The “classic” modern case for why totalitarianism is a new phenomenon may be found in the work of Hannah Arendt. Totalitarianism is perceived as a novel form of regime based on the twin application of ideology and terror

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in the study of “tyranny” it is impossible to reduce human agency to an impersonal force or to the milieu; the study of “tyranny,” more so than any other political phenomenon perhaps, is not separable from the human actor, in this case the person or persona of the tyrant.