Leaders Who Disappeared Like Mojtaba Khamenei

🔸Isolationism is a form of governance in authoritarian governments, in which the leader—rather than appearing actively in the public sphere—uses absence to preserve and strengthen their power.

🔸Therefore, in the political history of the world, a ruler’s power is not always measured by their ability to appear in the public arena, and that power can continue far from public view or even, from the very beginning, take shape in absence—as in the case of Mojtaba Khamenei in Iran.

🔸Some rulers in despotic and authoritarian systems use their absence to conceal themselves, control their public image, or even strengthen the tools of exercising power.

🔸One of the prominent examples in the twentieth century is Joseph Stalin, the former Soviet leader, who in the final years of his life became intensely suspicious and distrustful of plots of assassination.

🔸He took refuge in his heavily guarded country residence and stopped appearing in public. He also limited the circle of people who were allowed to see him, and during travels he used armored trains and vehicles.

🔸Another example is Kim Jong-il, the former leader of North Korea. Unlike his father (Kim Il-sung) and his son (Kim Jong-un), he avoided public gatherings and was relatively reclusive. He also rarely spoke in public, and his voice was broadcast by state media only once. Due to suspicion and fear, he avoided traveling by airplane, and even on his few official trips he moved by train.

🔸Pol Pot, the former dictator of Cambodia, was also completely hidden in the early years of the rule of the Khmer Rouge, and he was referred to vaguely as “Brother Number One.” Most people in Cambodia had no information about who he was or how he ran the country.

🔸In fact, these rulers, by appearing less in public, create a particular kind of power that relies more on controlling messages and reinforcing symbols—so the ruler is not present, but for example their photos are seen everywhere. Distance can also create a kind of “sacredness.”

🔸Read the full version of this report on the Radio Farda website.