Autocracia

Autocracia, also called autocracy, is a form of government in which sovereign authority is concentrated in the hands of a single individual who wields substantial, often unchecked, power. The ruler's decrees may be issued with little or no constitutional limitation, and competitive elections may be absent or subordinate to the ruler's will. The term derives from the Greek autos ("self") and kratos ("power").

Common features include centralized decision-making, weak political pluralism, and restricted civil liberties. While formal institutions such as a legislature or a constitution may exist, they typically operate to reinforce the ruler's authority rather than to check it. Autocracies maintain control through a mix of coercive force, patronage networks, ideological or nationalist appeal, and control of security forces and the administration.

Autocracies vary in practice. Personalist autocracies center power on a single leader, while other regimes retain nominal legal structures that do not constrain the ruler in effect. Some regimes are described as hybrid or authoritarian, combining limited elections or party control with concentrated authority.

Historically, autocracy has appeared in ancient empires, monarchies, and, in modern times, in one-man or one-party regimes. In political science, autocracy is often contrasted with democracy and with more extreme forms such as totalitarianism, though some regimes blend elements of different models. Debates about legitimacy, stability, and rights under autocracy continue in contemporary political analysis.