Despotism - tyranny

A political system in which a ruler exercises arbitrary rule without allowing the majority of the ruled to be involved in politics. This was common in pre-modern societies, such as the tyrannical governments of ancient Greece. The condition for the establishment of despotism was that the ruled were not united as one unit due to a lack of social maturity, and were unable to oppose the ruler. Despotism in modern times is absolute monarchy, but it separates political power from religious authority, and the state (king) acquires sovereignty over secular society, meaning that various forms of power over the people are centralized. It is often distinguished from dictatorship, which has a popular base and in which a specific individual or group temporarily and exceptionally seizes power in a concentrated manner to resolve a crisis situation.

[Hiroaki Otani]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

支配者が大多数の被支配者の政治的関与を許さずに恣意(しい)的統治を行う政治体制をいう。古代ギリシアの僭主(せんしゅ)政治をはじめ前近代的社会においては一般的にみられた。社会的成熟度が低いために被支配者の団結が弱く、支配者に対抗できないことが専制政治を成立させる条件となった。近代における専制政治は絶対王制であるが、政治権力を宗教的権威から切り離し、国家＝国王が世俗社会における主権を獲得したわけで、人民に対する多様な権力が一元化されたことを意味する。人民的基盤をもち、危機的状況の事態収拾のために一時的かつ例外的に特定の個人あるいは集団が集中的に権力を掌握する独裁とは区別される場合が多い。

［大谷博愛］

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