6. Idi Amin

A look at the techniques used by Idi Amin to rise from humble beginnings and build a powerful dictatorship in Uganda. Amin became an expert at deploying military force to achieve political power, a lesson he first learned from the British as a soldier in the colonial army. Through a combination of populist charm and brutal violence, backed up by a vast police state, Idi Amin managed to rule Uganda for eight years.