How the Dictator's Obsession with Manufacturing Loyalty Ensures His Own Downfall

The true moment of narrative failure often coincides with a significant, undeniable crisis—a major military defeat, a sudden economic collapse, or a natural disaster. In such moments, the regime's promise of total competence and control shatters against the concrete evidence of its incompetence and weakness. The people's immediate need for truthful information and effective action cannot be satisfied by heroic imagery and vague platitudes. This gap between propaganda and performance is the flashpoint where popular resentment transforms into overt resistance.