The Dictator's Playbook

Explore how dictators, from Mussolini to Saddam Hussein, seized, held and fell from power.

Episodes

  • Francisco Franco

    Learn how Francisco Franco won the Spanish Civil War and became the dictator of Spain.
  • Manuel Noriega

    Watch Manuel Noriega rise to power in Panama, and witness his sudden downfall.
  • Benito Mussolini

    Meet the man who created fascism, an ideology that plunged most of Europe into darkness.
  • Saddam Hussein

    Learn how Saddam Hussein seized power in Iraq and maintained it for almost 30 years.
  • Kim Il Sung

    Kim Il Sung created a North Korean dictatorship that has lasted for three generations.

About The Dictator's Playbook

Learn how six dictators, from Mussolini to Saddam Hussein, shaped the 20th century. How did they seize and lose power? What forces were against them? Learn the answers in these six immersive hours, each a revealing portrait of brutality and power.

Extras