Hermann Goering, founder of the Nazi Gestapo, had it right when he stated:

Why of course the people don't want war. Why should some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece? Naturally the common people don't want war neither in Russia, nor in England, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, [especially with nuclear weapons or other WMDs,] and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.

Okay, I added the part in the brackets, but I'm sure that Goering would have included it if nuclear weapons and other WMDs had existed when he made that statement.

In a non-elected dictatorship, the dictator doesn't need to secure anyone's consent to initiate a war. He simply initiates it on his own by ordering his military to attack another country.

It's possible, of course, to have a dictatorship within a democratic form of government. Dictatorship depends on the extent of power wielded by the ruler, not by how he got to be ruler. Thus, a democratically elected ruler can end up wielding and exercising the same types of omnipotent, totalitarian powers as an unelected dictator who has simply taken power by force.

In a democracy, however, a ruler must seduce the citizenry into supporting the war, especially since war inevitably involves the destruction of people's own freedom at the hands of their own government. Otherwise, if the elected dictator initiates a destructive war that destroys his own citizens' freedom and well-being, he knows that he and his supporters are subject to being ousted in the next election.