What techniques do dictatorships employ to maintain control over their people?

4. Emergency powers: In times of crisis or instability, a government may grant emergency powers to a leader, allowing them to bypass normal democratic processes and assume a more dictatorial role. This can happen during wars, natural disasters, or other extraordinary circumstances. Once in power, dictators rely on tactics such as propaganda, censorship, surveillance, and repression to maintain their control. They often suppress political opposition, restrict civil liberties, and concentrate power within a few loyalist supporters.