"Autocrat" redirects here. For other uses, see Autocrat (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with adhocracy.
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Autocracy is a system of government in which absolute power is held by the ruler, known as an autocrat. It includes most forms of monarchy and dictatorship, while it is contrasted with democracy and feudalism. Various definitions of autocracy exist. They may restrict autocracy to cases where power is held by a single individual, or they may define autocracy in a way that includes a group of rulers who wield absolute power. The autocrat has total control over the exercise of civil liberties within the autocracy, choosing under what circumstances they may be exercised, if at all. Governments may also blend elements of autocracy and democracy, forming an anocracy. The concept of autocracy has been recognized in political philosophy since ancient times.
Autocrats maintain power through political repression of any opposition and co-optation of other influential or powerful members of society. The general public is controlled through indoctrination and propaganda, and an autocracy may attempt to legitimize itself in the eyes of the public through appeals to ideology, religion, birthright, or foreign hostility. Some autocracies establish legislatures, unfair elections, or show trials to further exercise control while presenting the appearance of democracy. The only limits to autocratic rule are practical considerations in preserving the regime. Autocrats must retain control over the nation's elites and institutions for their will to be exercised, but they must also prevent any other individual or group from gaining significant power or influence. Internal challenges are the most significant threats faced by autocrats, as they may lead to a coup d'état.
Autocracy was among the earliest forms of government. It began as despotism, which existed throughout the ancient world in the form of chiefdoms, city-states, and empires. Monarchy was the predominant form of autocracy for most of history. Dictatorship became more common in the 19th century, beginning with the caudillos in Latin America and the empires of Napoleon and Napoleon III in Europe. Totalitarian dictatorships developed in the 20th century with the advent of fascist and communist states. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, most dictatorships have been characterized as authoritarian rather than totalitarian.
definitions of autocracy exist. They may restrict autocracy to cases where power is held by a single individual, or they may define autocracy in a way that...
Electoral autocracy is a hybrid regime, in which democratic institutions are imitative and adhere to authoritarian methods. In these regimes, regular...
A liberal autocracy is a non-democratic government that follows the principles of liberalism. Until the 20th century, most countries in Western Europe...
Tsarist autocracy[a] (Russian: царское самодержавие, romanized: tsarskoye samoderzhaviye), also called Tsarism, was an autocracy, a form of absolute monarchy...
An informational autocracy, also called a spin dictatorship, is a state that uses censorship and propaganda, rather than violent coercion or vote-rigging...
according to which people have the authority to rule: either one person (an autocracy, such as monarchy), a select group of people (an aristocracy), or the...
establishing a bureaucracy. This tradition of absolutism, known as Tsarist autocracy, was expanded by Catherine II the Great and her descendants. Although...
Western monarchs. The tsarist autocracy had many supporters within Russia. Major Russian advocates and theorists of the autocracy included writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky...
Liberals Under Autocracy: Modernization and Civil Society in Russia, 1866–1904 is a book by Anton A. Fedyashin about Vestnik Evropy and Russian liberalism...
staunch supporter of the House of Romanov and opposed any retreat from the autocracy of the reigning monarch. The name arose from the medieval concept of "black"...
The Manifesto on Unshakable Autocracy was issued by Tsar Alexander III of Russia on April 29, 1881 (O.S.), about two months after the assassination of...
Benichou, Autocracy to Integration 2000, p. 229. "The Hyderabad Question" (PDF). United Nations. Retrieved 23 September 2014. Benichou, Autocracy to Integration...
of the Enlightenment not only to achieve reforms but also to enhance autocracy, crush opposition, suppress criticism, advance colonial economic exploitation...
a polymorphic view of political regimes that opposes the dichotomy of autocracy or democracy. Modern scholarly analysis of hybrid regimes focuses attention...
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a country in Central Africa. By land area, the DRC is the second-largest country in Africa and the 11th-largest...
the fashion of despots" and is often used to describe autocracy. Historical examples of autocracy include the Roman Empire, North Korea, the Islamic Emirate...
After the proposed revolution had successfully overthrown the Russian autocracy, this strong leadership would relinquish power and allow a Socialist party...
other six states, reunited China and established the dominant order of autocracy. King Zheng of Qin proclaimed himself the Emperor of the Qin dynasty,...
the abdication of Nicholas II and the imperial government. The tsarist autocracy was replaced by the social-democratic Russian Provisional Government,...
Christian nationalist movement and a path for the United States to become an autocracy. Several experts in law have indicated that it would undermine the rule...
Ruling class Society Sovereignty State Utopia War Government Aristocracy Autocracy Bureaucracy Dictatorship Democracy Meritocracy Monarchy Oligarchy Plutocracy...
The House of Romanov (also transliterated as Romanoff; Russian: Романовы, romanized: Romanovy, IPA: [rɐˈmanəvɨ]) was the reigning imperial house of Russia...
called Novorossiya, were opened up to settlement by Russians. The tsarist autocracy established a policy of Russification, suppressing the use of the Ukrainian...
Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Hamad bin Abdullah bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani (Arabic: حمد بن خليفة آل ثاني; born 1 January 1952) is a member of the...
absolute power. Normally, that entity is an individual, the despot (as in an autocracy), but societies which limit respect and power to specific groups have...
largely due to the increasing popularity of democracies and electoral autocracies, leading authoritarian regimes to imitate democratic regimes in hopes...
Ruling class Society Sovereignty State Utopia War Government Aristocracy Autocracy Bureaucracy Dictatorship Democracy Meritocracy Monarchy Oligarchy Plutocracy...
of Siberia. Peter the Great (Peter I, 1672–1725) brought centralized autocracy into Russia and played a major role in bringing his country into the European...
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