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Cult of personality

A cult of personality, or a cult of the leader,[1] is the result of an effort which is made to create an idealized and heroic image of a glorious leader, often through unquestioning flattery and praise. Historically, it has developed through techniques of mass media, propaganda, spectacle, the arts, patriotism, and government-organized demonstrations and rallies. A cult of personality is similar to apotheosis, except that it is established by modern social engineering techniques, usually by the state or the party in one-party states and dominant-party states. Cults of personality often accompany the leaders of totalitarian or authoritarian governments. They can also be seen in some monarchies, theocracies, failed democracies and even in liberal democracies.

For a list of cults of personality, see List of cults of personality.

Role of mass media[edit]

The twentieth century brought technological advancements that made it possible for regimes to package propaganda in the form of radio broadcasts, films, and later content on the internet.


Writing in 2013, Thomas A. Wright observed that "[i]t is becoming evident that the charismatic leader, especially in politics, has increasingly become the product of media and self-exposure."[13] Focusing on the media in the United States, Robert N. Bellah added, "It is hard to determine the extent to which the media reflect the cult of personality in American politics and to what extent they have created it. Surely they did not create it all alone, but just as surely they have contributed to it. In any case, American politics is dominated by the personalities of political leaders to an extent rare in the modern world ... in the personalized politics of recent years the 'charisma' of the leader may be almost entirely a product of media exposure."[16]

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Gundle, Stephen; Duggan, Christopher; Pieri, Giuliana (2015). The cult of the Duce: Mussolini and the Italians. Manchester University Press.  978-1526101419.

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Gunther, John (1936). Inside Europe. Harper & brothers.

Hamilton, Alastair (1973). Appeal of Fascism. Harper Mass Market Paperbacks.  978-0380010257.

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Kelly, Catriona (2005). "Riding the Magic Carpet: Children and Leader Cult in the Stalin Era". The Slavic and East European Journal. 49 (2): 199–224. :10.2307/20058260. JSTOR 20058260.

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Kershaw, Ian (1998). The 'Hitler Myth'. Image and Reality in the Third Reich.

Kershaw, Ian (2001). Hitler 1936–1945: Nemesis. Penguin Books Limited.  978-0141925813.

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Plamper, Jan (2012). The Stalin Cult: A Study in the Alchemy of Power. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press.  978-0300169522.

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Speer, Albert (2009). Inside The Third Reich. Orion.  978-1842127353.

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Williams, Manuela (2006). Mussolini's Propaganda Abroad: Subversion in the Mediterranean and the Middle East, 1935–1940. Taylor & Francis.  978-0203004777.

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by Eric Gibson, The Wall Street Journal, August 10, 2009

Why Dictators Love Kitsch