Is There a Ruleless World of Distortion?

There are universal laws of power and wielding power that transcend specific regime type. How would a dictator know who is loyal to him or her? In democracies, this kind of public declaration is not very costly because the mediais complete controled by the government. At the end of the day, how do you know if a powerful person is really going to remain in power after he or she has usurped your power?