Essay: Autocracy

As we know autocracy is a situation whereby the government possesses unlimited power to govern the country as well as the people in the country. Basically there are several types of autocracy.
The first type of autocracy is totalitarian which is one of the most extreme and severe form of authoritarianism. Totalitarian is a political system whereby the state is usually under the control of a single political organization, the citizen lives in tribal clusters and there are existence of dominance either economically or in terms of power. The authority also have no limits to authorize as they will strive to regulate every aspect of public and private life wherever it is practicable. In order to characterize a government as a totalitarian government, there are a few characteristics of totalitarian government such as there are only a single party will ruling. There are only a single party will ruling as the entrance into the party is controlled and that particular party will control and holds political, economic, military and judicial power. Secondly, the government will monopolize the communication and mass media to introduce their propaganda and ideology such as restriction of free discussion and criticism and the use of mass surveillance and terrorism widely to the citizens. Besides that, a totalitarian government will also monopolize the weapons to eliminate the army resistance. Most of the resources will be allocates to the heavy industry (weapon production) so that the government are strong.
Besides that, absolute monarchy or despotic monarchy are also another types of autocracy. The word of monarchy comes from Greek words which is monos means one and archein means the rule. Louis IX of France expressed this idea in the famous phrase “I am the state “in which could be interpreted as “I am the government and what I say goes “and this shown it is an absolute monarchy.  Absolute monarchy is a form of monarchy in which one ruler has supreme authority and that authority is not restricted by any written laws, legislature, or customs and monarch act as the Head of state. Countries by which monarch are still maintain their absolute power are Brunei, Oman, Vatican City and Saudi Arabia.
Next, military rule or also known as military junta are also one of the types of autocracy. It is a form of government where political power resides with the military. This form of government are differ from civilian dictatorship which ruling dictator does not derive their power from the military. Most military rule are formed after coup d’état which has overthrown the previous government. Military regimes tend to portray themselves ‘neutral’ party that can provide interim leadership in times turmoil, tend to portray politician as corrupt and ineffective. These regimes adopt title such as “National Redemption Council” and “Committee of National Restoration”. Military leaders often act as Junta which they chose form one of them.
Another type of autocracy is oligarchy. It is defined as rule by the few or in other word is to command or to rule. Generally, oligarchy is a form of power structure in which power rests with a small number of people. These people might be distinguished based on their nobility, wealth, family, education and military strength. Oligarchies are often controlled by a few powerful families whereby they will pass their influence from one generation to the next, however , inheritance are normally not necessary in this form of government. Nonetheless, power may not be always exercised openly as they prefer to remain power behind the throne and exerting it through economic means.
Last but no least is authoritarian. Authoritarian is a form of government characterized by strong central power and limited political freedom. The term of authoritarian is used to describe a state which enforces strong and sometimes oppressive measures against those in its sphere of influence. Some authoritarian government are demanding for total obedience as they greatly opposes individual freedom as their freedom are subordinate to the state and there is no constitutional accountability under an authoritarian regime but there are some of the authoritarian government seek to use government power to regulate and reshape behavior of all citizens as they are fully subject to state authority in many aspects of their lives. This type of government are basically based on principles hostile to democracy whereby there are existence such as rule by a selected law, suppression of the opposition and reliance or dependence on physical coercion rather than law. They enforce policies which what they thinks it is right and often does not allow any feedback on its policies. This type of government is marked by indefinite political tenure of the ruler or the ruling party.