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Autocracies, Oligarchy, And Democracy

Decent Essays

Government is an essential part of civilization in modern and historic times. This crucial element of society has been observed in different forms. There are three main systems of governments: autocracy, oligarchy, and democracy. Which system a government belongs to is determined by who hold the sovereignty, meaning who has the supreme power and authority (“Sovereignty”). This leads to there being major differences between autocracies, oligarchies, and democracies.
In an autocracy, one person has all the power. The person can gain their power by being related to the previous ruler, and then it would be also known as a monarchy. Andorra is an example of a current monarchy. Sometimes force is used to attain and hold authority, this is known as a dictatorship. North Korea is a dictatorship, with Kim Jong Un being the dictator. Theocracies can also be autocracies when there is a single religious leader who controls the government, such as Iran. ("Governments: How Do They Run?"). This government system is very fast at making decisions and this can be helpful …show more content…

An example of such found in the past would be Sparta. In Sparta, the largest segment of the population was not permitted to vote and only a few had any political power ("Oligarchy"). The Soviet Union could have also been deemed an oligarchy because communist countries are characteristically considered such. Even after the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia can still be thought of as an oligarchy due to the events following the collapse of the communist regimen, a select few accumulated wealth, and along with wealth, political power ("Oligarchy"). Wealth, social standing, and military force are the driving factors that determine which people are in a power welding group. Usually it is a blend of these three factors. The citizens are controlled in oligarchies similarly to autocracies. This is done in order to keep as much power with as few as people as

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