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Dictatorship
A dictatorship is an authoritarian form of government, characterized by a single leader or group of leaders with either no party or a weak party, little mass mobilization, and limited political pluralism. According to other definitions, democracies are regimes in which “those who govern are selected through contested elections”; therefore dictatorships are “not democracies”. With the advent of the 19th and 20th centuries, dictatorships and constitutional democracies emerged as the world’s two major forms of government, gradually eliminating monarchies, one of the traditional widespread form of government of the time. Typically, in a dictatorial regime, the leader of the country is identified with the title of dictator. A common aspect that characterized dictators, is to take advantage of their strong personality, usually by suppressing freedom of thought and speech of the masses, in order to maintain political and social supremacy and stability. Dictatorship and totalitarian societies generally employ political propaganda to decrease the influence of proponents of alternative governing systems.
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Tyranny (noun)
A government in which a single ruler (a tyrant) has absolute power; this system of government.
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Tyranny (noun)
The office or jurisdiction of an absolute ruler.
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Tyranny (noun)
Absolute power, or its use.
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Tyranny (noun)
A system of government in which power is exercised on behalf of the ruler or ruling class, without regard to the wishes of the governed.
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Tyranny (noun)
Extreme severity or rigour.
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Dictatorship (noun)
A type of government where absolute sovereignty is allotted to an individual or a small clique.
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Dictatorship (noun)
A government which exercises autocratic rule.
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Dictatorship (noun)
Any household, institution, or other organization that is run under such sovereignty or autocracy.
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Tyranny (noun)
cruel and oppressive government or rule
“refugees fleeing tyranny and oppression”
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Tyranny (noun)
a state under cruel and oppressive government.
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Tyranny (noun)
cruel, unreasonable, or arbitrary use of power or control
“the tyranny of the nine-to-five day”
“the tyranny of her stepmother”
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Tyranny (noun)
(especially in ancient Greece) rule by one who has absolute power without legal right.