Q:Question: "How did Sassou operate during his course of rule?"  Context: "Sassou Nguesso aligned the country with the Eastern Bloc and signed a twenty-year friendship pact with the Soviet Union. Over the years, Sassou had to rely more on political repression and less on patronage to maintain his dictatorship."  Answer:
A:
Over the years, Sassou had to rely more on political repression and less on patronage to maintain his dictatorship