All throughout the world there are multiple forms of governments. Democracy, Monarchy, Republican are among some of the governments seen today but dictatorship stands out among the rest. Dictatorship is defined as a form of government in which one ruler is in absolute power. In the world today, the most famous Dictator is in North Korea; Kim Jong-un who took power in 2011. Another popular Dictator from the past is Benito Mussolini, he was the Dictator in Italy in 1922. Along with Mussolini, Saddam Hussein was the Dictator in Iraq during the war against the United States back in 2003. These dictators’ ideas can be observed in the novel The Hunger Games written by Suzanne Collins. In the novel President Snow, the dictator of Panem, has similar views to our world’s past and present dictators. Suzanne Collins uses President Snow’s dictatorship to bring awareness to what is happening in the world to the young adult generation. 

In the article “Revolution, Personalist Dictatorships, and International Conflict” multiple aspects of a dictatorship government are addressed. In most cases dictatorships result from revolutions that transpire within a country due to oppression. For instance, Iraq faced a revolution, which enabled Saddam Hussein to easily come into power. The most important trait to a dictatorship is that one sole person is in charge. During a Dictators reign the thoughts and ideas of others are rarely considered unless that match-up with the Dictators beliefs. In most dictatorships, it’s almost impossible for someone else to come into power due to long lines of families within each dictatorship. These families usually place political reforms on the laws that concern elections. In general dictators, have very radical ideas when it comes to running their government. Most dictators are willing to go to war by any means necessary. Kim Jong-un on multiple occasions has threatened nations with nuclear weapons. Due to the radical ideas of dictators, the well-being of their people is not a priority, frequently leads to extreme poverty and famine. Dictators like to keep a close eye on their people in fear that a rebellion may occur. They do this by having a band of police or guards that show undying support. When people go against a dictator’s beliefs, it is not uncommon for them to perform mass killings, eliminating any chance of a rebellion within their country (Colgan).  These distinctive characteristics make up the structure and ideas of a Dictatorship government.

The novel The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is a utopian book based off a dictatorship government. The story takes place in the post-apocalyptic world during a second rebellion. In this time, President Snow is the current Dictator of Panem. After the first rebellion where one of the districts, territories of land, was destroyed, President Snow started utilizing dictator-like strategies to run his nation. He controls his people by using propaganda to show how amazing the government is when truly he is controlling his people’s every move. He rations food for each district based on how much money they have. The closer districts are to the Capitol, the more money they have. But the farther away they are the more famine and poverty they are faced with. President Snow keeps a very watchful eye on all his citizens. He routinely sends informants to each district to report on any signs of a future rebellion. Snow is also backed by a strong police unit who blindly follow everything that he believes in. On top of the police, there are cameras all throughout Panem. This allows Snow to have tighter control over his people.  President Snow uses intimidation and scare tactics to control his people as well. He is constantly threatening people under him with death and other corporal punishments like poison. Since the first rebellion President Snow created The Hunger Games. This is his key scare tactic to ensure he remains in power. He informs the people of Panem that the games were put in place to commemorate the fallen soldiers and the people who sacrificed themselves for the Capitol during the first rebellion. This is just his way of utilizing fear to uphold his position of power. The Hunger Games consist of two people from each district one boy and one girl who fight to the death with 24 others until one victor is standing. That victor then has high social standings and is paraded around like possession by the Capitol (Collins). Collins audience mostly consist of young adults, making it very difficult for them to relate to the dictatorship government portrayed in this novel. Instead of trying to make people sympathize with the characters in the book, she is bringing awareness to dictatorships. She does this because of what is going on in North Korea and wants the younger generations to be mindful. These among many other pieces display how President Snow uses multiple aspects of a dictatorship to rule over his people. 

Kim Jong-un is the current dictator of North Korea. He fell into power back in 2011 after his father’s death. All throughout North Korea Kim’s people struggle to have necessities, which is caused by the strict regulations placed on North Korea by other countries. Because of the type of government that North Korea upholds, most countries don’t want to trade with them. Kim has openly shared his very radical ideas with the world. In 2013 he spoke about using nuclear weapons on other countries, including the United States, Great Britain, and Canada. When Kim threatened to use his nuclear weapons on the United States extensive research was put into effect.  It was later determined that North Korea doesn’t have enough nuclear power to reach the United States. In 2012 Kim tried to raise the country’s economic standing by putting in place a new agricultural incentive for his citizens. In regards to Korea the United States takes a unique stand on the current situation. Usually the United States would get involved in a dictatorship, but as Americans we are acting as bystanders.  He tried to make domestically manufactured goods more readily available to his people, but soon realized this was a failure due to his peoples incredibly low incomes. Kim Yong-un’s concern for his people is so low that in North Korea they must ration their food amongst their people, while people working for Kim live lavish lives within the walls on Kim’s home. Like most dictators, Kim uses intimidation tactics to rule over his people. It has been confirmed that he has completed mass killings throughout North Korea to ensure that the population does not get to large. Having a smaller population ensures that he can maintain control over his people. Throughout the country, Kim has guards that watch the citizens and report back to him. Their purpose is so exploit illegal activity, such as fleeing the country. Kim’s radical ideas cause concern for citizens of North Korea. Most people do not want to live in there because of the sanctions placed on North Korea by other countries (Colgan). Many features of Kim Yong-un government show the main qualities that compose a dictatorship. North Korea dictator Kim Jong-Un and President Snow from The Hunger Games both have very similar qualities as leaders. Like many dictators, Kim’s concern for his people is very low. In fact, North Korea has been faced with famine and high poverty rates (Colgan). This trait is very common amongst most dictatorships. In the novel, The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins portrays the various traits of a dictorial government. The Government is run by a man named President Snow, who came into power because of a revolution that happened many years ago. Like Kim his concern for his people is incredibly low, Snow’s people are all poverty stricken and barely have enough food to feed their families (Collins). In North Korea, Kim has completed mass killings to his own people, like President Snow, who willing sends his people into the Games to kill each other. During the revolution Snow would viciously bomb his own people during the night time.  Both dictators have very loyal people who blindly follow their principles, including a group of police. These guards are the dictator’s eyes and ears and use brutal force to reprimand their people. Particularly President Snow’s police force are willing to go to any extent to punish the people of Panem. Collins’ intended audience of The Hunger Games is young adults. By writing this novel she brings attention to the ongoing issues of dictators in society today. Most audience members are western people who have never experienced a dictatorship firsthand. This novel allows young adults to put themselves in citizen’s shoes currently living under the rule of Kim Jong-un in North Korea (Colgan). Suzanne successfully writes about the gory details that the people in Panem are faced with because of their leader which is parallel to the struggles that the citizens of North Korea are faced with. This sense of compassion for the people in the games makes Collins writing very effective in spreading awareness to the current dictatorship happening in North Korea.    

Another well-known dictator is Saddam Hussein, president of Iraq. Hussein was in power from 1979 to 2003. He came into power after a revolution had occurred and it was time to elect a new leader. When Saddam came into power there were many religious, economic, and social struggles among the people of Iraq. Over his term as President he utilized the oil that was in the middle east and became the number one supplier of oil in the world. When tensions rose with Kuwait and Iraq, Saddam started to take very drastic measures. Iraq invaded Kuwait because Saddam believed that the land of Kuwait was rightfully theirs.  The United States took it upon themselves to get involved, which would later lead to years of war. Saddam ruled over his people with great force during this war time. He would execute large amounts of his own people. During the war, most of the Iraqi people were not allowed out of there house due to constant threats of bombs by Saddam himself. Because of the national tension with Iraq many countries had put sanctions on Iraq, meaning that they soon became in desperate need of food and other daily necessities. On September 11, 2001, the twin towers and many other buildings in the United States were bombed, resulting in the death of thousands of American citizens. After the 9/11 attacks, it was later found that Saddam Hussein had been involved in the attacks with a terrorists group named Al-Qaeda. This was the last straw for American and as a nation we officially went to war in 2003(Colgan). Saddam Hussein’s radical views labeled him as a very powerful dictator in the middle east. Saddam Hussein’s methods as a dictator in Iraq are exemplified in The Hunger Games through their dictator President Snow. Like Saddam, President Snow allows his people to live in poverty where he rations their food among hundreds of people (Colgan).  The citizens of Panem are only allowed to buy other agricultural products that were made in other districts. The challenges that come with this is that the districts spread across an area as big as the United States and the trains that are provided to the people, are run by the Capitol; another way that Snow has constant power over his people. Because the war in Iraq took place in Iraq, there was a very a high rate of causalities within the country similarly, in Panem when President bombed his own citizens when they revolted against him (Collins).  Both dictators were willing to kill their own people just so they can remain in power. When Saddam believed that he was losing the war, he believed the best thing to do was perform mass killings of his own people so they would stop revolting against him. President Snow did the same thing when his people were trying to take him out of power (Collins).  President Snow’s ideas about how a government should be run can also be seen in the way that dictator Saddam Hussein ran Iraq when he was the president. These similar traits among Snow and Saddam Hussein strengthen the message that Collins is portraying to her audience. American citizens experienced the war against Iraq from a firsthand detached view. Suzanne shows that even though it was happening across seas Americans felt strong enough about the issue to get involved, which is what Katniss did as well. Obviously most audience members of The Hunger Games have never experience dictators, but by illustrating similar qualities in the novel to the war in Iraq it makes it more relatable to audience members to understand.  

    In 1922 another famous dictator came into power, Benito Mussolini. Like all dictators in the past Mussolini used propaganda to persuade the people of Italy to vote him. He specifically targeted the Catholics in Italy during that time because most of the population consisted of this religion. He bribed the Catholics and working class throughout Italy to gain support, which was his final push to power. Specifically, the working class was granted more money in their pockets and less money toward the government. To please the Catholics Mussolini made all schools learn and practice Catholicism. Mussolini and the Fascist Grand Council put laws in place to make it difficult for another party to come into power. In February of 1923 the Acerbo Law was established, stating that in the election if a candidate won 55% of the votes that party received 65% of the seats in parliament. When Mussolini officially came into power his first act of business was kicking out anyone in parliament who did not share the same political views as him.  This enabled him to have total control. He started a secret police force called OVRA. These police would end up charging over 4,000 with the death penalty (Colgan).  While Mussolini was in power the United States was actively participating in World War II, so as Americans we watched this dictatorship from a distance. This effected the way we saw this horrible government because Americans have never had to be under tyranny. How Mussolini chose to run the Italian government exemplifies many ideas of a dictatorship. Mussolini’s qualities as a dictator can be seen in The Hunger Games as well. Like Mussolini, President Snow uses propaganda to persuade his people how amazing the Capitol is. Specifically, when it comes time for reaping day. Before each district finds out who will be playing in the games the Capitol makes everyone watch a propaganda video. This video talks about why the games exist and how they do good things for the people of Panem. The games were put in place after the districts tried to revolt against the Capitol. The Capitol took extreme force on the districts, constantly bombing and killing their own people. The people wanted to have a democracy, but President would not step down from power. Instead Snow completely obliterated the thirteenth district and put the games into effect. The propaganda video tells the people of Panem that the games were put in place to commemorate the fallen Capitol soldiers from the revolution. But President Snow uses the propagandas to scare his people from another uprising doesn’t happen again (Collins).  As well as using propagandas like Mussolini, President Snow is willing to go to any measure to make sure that the people under him all share the same views as he does. When Seneca Cane at the last second says that it is okay to have two victors instead of one, President Snow is completely appalled. After the games ended, Snow puts Seneca to death.  As well as taking extreme measures to make sure that he remains in power, President Snow also has a police force behind him just like Mussolini had. The police are forced to do the dirty work of their leaders. Most people in both cases looked at the police as the enemy, but the men in charge are to blame. All in all, most characteristics that are seen in the way Mussolini ran Italy during his dictorial reign can be seen by President Snow in The Hunger Games. Collins addresses these similarities with Snow and Mussolini to show that even though audience members can see that many wrongs are being committed, this is just another case of history repeating itself. This tactic is used to address the ongoing issues of dictators in the world today. Mussolini’s reign in Italy occurred during World War II. As Americans, we got involved in this war because we didn’t believe that people were being treated fairly. This pertains to Collins message of prevention of dictatorships in The Hunger Games because we have felt the need to get involved before, so why are we not helping stop Kim Jong-un in North Korea? As audience member, we watch Katniss start a revolution against the Capitol. Collins uses Katniss as a way for people to see that it is important to act against dictators.  

Dictatorships are an issue that we have and are currently facing in the world today. North Korea is being run by Kim Jong-un who is known as one of the most ruthless dictators of this time. Suzanne Collins addresses this growing issue in her novel The Hunger Games. She shows the many traits of a dictator through her character President Snow. Because most audience members have not experienced a dictator the novel allows people to see the struggles that people who are being oppressed by a dictator are faced with. Overall Suzanne is successful in spreading awareness to the current issue happening in North Korea. If Suzanne Collins is able to reach out to many people throughout the world in her books, history, in turn, may not repeat itself and Dictatorship may not exist any longer in the world. 
