autocracy

Definitions of Autocracy

1. (noun) A political system governed by an individual (called an autocrat) with absolute and unrestricted authority and power; despotism.
2. (noun) The unrestricted authority and power of an autocrat.
3. (noun) A country, nation, or State ruled by an autocrat.

Example of Autocracy

• North Korea under the leadership of Kim Jong Un.

Autocracy Pronunciation

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: au·toc·ra·cy

Audio Pronunciation

International Phonetic Alphabet

• American English – /ɔˈtɑkrəsi/
• British English – /ɔːˈtɒkrəsi/

Usage Notes

• Plural: autocracies
• Autocracies are often described as (adjective) Machiavellian, based on the work Il Principe (Italian for “The Prince”), written by Niccolò Machiavelli (1469–1527) in the 1500s. Machiavelli encouraged the notion that the “end justifies the means” for rulers.
  • Read for free on Project Gutenberg: The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli
  • Listen for free at Librivox: The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli
• A type of authoritarianism, government, and political system.
• Autocracy is the opposite of democracy.
• Type: absolute monarchy
• Some definitions of autocracy extend autocratic authority and power to a single family or political party.
• Also called autarchy.
• An (noun) autocrat or (noun) autocratist (adverb) is autocratically (adjective) autocratic or (adjective) autocratical.

Additional Information

• Crime and Law Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
• Politics and Policy Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
• Word origin of “autocracy” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com

Related Terms

• authoritarianism
• cadre
• government
• oligarchy
• society
• state
• totalitarianism
• Weber, Max
  

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Works Consulted

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. 5th ed. 2011. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Farlex. (N.d.) TheFreeDictionary.com: Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus. Farlex. (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/).

Merriam-Webster. (N.d.) Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (http://www.merriam-webster.com/).

Oxford Dictionaries. (N.d.) Oxford Dictionaries. New York: Oxford University Press. (https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/).

Princeton University. 2010. WordNet. (https://wordnet.princeton.edu/).

Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/).

Cite the Definition of Autocracy

ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2015. “autocracy.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved October 15, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/autocracy/).

APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)

autocracy. (2015). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/autocracy/

Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2015. “autocracy.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed October 15, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/autocracy/.

MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

“autocracy.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2015. Web. 15 Oct. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/autocracy/>.