At some point, all despotic regimes face an existential crisis. The original reason through which they had seized power and justified it no longer exists. There is a continuous tension between a despot's desire for a docile, cowed population and the need to expand and grow the economy if only in order to increase the pickings. No matter how slowly this growth comes, inevitably it leads to a generation which does not remember the original conditions and whose expectations are higher than those of the previous one. For such regimes, this is a dangerous time. Dictators are very careful to ensure that there is no viable successor apart from family members. Any other person is a potential threat and all such threats are ruthlessly removed. So anyone who is even slightly independent is quickly eliminated and the people who are left are essentially yes-men. Such people are very careful to shield the despot from ground reality for their own survival and preservation of their fortunes. As a result, when there is a popular revolt, the regime is inevitably taken by surprise.
At this point dictators have a choice: give up power or do whatever it takes to suppress the uprising. There is no third alternative. This does not stop some of them from trying to offer concessions but these never work. A dictator depends on fear of his power in order to retain control. As soon as a concession is offered, the fear is removed and at that point the despot is doomed. No matter what the circumstances, the initial attempt of all dictators is to try and retain control. The question is why?
By the time a popular revolt takes place, a dictatorial regime has normally been in power for several decades. By this time, a favored clique has built up around the despot which depends on him for its privileges. It is very much like the kings of old and their courtiers. If a dictator goes, this clique will find itself the target of reprisals and confiscations. This is a very valid fear since their wealth is generally obtained through corruption and other ill-gotten ways. So the clique will first attempt to placate and then to suppress in an effort to preserve itself. The despot goes along because by this time the only information that he is getting is being filtered through this clique.
Another reason why dictators try to hang onto power is that usually they and their family are the most corrupt elements in the setup. Loss of power will mean loss of privileges, an inability to use their position in order to make money and the very strong possibility of accountability by a new regime eager to prove itself to a demanding and suspicious public. Apart from this, power brings with it a relevance on the world stage that would otherwise be denied to dictators. Individually without their power, most dictators would not be looked at twice even within their own countries. They often have few if any redeeming qualities to commend them. Power gives them a chance to strut like peacocks on the world stage. Power also seems to act like a revitalizer. Dictators are often the very picture of health until they are removed from power and then their health crumbles suddenly. Ferdinand Marcos of Philippines, Mobuto Sese Seko of the Congo and Hosni Mubarak of Egypt are prime examples of this phenomenon.
Equally complicit in this whole process are outside powers who tend to support dictators. The reasons for this support are also not hard to fathom. In addition to their small clique, dictators are also often beholden to these outsiders for personal and financial support. The quid pro quo is that dictators can force through policies and concessions that favor the outside powers but which may be highly unpopular domestically. Such policies and concessions would never pass muster under a democratic setup.
Whenever they come to power, dictators arouse high expectations from the populace wearied of the corruption and nepotism of the old regime. Inevitably they fail those expectations. Any high ideals that they may personally have had at the beginning become diluted and eventually disappear over time. by this stage, theirs is often the biggest snout in the trough and all thoughts of improving the lives of the populace have gone out of the window. The rhetoric however becomes increasingly florid. Eventually a stage arrives at which only the dictator and his clique believe in their words. By this time, they are almost completely divorced from reality. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely may be a cliche, that does not make it less real or less painful.
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