"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 the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic voting."
A system of government in which power is centralized and the rulers make decisions without the consent of the people.
Definition of Authoritarianism: An overview of the concept, including its various forms and how it differs from other political systems.
Historical Examples: An exploration of real-world authoritarian regimes, such as Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union, to learn about how they functioned and what effects they had on their citizens.
Characteristics of Authoritarianism: A close examination of the typical traits of authoritarian regimes, including propaganda, censorship, and the suppression of dissent.
Social Movements and Political Change: A look at how civil society can challenge authoritarian rule, whether through peaceful protest or more radical means like revolution.
International Relations: An exploration of how authoritarian regimes interact with the rest of the world, including issues such as sanctions, diplomatic relations, and military interventions.
Human Rights Violations: An examination of how authoritarian leaders often disregard the rights and freedoms of their citizens, such as with torture, imprisonment without trial, or restrictions on religious freedom.
Authoritarianism and Economic Development: A look at the economic policies of authoritarian regimes, including state control of industries or resources.
Political Participation: An exploration of how citizens are often excluded or discouraged from active participation in their governments under authoritarian rule.
Authoritarianism and Political Violence: An examination of how authoritarian regimes often use violence to control their citizens or maintain power, such as with secret police or political assassinations.
Political Culture: An exploration of the values and beliefs that often underpin authoritarian rule, such as nationalism or the idea of a strong leader.
Totalitarianism: The most strict form of authoritarianism where the state does not tolerate any other political or social force that could challenge its authority. It exercises complete control over its citizens, prohibiting dissent, and controlling all aspects of the economy, media, and society.
Authoritarianism: This form of authoritarianism is typically characterized by a strong leader or party that holds all the political power, controls the press, and punishes dissidents.
Military dictatorships: A military dictatorship is a form of authoritarianism where power is held by the military or unaccountable elements of state security forces. The government is typically run by a junta or council of senior military officials.
Monarchy: This type of authoritarianism is characterized by rule by a single person who holds all the power. Monarchs inherit power by birth and they typically have no formal limits on their authority.
One-party states: In these states, a single political party has exclusive control over the government, elections, and the media. These are often associated with totalitarian regimes.
Fascism: This form of authoritarianism is often characterized by extreme nationalism, xenophobia, and a focus on the militarization of society. It is associated with the ideology of fascism.
Theocracy: This form of authoritarianism is characterized by government power being vested in religious leaders or institutions. Law is derived from religious texts and institutions, which often hold a dominant position in society.
Dictatorship: In a dictatorship, power is held by a single person who may or may not maintain control over the government, through means such as the use of emergency powers, martial law, or terrorism.
"Authoritarian regimes may be either autocratic or oligarchic and may be based upon the rule of a party or the military."
"States that have a blurred boundary between democracy and authoritarianism have sometimes been characterized as 'hybrid democracies', 'hybrid regimes', or 'competitive authoritarian' states."
"Limited political pluralism, political legitimacy based on appeals to emotion, minimal political mobilization, and ill-defined executive powers used to extend the power of the executive."
"An authoritarian government lacks free and competitive direct elections to legislatures, free and competitive direct or indirect elections for executives, or both."
"Authoritarian states include countries that lack civil liberties and countries in which the government and the opposition do not alternate in power at least once following free elections."
"Authoritarian states might contain nominally democratic institutions such as political parties, legislatures, and elections which are managed to entrench authoritarian rule and can feature fraudulent, non-competitive elections."
"Scholars tend to identify authoritarian political leaders based on certain tactics, such as politicizing independent institutions, spreading disinformation, aggrandizing executive power, quashing dissent, targeting vulnerable communities, stoking violence, and corrupting elections."
"Since 1946, the share of authoritarian states in the international political system increased until the mid-1970s but declined from then until the year 2000."
"Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality."
"Authoritarianism is characterized by the use of strong central power to preserve the political status quo."
"Authoritarianism is achieved with constraints on the legislature, political parties, and interest groups."
"Political legitimacy is based on appeals to emotion and identification of the regime as a necessary evil to combat 'easily recognizable societal problems, such as underdevelopment or insurgency.'"
"Authoritarianism is characterized by minimal political mobilization and the suppression of anti-regime activities."
"Ill-defined executive powers, often vague and shifting, are used to extend the power of the executive."
"Authoritarian states lack civil liberties such as freedom of religion."
"Scholars tend to identify authoritarian political leaders based on certain tactics, such as politicizing independent institutions, spreading disinformation, aggrandizing executive power, quashing dissent, targeting vulnerable communities, stoking violence, and corrupting elections."
"Authoritarian political leaders may use tactics such as spreading disinformation, aggrandizing executive power, quashing dissent, targeting vulnerable communities, stoking violence, and corrupting elections."
"The share of authoritarian states in the international political system increased until the mid-1970s but declined from then until the year 2000."
"Authoritarian regimes may be either autocratic or oligarchic and may be based upon the rule of a party or the military."