avtoritar

Avtoritar is a term used in several languages to describe a political ideology or governance style that centers power in a single authority or a small ruling elite, with limited political pluralism. In avtoritar systems, formal institutions often exist, but political competition and civil liberties are constrained, and decisions are frequently made by a narrow circle rather than through broad deliberation.

Key characteristics commonly associated with avtoritar governance include:

- Centralized power concentrated in an executive or ruling group.

- Limited political pluralism, with opposition parties and civil society under tight control.

- Rule by decree or selective use of legal mechanisms to legitimize authoritarial decisions.

- Control of information, censorship, state media, and propaganda to shape public opinion.

- A security or policing apparatus used to deter dissent and maintain order.

- Economic intervention or planning by the state, with variable openness to markets depending on the regime.

Variants and forms of avtoritar governance can vary. Some regimes rely on a personalist leader, others on a technocratic or bureaucratic elite, and some operate as hybrid systems that hold elections but constrain meaningful competition and rights protection. The formal rule of law may be present but applied selectively to justify power rather than to secure equal rights.

Origins and usage: the term is used in some languages to describe non-democratic regimes without prescribing a single model. It is often discussed in relation to authoritarianism, authoritarian or semi-constitutional regimes, and can overlap with concepts such as illiberal democracy or totalitarianism in certain contexts.

See also: authoritarianism, autocracy, illiberal democracy.