oligarchy

Oligarchy is a form of government in which control rests with a small group of people. The term comes from the Greek oligarkhía, from oligós meaning “few” and arkhein meaning “to rule.”

Characteristics of oligarchy include the centralization of political power in a limited circle, restricted public participation, and governance often justified by claims of stability or merit. Membership is typically based on wealth, aristocratic lineage, or control of key economic or military resources. Elites may wield influence through formal institutions such as legislatures and courts while maintaining power through patronage, appointments, and coercive means.

Historically, oligarchies appear in many forms. In ancient Greece, Sparta operated with strong oligarchic features, while Athens experienced periods of oligarchic rule such as the Four Hundred and the Thirty Tyrants. The Roman Republic showed a system of patrician dominance in its early phases. During the Middle Ages and Renaissance, many Italian city-states were governed by oligarchic merchant families, and Venice sustained an enduring oligarchic republic.

In modern discourse, the term is used to describe systems in which a small elite exercises outsized political influence despite nominally representative structures. Debates focus on whether liberal democracies are immune from oligarchic tendencies or susceptible to influence via wealth, networks, or organized interest groups.

Oligarchy is distinct from plutocracy, which emphasizes wealth as the sole basis of rule, and from aristocracy, where rule rests on hereditary status. It may overlap with these forms where wealth, birth, or elite networks converge to concentrate power. Related concepts include aristocracy, plutocracy, and democracy.