autocracy

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As autocracy ( ancient Greek αὐτοκράτεια autokráteia ' autocracy ', from αὐτός autós 'oneself' and κρατεῖν krateín ' to rule') is a form of rule in political science in which an individual or group of people exercises uncontrolled political power and is not subject to any constitutional restrictions rulership legitimized by the sole holder of power out of their own perfection ( autocracy ). In comparative government theory , autocracy is mostly contrasted with democracy as an ideal-type concept. In contrast, the different constitutional lawyer Karl Loewenstein as the opposite of autocracy ideal type the constitutional state , are involved in the several independent power holders on the exercise of political power and control each other.

Accordingly , an autocrat (from ancient Greek αυτοκράτης autokrátes , self-ruler) is a single ruler or autocrat who exercises power in a certain area out of his or her own power and is not restricted by anything or anyone. The term autocrat is also used colloquially for an autocratic person (similar to despot , tyrant , dictator ).

Definition and typology

Basically, autocracy is the exercise of unrestricted power in one's own right without third-party authorization. As a form of rule , the autocracy therefore combines all the competencies of the political system in one central force and does not provide for the participation of the people in state power or any kind of reference to a higher authority that controls and legitimizes the exercise of rule. An autocratic government therefore rules by definition by its own authority and is not accountable to anyone. Assuming divine right , this absolute authority is only relativized to the extent that it is limited by the responsibility of the ruler or rulers towards God . All of these competencies can be held by an individual (e.g. king , dictator) or a group ( party , junta , central committee ).

Classic examples of autocracies are absolute monarchy and illegitimate dictatorship . While the absolutist monarch at least recognizes divine and historical law as an instance that is binding for himself and mostly also grants his subjects the integrity of person and property, a pure dictator does not see himself as bound by any legal norms and is only through norm-setting and government execution the factual conditions and possibilities of exercising power (such as the availability of a military apparatus) are limited.

According to Juan Linz, autocracies can be divided into authoritarian and totalitarian regimes. In more recent considerations, so-called hybrid regimes or defective democracies are also included, which are classified as "something in between" between (formally existing) democracy and (factual) autocracy.

A distinction must be made between formal autocracies in the sense of political systems in which the ruler functions as a real (legitimate) sovereign (e.g. classic monarchies ), and de facto autocracies in which the appearance of a derived legitimacy is maintained by de facto powerless state organs, manipulated elections or the like, state power is actually exercised in an autocratic form.

Examples of autocracies

Autocratic Governments in Ancient Rome

The sovereignty of the king in the Roman state was replaced by the republic in the 6th century BC (as part of the independence efforts of the city of Rome from Etruscan supremacy) , in which the city nobility ( patricians ) initially held state power, and later also the lower ones Strata of the Roman citizenship (the "people") participated.

During times of war and crisis, the Roman Republic had the option of appointing a dictator with very extensive powers for six months . He held the summum imperium , that is, all offices of the magistrate were subordinate to him (temporarily) . The powers of the tribunes of the people were suspended during the dictatorship, as was the right of Roman citizens to appeal to criminal courts. However, the dictator was not allowed to change the constitution, declare wars or raise new taxes. He could not be prosecuted for acts during his term in office. A comparable " sacrosanct " ( Latin sacrosanctus , "inviolable") position otherwise only possessed the tribunes as specially protected representatives of the people. The Roman dictatorship can hardly be equated with the dictatorial regimes of the modern age, since it was a legitimate institution that was limited in its power and duration. In the late period of the republic, however, it was increasingly in danger of being abused for despotic purposes by individual political actors. Caesar is said to have tried shortly before his assassination to obtain a lifelong dictatorship.

When the principate was founded in the imperial era , the rights and powers of the tribunes were transferred to the princeps ("first", from which the titles prince and prince ), who had the titles Augustus and Caesar (from which: emperor ) . The appearance of an exceptional government acting in accordance with the republican state constitution was preserved. The title Imperator ("Commander", actually the honorary title of a military commander), which was also used by most of the Roman emperors, corresponded to the term autocrator (" Autocrator " ) in the Greek imperial title, which was used in parallel or instead of the Latin names, especially in the later phases of the Roman Empire. Autonomous rulers ”).

Autocratic governments in Russia

In the Russian Empire from 1721 the tsar officially carried the title of autocrat for a long time and referred to himself as the "autocrat of all Russians " ( Russian Император и Самодержец Всероссийский Imperator i Samoderschez Vserossijskij , literally "autocrat of all Russian emperor") from all over Russia ”. The form of government of the Russian tsars since the abolition of the ecclesiastical patriarchal office by Tsar Peter I is also known as Caesaropapism . The secular ruler did not directly combine secular and spiritual power in one person, but the church was directly subordinate to the state authorities.

After the Russian Revolution and the introduction of the Soviet system , this was implemented in the form of autocratic rule by the Communist Party , as it was completed in the Soviet Union 's constitution, which was in force from 1936 to 1977 .

Autocratic governments in Germany

See also

literature

Web links

Wiktionary: Autocrat  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations
Wiktionary: autocracy  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations