Totalitarian leaders rise through intrigue and personnel control, not violence or bureaucracy

Evidence

In the center of the movement, as the motor that swings it into motion, sits the Leader. He is separated from the elite formation by an inner circle of the initiated who spread around him an aura of impenetrable mystery which corresponds to his “intangible preponderance.” His position within this intimate circle depends upon his ability to spin intrigues among its members and upon his skill in constantly changing its personnel. He owes his rise to leadership to an extreme ability to handle inner-party struggles for power rather than to demagogic or bureaucratic-organizational qualities. … Not Stalin, but Trotsky, moreover, was the greatest organizational talent, the ablest bureaucrat of the Russian Revolution. On the other hand, both Hitler and Stalin were masters of detail and devoted themselves in the early stages of their careers almost entirely to questions of personnel, so that after a few years hardly any man of importance remained who did not owe his position to them. — Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, 866

Categorization

• XREF: This mechanism of leader-as-intriguer connects to Weber’s charismatic authority and to the Machiavellian prince; relevant background for later Islamophobia readings on how movements concentrate and wield power. — connects to: Totalitarian bureaucracy extends control into the private soul that older bureaucracies left intact; The secret police, not the army, forms the true power core of totalitarian regimes; Authoritarian leaders surround themselves with subordinates who never question them — Arsalan Iftikhar, Fear of a Muslim Planet_ Global…, 327 (+3 more)
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, 866

Broader Connections

• The secret police, not the army, forms the true power core of totalitarian regimes #expands (0.82)
• Totalitarian elites obey vague orders meant to convey intent, not explicit commands #expands (0.78)
• Domination operates through consent won by leadership, not force alone #qualifies (0.75)
• Authoritarian leaders surround themselves with subordinates who never question them #expands (0.72) — Arsalan Iftikhar, Fear of a Muslim Planet_ Global…, 327