he believed would be the next best thing.
- The Silmarillion: Downplayed. The people of Brethil actually prefer Turin's way of leadership to their former king, but he accidentally took over the land.
- A Song of Ice and Fire
- Deconstructed with Daenerys, who usurps a city-state's throne and installs herself as their Queen. She has good intentions and is liked by the people she wants to save, but ultimately fails them due to her inexperience. During her crusade against slavery, the freed slaves in Meereen, Yunkai, and Astapor hail her as a liberator, and their 'mother', but most of the nobility isn't so eager, and the ones who do are also nothing but sycophants. Since she outlaws slavery, former slaveowners turn against her, both the ones in Meereen, the ones in Yunkai, and even the ones in the area who depended on the trade of slaves, like Qarth. Inside the city, the Harpy and their assassins begin murdering innocents who are affiliated with Dany. Outside the city, a terrible war begins, that of course Dany's freed slaves, the Unsullied, and the Dothraki will have to endure — Dany's own people. Not only her own — after Dany leaves Astapor in the hands of a group of officials, the throne is usurped by several kings after one another through violent coups and a civil war. The Yunkai'i invade Astapor, which Dany's forces try to retake, but fail, and only bring back the bloody flux with them which is rampant through Astapor. When Quentyn Martell attacks Astapor with the sellswords along with the Yunkai'i, he describes the city as the closest thing to hell he has ever seen.
- After the Mad King's rule, it's easy to understand why most people like King Robert, who took over the throne with the help of an alliance of other nobles. Downplayed, since he was a possible heir (although very far down the line), and the form of state was still a hereditary monarchy, and even though most people adore him, he isn't the one running things: it's the council.
- The impossibility of this trope is itself a recurring theme throughout the books. While genuine tyrants and monsters litter Westeros and Essos, their more heroic counterparts still cause just as much bloodshed and suffering, since they too often view commoners as resources and/or a scoreboard and place Honor Before Reason with sustained blood-feuds. It's just not feasible to expect any one person to be benevolent, politically savvy, rational, charismatic, and fearsome enough to actually be The Good King, while and it's very, very easy to be a de-facto Evil Overlord, intentions or PR notwithstanding.
- Terra Ignota:
- Due to the way nations work in this setting, any person who objects to their Hive's decisions can renounce their citizenship and join another Hive (or even none at all). If a Hive wants to keep or increase its political power, it must make decisions that the majority of its populace supports, or they'll begin leaving in droves. The Masonic Empire, with its autocratic Emperors, can therefore prove that they have the support of their people by the fact that they have the largest population of any Hive. Mycroft describes Emperor Cornel MASON as the world's father, stern and iron-willed but a reassuring presence through his stability (though he's a self-acknowledged Unreliable Narrator).
- The Humanists are run by an unusual form of democracy in which anyone may vote for anyone else, and how much power that person wields is determined by the percentage of the people who voted for them. 50 years ago the leading figure in government had received 7% percent of the vote, with the remaining 93% divided among more than 500 senators. But President Ganymede, a beloved public figure, received an unprecedented 63% of the vote in the last election, and therefore possesses 63% of the powers of government, giving him near-unilateral power by consent of the governed. As Mycroft says, "It was a revolution ... a transition from republic to dictatorship in fifty years without a single drop of blood. Detractors call it a cult of charisma, but Humanists themselves use aretocracy, rule by excellence."
- The fourth book and climax of the series hinges on one of these: J.E.D.D. Mason demands the unconditional surrender and fealty of the entire human race so that he has the power to build a truly just society, rather than the False Utopia it is now — all existing nations and institutions to be reformed or dissolved as he desires. J.E.D.D. is widely known to be incorruptible and to desire only humanity's best interests, so his enemies are made up of people opposed on principle, quite reasonably, to dictatorships you can't opt out of, and people who are rightfully concerned that J.E.D.D. does not know what his truly just society will look like (he requires the unconditional surrender and fealty of the entire human race before he can start on the details).
- In the Star Trek: The Original Series novel Time For Yesterday Spock's son Zar (long story tied to the episode "All Our Yesterdays") becomes a sort of enlightened Genghis Khan figure for the primitive world of Sarpedion. The world is too primitive for conventional elected democratic government, so Zar "conquers" tribes and tries to improve their lives with technological knowledge stolen from the Enterprise. He only maintains a fearsome reputation to protect his people from attacks.
- Tree of Aeons: As TreeTree grows in power, he eventually sets himself up as a God-Emperor (or rather, demigod). With the combined perspective of a former human turned into The Ageless, he's generally a fair and forward-thinking ruler, who promotes peace and prosperity while also building up a military force to combat existential threats. He listens to others' counsel and generally values individual freedoms — but ultimately, his word is law, with artificial minds giving him total surveillance of his domain, and rebels being executed through destructive medical research and experimentation. With all of that, his territory is probably the best place to live on the planet, and he's the best hope of repelling the demonic invasions, too. Just don't offend him.
- The Witcher: Emhyr var Emreis plays with this trope. After successfully retaking the Nilfgaardian Throne from a man simply named the Usurper, who had led a successful coup against (then later assassinated) Emhyr's father, Emhyr quickly established himself as a ruthlessly cold and pragmatic emperor when he had the traitors hunted down, and personally attended their executions, whereafter he treated the affair as if it was a simple diversion from his work. His political enemies would suffer the same fate during the ensuing power struggles, and over the course of his rule, he would contend with several more plots on his life and would just as brutally have the conspirators executed. His military was not exempt from his wrath either, as despite an incredibly successful campaign against the Northern Kingdoms and expanding the Nilfgaardian Empire, after he suffered a disastrous defeat during the Second Battle of Sodden Hill (which ended the First Nilfgaardian-Nordling War), he had most of his commanders executed or replaced. Yet, in their place, he promoted younger and more ambitious officials as he prepared his next grand expansion. Likewise, under his rule, Nilfgaard entered a golden age and flourished with trade, while vastly improving the quality of life for its people, and in stark contrast to the Northern rulers, he highly favored the elves.
Live-Action TV
- The Book of Boba Fett: Boba Fett, after killing the former crime leader, attempts to assert himself as crime lord of Mos Espa without resorting to the cruelty of the previous daimyos (Jabba the Hutt and Bib Fortuna), despite the scheming of the city gangs and attempts by off-world syndicates to move in.
- Star Trek:
- Star Trek: The Original Series:
- Khan Noonien Singh held this reputation, despite his pro-eugenics beliefs and absolute power throughout his conquered empire, he was regarded as the best of the Eugenics wars Super men, with his ruling style being described as "firm but fair" and it being specifically stated that under his rule their was "no mass killings, no wars that weren't started by other parties". By the 23rd century his rule has even become somewhat romanticised, with him being compared to the likes of Leif Ericson, Richard the Lionheart, and Napoleon Bonaparte. This reputation even leads to the crew of the Enterprise seriously underestimating just how ruthless and ambitious the still-living Khan really was.
- Finding the society of the planet Ekos teetering on the edge of collapse prior to the events of "Patterns of Force," Federation historian John Gill decides to implement a Nazi state and install himself as the Führer of the Ekosian Reich, feeling it will help stabilize the planet. While it helps at first, Gill's second-in-command Melakon drugs Gill and turns him into a Puppet King. Supposedly acting under Gill's authority, Melakon quickly turns Ekos into a fascist state.
- Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: The Cardassian Dukat who was the overseer of the occupied planet of Bajor who deluded himself that he was a benevolent ruler to the Bajorans in Terok Nor, aka Deep Space Nine. He constantly remarks that he ruled over them with a "softer hand" and that any other Cardassian would have been way worse. One example being that he didn't kill any Bajorans after the Cardassian fleet left Bajor despite it being the standard practice. This is despite there still being slave laborers and executions of any uprising Bajorans. He often gets called out by either Kira or Sisko and told he was just another dictator.
- Star Trek: The Original Series:
Video Games
- Dragon Age: Origins: Should the Player Character settle the dwarven Succession Crisis in favor of Prince Bhelen, his first move is to order The Purge of his rival Lord Harrowmont's entire family. His second move, however, is to abolish the dwarves' Fantastic Caste System and begin implementing significant reforms, whereas if Harrowmont wins, his moves to appeal to the conservatives and nobles end up furthering the dwarves' decline.
- Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem: As the game goes on, Prince Marth of Altea usurps the thrones of Dolhr and Pyrathi, run by evil dragon kings Medeus and Mannu. He is betrothed to the sole heir of Talys, Caeda, and at the end of the game is given the crowns of the remaining kingdoms by Nyna, Minerva, Sheena, and the heirless King of Aurelis, turning the entire continent of Archanea into a single kingdom. At the same time, Marth is a paragon of kindness, having compassion for both friends and enemies, and is seen as the second coming of the hero Anri.
- Horizon Zero Dawn: Avad, the 14th Sun-King of Carja, forcibly took power by allying with exiles and foreign mercenaries, bombarding the capital's defenses with powerful siege weapons, and ultimately killing his own father to take the throne. As ruler, he put end to his father's brutal regime of mass human sacrifices and slavery, resulting in a more equitable and safe empire where foreigners and the lower class have a lot more opportunity, and is generally regarded as a ray of sunshine compared to the former darkness. Of course, some Carja, those who profited directly from the slavery and conquest, didn't take kindly to this, and it sparked a civil war.
- Mortal Kombat: Kotal Kahn, first introduced in Mortal Kombat X, is the new emperor of Outworld following the death of Shao Kahn and his daughter Mileena. Whereas Shao Kahn was an oppressive and brutal Evil Overlord indifferent to the suffering of his people and obsessed with expanding his empire over various different realms, Kotal prioritizes actually doing his job as a good ruler and defending Outworld's people. Yes, he's not a perfect ruler, prone to making bad decisions when he's angry, and he suffers from a severe case of Fantastic Racism towards the Tarkatans that drives him to unfairly persecute their entire race, but Kotal is ultimately more honourable and reasonable than Shao Kahn ever was, respecting the rulers of other realms, and being willing to work with them. He even treats Reptile kindly! Ultimately, Kotal solidly proves himself a Redeeming Replacement to Shao Kahn by deciding to Abdicate the Throne in favour of Kitana, who he feels could be an even better ruler than him.
- In what is probably the best of the Multiple Endings of Singularity, Captain Renko first shoots Demichev and then, on the suggestion of Dr. Barisov, travels back in time to stop himself from saving Demichev from dying in a fire. In the timeline created by this, Dr. Barisov took over the world through Soviet Superscience and became an example of this trope.
- Stellaris: The Harmonious Collective NPC personality is a benevolent dictatorship in a nutshell: a clearly authoritarian personality type that tends to concern itself with the needs of absolutely all strata of its society, including the lowest and poorest of them, while also being highly averse to violence. Unlike the Decadent Hierarchy, which is another similar personality, they generally do not allow slavery in their empire (although, as authoritarians, they can technically have it). In addition, they sincerely believe that in order to maintain the delicate balance within their society, they need to spread a collectivist mentality throughout their entire population while simultaneously eradicating individualism in all its manifestations as a possible source of disagreement and separatism.
- Tropico: You yourself can play a Benevolent Dictator if you so choose. You can be prone to avoiding elections, having citizens you don't like... erm, go missing at a moment's notice, and be partial to skimming money off the top for your Swiss Bank Account, along with erecting ostentatious statues of yourself everywhere (gold optional). But at the same time, you could do your damndest to keep your population happy, healthy, and well-fed, along with enacting edicts to keep your Banana Republic as well-run as possible.
Webcomics
- Baron Klaus Wulfenbach from Girl Genius is the head of a de facto military regime ruling over the European continent, which he built out of (more or less) brute force. Yet his rule is actually very moderate: citizens enjoy enough freedom of expression to openly mock him (to his amusement
), he treats POWs remarkably well, and the worst punishments (namely lobotomy) are saved for the worst criminals. He's only really a dictator in that he wasn't elected, and that his government keeps local monarchs in line with the threat of force. Keep in mind that time period before his empire was one of constant, brutal warfare that he single-handedly ended, and a mere two years after his regime collapsed, it's remembered as a "lost golden age of antiquity". He's practically a textbook example of The Extremist Was Right.
- In The Meek, Emperor Luca deSadar began as this, having been genuinely popular, a soldier who rose from obscurity and fought against a foreign nation who had a system of torture and murder against the people of his nation, made many reforms and was fairly elected to office before he seized power with an iron grip. His character arc seemed to be heading steadily toward being an Ax-Crazy General Ripper before the comic stopped updating.
- Schlock Mercenary: At the end of Book 10 Tagon's Toughs accidentally get a cargo loading robot named LOTAnote elected King of the previously anarchic space station of Credomar. When they return in Book 11 they find that LOTA has assumed dictatorial control but has completely eliminated the famine they were meant to alleviate. And then LOTA teraports the interior of the station and all its residents onto an inhabitable moon so LOTA can use the superweapon the station was built to be without harming them, or putting them in the UNS' line of fire. Shortly after arriving in Book 11, Kevyn and Reverend Fobius have a conversation about the morality of dictatorship, with the Reverend arguing that dictators were not automatically evil, but dangerous.
Western Animation
- Adventure Time: Princess Bubblegum has complete control and power over her candy citizens, having created them herself. However, the show mostly depicts her as being a genuinely caring, if often authoritarian, ruler.
- Ben 10: In the original continuity, Vilgax conquered his home planet and renamed it after himself. But he's actually kind to his own race and is a Universally Beloved Leader to them. Sadly, in Ben 10: Omniverse he comes through Flanderization, losing sympathetic and cool traits and turns into a simple tyrant.
- The Simpsons: Parodied and played straight at the same time in "Simpsons Bible Stories": When King David (Bart) challenges Goliath II (Nelson) for killing his friend Methuselah (Grandpa), David is soundly defeated by being sling-shotted into the mountains. David tells a random Ralph Wiggum shepherd (as himself) of being usurped by Goliath, and Ralph decides to go try defeat Goliath. He seemingly dies in the process. David returns to his city and fights Goliath. David seems to defeat him, until Goliath rises from the rubble of the fight, ready to fight again; however, a very much alive and well Ralph, with his own tombstone, stabs Goliath in the back, killing him. When David proclaims his return to the city, it turns out that Goliath was a much better king than David, instituting several positive reforms. David is then arrested, as a movie-style ending credit plays over the scene.
