This study examines the prevalence of tyrants in modern times. It explores the forces that allow them to come to power, and attempts to predict where they may arise in the future.

Along with its much vaunted progress in scientific and economic realms, the twentieth century has witnessed the rise of the most brutal and oppressive regimes in the history of humankind. Even with the collapse of Marxism, current instances of "ethnic cleansing" remind us that tyranny persists in our own age and shows no sign of abating. Daniel Chirot offers an important and timely study of modern tyrants, both revealing the forces that allow them to come to power and helping us to predict where they may arise in the future.

Preface On Modern Tyranny 2Moderation Abandoned 3In the Beginning Was the Word 4Death, Lies, and Decay 5A Typological Map of Tyranny 6Imagined Egalitarian Hells: Maoism and the Khmer Rouge 7Little Stalins? Socialist Corporatism at the Service of the Nation and the Leader 8Little Hitlers? Elite Fantasies in Argentina and Iraq, and Their Realization 9An Inadvertent Catastrophe: Burma's Confrontation with Colonialism, Modern Nationalism, and Ne Win 10Race aud Corruption on the Island of Hispaniola: Two Caribbean Nightmares 11Colonialism, Resentment, and Chaos: Two African Studies 12Some Propositions, Lessons, and Predictions about Tyranny Notes Bibliography Index