How do some regimes use external enemies to stay in power?

Some leaders trick people into thinking their problems are caused by outsiders instead of the leader themselves.

Imagine you're playing a game where everyone is on your team, but the teacher says they’re all bored and want to switch sides. You don’t want that, so you tell them the teacher is unfair and wants to make everyone sad. That way, you can keep being the best player, and people will stick with you.

Regimes are like that game, some leaders act like they're fighting for you against external enemies, like other countries or groups of people outside their own country. They might say things like, “If we didn’t have this enemy, we’d all be happy!” This makes people feel like they need the leader to protect them from these enemies.

Sometimes, external enemies are made up, or maybe real, but exaggerated. This keeps people distracted from problems inside their own country.

When you're fighting off imaginary enemies in a game, you forget about the teacher’s unfair rules. Similarly, when people are busy fighting outside enemies, they don’t notice that the leader might be making things harder for them on purpose, and that could keep the leader in power longer.