Consolidation and Maintenance of Power — Force and Terror

Seizing power is not the same as keeping it. Once in office, authoritarian leaders moved quickly to eliminate rivals, neutralize independent institutions, and make opposition dangerous or impossible. Force and terror were central tools, though their scale and style varied greatly from regime to regime.

Eliminating rivals and consolidating the party

The first task was usually to remove competitors, including allies who might become threats. In Germany, the Night of the Long Knives in June 1934 saw Hitler order the murder of Ernst Rohm and other SA leaders, reassuring the army and big business while removing a potential rival power base. In the Soviet Union, Stalin outmaneuvered and then destroyed the Old Bolsheviks; the Great Terror of 1936-1938 included the show trials of figures such as Z