"To maintain control, you must have power."
In my opinion, I think is that yes, to remain in control, you must have to be in power of something that the ones you are trying to control care about, either in power of something to do with politics, or even brute strength and fear, all are in the arsenal of a dictator or ruler's weaponry. For example, Hitler would never have gained so much control over such a large population of europe if it wasn't for his already-existing public power as a WWI war veteran (as people generally respected those veterans), and his uncanny natural charisma, which gained him more support from people, and from support, he gained power of the people. With this, he became the chancellor of Germany, and later on, the Dictator, complete ruler. After politically stable and powerful, had access to the large military power that Germany possessed, Hitler would then be able to pose a threat to people who opposed his ideas.
