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Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political status quo, and reductions in democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and the rule of law.
Autocracy is a system of government in which absolute power is held by the head of state and government, known as an autocrat.It includes some forms of monarchy and all forms of dictatorship, while it is contrasted with democracy and feudalism.
[44] [45] A common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of state is not a monarch. [46] [47] Montesquieu included both democracies, where all the people have a share in rule, and aristocracies or oligarchies, where only some of the people rule, as republican forms of government. [48] These categories are not exclusive.
The power structures of dictatorships vary, and different definitions of dictatorship consider different elements of this structure. Political scientists such as Juan José Linz and Samuel P. Huntington identify key attributes that define the power structure of a dictatorship, including a single leader or a small group of leaders, the exercise of power with few limitations, limited political ...
Guided democracy, also called directed democracy [1] and managed democracy, [2] [3] is a formally democratic government that functions as a de facto authoritarian government or, in some cases, as an autocratic government. [4] Such hybrid regimes are legitimized by elections, but do not change the state's policies, motives, and goals. [5] [page ...
Over time, dictators have been known to use tactics that violate human rights. For example, under the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, government policy was enforced by secret police and the Gulag system of prison labour camps. Most Gulag inmates were not political prisoners, although significant numbers of political prisoners could be found in ...
Libertarian authoritarianism, or libertarian-authoritarian, is a political spectrum and dimension, that has more recently been described as a dichotomy, political theory, and political formation. The spectrum is recognized in British politics , and the theory considers American and European politics .
Whether a certain government is to be characterized as a fascist (radical authoritarian nationalist) government, an authoritarian government, a totalitarian government, a police state or some other type of government is often a matter of dispute. The term "fascism" has been defined in various ways by different authors.