Dictatorships are often characterised by some of the following: suspension of elections and civil liberties; proclamation of a state of emergency; rule by decree; repression of political opponents; not abiding by the procedures of the rule of law; and the existence of a cult of personality centered on the leader.

Ratko: The Dictator's Son. National Lampoon's Ratko: The Dictator's Son is a 2010 American teen comedy film directed by Savage Steve Holland. The film was produced by Intermedia Films and Cinetel Films and was distributed by National Lampoon Inc. It was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Dictators usually resort to force or fraud to gain despotic political power, which they maintain through the use of intimidation, terror, and the suppression of basic civil liberties. They may also employ techniques of mass propaganda in order to sustain their public support.

The sources almost invariably record that the first act of a newly appointed dictator was to name his magister equitum or “master of the horse,” usually at his own discretion. Endowed with consular imperium, the magister equitum was second-in-command to the dictator and subordinate to him alone (Polyb. 3.87.