Only show
results for:

Topics related to "despotism"

despotism
despotism government by an absolute ruler unchecked by effective constitutional limits to his power. In Greek usage, a despot was ruler of a household and master of its slaves. The title was applied to gods and, by derivation, to the quasi-divine rulers of the Middle East. In the Byzantine Empire, ... Read more
Domitian
Domitian (Titus Flavius Domitianus) , AD 51-AD 96, Roman emperor (AD 81-AD 96), son of Vespasian . Although intended as the heir to his older brother, Titus , he was given no important posts. On Titus' death he succeeded to the throne and proved himself at once proud and more absolutist than his... Read more
empire of Nicaea
empire of Nicaea 1204-61. In 1204 the armies of the Fourth Crusade set up the Latin Empire of Constantinople, but the Crusaders' influence did not extend over the entire Byzantine Empire. Several Greek successor states, chief among them the empire of Nicaea, sprang up (see also Epirus, despotate o... Read more
Richard Hildreth
Richard Hildreth , 1807-65, American historian, b. Deerfield, Mass. From 1832 to 1838 he was the leading editorial writer for the Boston Daily Atlas. In addition to writing controversial pamphlets and contributing to magazines, Hildreth wrote Banks, Banking, and Paper Currencies (1840); a discus... Read more
Justinian II
Justinian II (Justinian Rhinotmetus), 669-711, Byzantine emperor (685-95, 705-11), son and successor of Constantine IV. He successfully invaded Arab territory but lost the advantage through a truce that ceded much of Asia Minor to the Arabs. His extravagance and despotism and his ministers' extorti... Read more
Ptolemy VII
Ptolemy VII (Ptolemy Physcon) , d. 116 BC, king of ancient Egypt (145-116 BC), of the Macedonian dynasty, brother of Ptolemy VI . He is also called Ptolemy Euergetes II. He was coruler with his brother and his brother's wife from 170-164 BC Trouble resulted in a settlement by which Ptolemy Physco... Read more
Jean Jacques Dessalines
Jean Jacques Dessalines , c.1758-1806, emperor of Haiti (1804-6), born a slave. A shrewd general, he served under Toussaint L'Ouverture in the wars that liberated Haiti. His barbaric cruelty against the mulattoes whom Toussaint was unable to control led to a bitter struggle with the mulatto leader... Read more
Antonio Guzmán Blanco
Antonio Guzmán Blanco , 1829-99, president of Venezuela, a caudillo who dominated the nation from 1870 to 1888. Son of the founder of the Liberal party, Guzmán Blanco was a magnetic and energetic figure with considerable diplomatic and administrative ability. He became a general in the... Read more
Hyksos
Hyksos [Egyptian,=rulers of foreign lands], invaders of ancient Egypt , now substantiated as the XV-XVIII dynasties. They were a northwestern Semitic (Canaanite or Amorite) people who entered Egypt sometime between 1720 and 1710 BC and subdued the pharaohs of the Middle Kingdom. They used Avaris-T... Read more
Montezuma
Montezuma or Moctezuma , 1480?-1520, Aztec emperor (c.1502-1520). He is sometimes called Montezuma II to distinguish him from Montezuma I (ruled 1440-69), who carried on conquests around Tenochtitlán . His reign was marked by incessant warfare, and his despotic rule caused grave unrest. ... Read more

Encyclopedia entries related to "despotism"

despotism
Book article from: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition despotism government by an absolute ruler unchecked...beneficent intent known as benevolent despotism. However, despot is now a term of opprobrium...An Essay on the Theory of Enlightened Despotism (1975); K. A. Wittfogel, Oriental...
Enlightened Despotism
Encyclopedia entry from: Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World ENLIGHTENED DESPOTISM ENLIGHTENED DESPOTISM. One must first clarify the origins of the term: today...xE9; clair é . But this had little to do with real despotism, which in the minds of western Europeans was associated with...
Asiatic Mode of Production
Encyclopedia entry from: International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences ...continent as characterized by political despotism and socioeconomic stagnation. The initial...too closely associated with political despotism and therefore liable to be used against...production. Conversely, in Oriental Despotism (1957) the former Marxist sinologist...
Absolutism
Encyclopedia entry from: Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World ...means "unlimited." ABSOLUTISM, DESPOTISM, TYRANNY The term absolutism, first...terms. He juxtaposes absolutism and despotism in a way that has lasted into the present...that field the older term enlightened despotism is used instead. Dictionaries follow...
Estates-General, 1789
Encyclopedia entry from: Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World ...Pidansat de Mairobert, the themes of despotism and corruption were linked: the French...ministers "think it their duty to preserve despotism. There are swarms of low and effeminate...nation. For others, the problem of despotism was paramount, and the solution was...
Garrett Mattingly
Encyclopedia entry from: Encyclopedia of World Biography ...an implicit lesson for his own time: "Henry wielded the twin weapons of his future despotism, the appropriate weapons, for that matter, of any despotism, which seeks to break the pattern of a people's life — cant and terror...
Physiocrats and Physiocracy
Encyclopedia entry from: Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World ...development. To override such interests, they proposed to establish "legal despotism," a governing authority untrammeled by constitutional checks. By legal despotism the Physiocrats meant not arbitrary rule, but government under laws derived...
Jean Paul Marat
Encyclopedia entry from: Encyclopedia of World Biography ...in which he voiced an uncompromising denunciation of royal despotism, a defense of the sovereignty of the people, and a sympathy...moderate Revolution of 1789, although it had ended royal despotism, had left a new aristocracy of the rich in control, with...
Enlightenment, Impact of
Encyclopedia entry from: Encyclopedia of Russian History ...produced a uniquely Russian national Enlightenment. An analysis of enlightened despotism need not be preoccupied with the balance between Enlightenment and despotism and can focus instead on the reformer's own understanding of the best interests...
Joseph II (Holy Roman Empire) (1741–1790; Ruled 1765–1790)
Encyclopedia entry from: Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World ...administration. These policies constituted the core of enlightened despotism, in which reforms and modernization were imposed from above...impatient, and his enlightened rationalism was as absolute as his despotism. In 1780, the courteous, modest, diligent, and likeable...

Dictionary entries related to "despotism"

oriental despotism
Book article from: A Dictionary of Sociology oriental despotism A concept popularized by the German...the United States (see his Oriental Despotism , 1957 ). Wittfogel, an expert on...engendered by his concept of oriental despotism and his analysis of the so-called...
despotism
Book article from: A Dictionary of Sociology despotism See ABSOLUTISM .
Hegemony
Dictionary entry from: New Dictionary of the History of Ideas ...about the leadership of equals in the interest of all, and despotism when discussing the domination of others in the ruler's...leadership exercised over free and consenting allies, and despotism is the exercise of domination or force. Isocrates links the...
Asiatic mode of production
Book article from: A Dictionary of Sociology ...whilst at others it (or its more common synonym oriental despotism ) was said to be applicable only to the cases of Japan and...1950s, Karl Wittfogel disinterred the concept in his Oriental Despotism (1957), suggesting that the real reason for its unpopularity...
Taoism
Book article from: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions ...has responsibility to enforce virtue; and this (especially Taote ching 6, 36, 65) has been criticized as encouraging despotism. This was reinforced indirectly by the second major figure/text of tao-chia, Chuang-tzu , where the pursuit of absolute...
Glorious Revolution
Book article from: A Dictionary of World History ...and was replaced by his daughter Mary and her husband WILLIAM III (of Orange) . It marked the end of Stuart attempts at despotism, and the establishment of a constitutional form of government. From his accession in 1685, James II's actions aroused...
Assassinations, Presidential
Dictionary entry from: Dictionary of American History ...ASSASSINATIONS, PRESIDENTIAL. Political assassinations were not supposed to happen in the United States of America. In Old World despotisms such extreme measures might be necessary to remove tyrants, but they were not necessary, so it was generally believed...
Legislatures, Bicameral and Unicameral
Dictionary entry from: Dictionary of American History ...of the delegates were afraid that in a single house only the members' "virtue and good sense" would prevent legislative despotism. This seemed an inadequate check. The only possible restraint was to divide the legislative authority within itself. Ideas...
Declaration of Independence (1776)
Dictionary entry from: Dictionary of American History ...long Train of Abuses and Usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a Design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their Right, it is their Duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future Security...
Montesquieu, Charles-Louis De Secondat, Baron De La Brède Et De
Dictionary entry from: Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography ...principle proper to each type of government. Thus republican government rested on civic virtue, monarchy on honor, and despotism on fear. These moral foundations, without which governments could not remain what they are, can endure only so long as...

Thesaurus entries related to "despotism"

despotism
Book article from: The Oxford Pocket Thesaurus of Current English despotism • noun   synonyms : absolutism, autocracy, dictatorship, tyranny, oppression, totalitarianism, monocracy, autarchy.
tyranny
Book article from: The Oxford Pocket Thesaurus of Current English ...tyranny of the country's/school's regime synonyms : despotism, absolutism, authoritarianism, arbitrariness, high-handedness...2. government by tyranny rather than democracy synonyms : despotism, autocracy, dictatorship, absolute power, authoritarianism...
fascism
Book article from: The Oxford American Writers Thesaurus ...brand of so-called patriotism sure seems like fascism to me synonyms : authoritarianism, totalitarianism, dictatorship, despotism, autocracy; Nazism, rightism; nationalism, xenophobia, racism, anti-Semitism; jingoism, isolationism; neofascism...
dictatorship
Book article from: The Oxford American Writers Thesaurus dictatorship • noun  growing up in the shadow of dictatorship synonyms : absolute rule, undemocratic rule, despotism, tyranny, autocracy, autarchy, authoritarianism, totalitarianism, fascism; oppression, repression. antonym: democracy.
oppression
Book article from: The Oxford American Writers Thesaurus ...this country have known nothing but oppression synonyms : persecution, abuse, maltreatment, ill-treatment, tyranny, despotism repression, suppression, subjection, subjugation; cruelty, brutality, injustice, hardship, suffering, misery. antonyms...
repression
Book article from: The Oxford American Writers Thesaurus ...crushing, stamping out.   2. political repression synonyms : oppression, subjugation, suppression, tyranny, despotism, authoritarianism.   3. the repression of sexual urges synonyms : restraint, restraining, holding back, keeping...
autocracy
Book article from: The Oxford American Writers Thesaurus autocracy • noun  most of East Asia is emerging from a long period of autocracy synonyms : absolutism, totalitarianism, dictatorship, despotism, tyranny, monocracy, autarchy. antonym: democracy.
anarchic
Book article from: The Oxford American Writers Thesaurus anarchic • adjective  an anarchic society has replaced the despotism synonyms : lawless, without law and order, in disorder, in turmoil, unruly, disordered, disorganized, chaotic, turbulent; mutinous, rebellious.
monarchy
Book article from: The Oxford Pocket Thesaurus of Current English monarchy • noun   1. abolish the monarchy synonyms : absolutism, absolute power, autocracy, monocracy, kingship, royalism, sovereignty, despotism.   2. the country is a monarchy synonyms : kingdom, sovereign state, realm, principality, empire.
severity
Book article from: The Oxford Pocket Thesaurus of Current English ...stringency, strictness, inflexibility, relentlessness, pitilessness, ruthlessness, brutality, cruelty, savagery, tyranny, despotism.   3. the severity of the storm/pain synonyms : fierceness, strength, violence, intensity.   4. the...

Related newspaper, magazine, and trade journal articles from HighBeam Research

Can we outlast the contradictions?(Soft Despotism, Democracy's Drift: Montesquieu, Rousseau, Tocqueville, and the Modern Prospect)(Book review)
Magazine article from: National Review; 6/22/2009; ; 700+ words ; Soft Despotism, Democracy's Drift: Montesquieu...between the leftist project and hard despotism. Now comes a valuable new book from...historian, warning of the dangers of soft despotism. Where hard despotism brutalizes, soft...
When despotism may be best
Newspaper article from: The Independent - London; 12/30/1994; ; 700+ words ; ...Federation consist of a restoration of despotism, on the one hand, and a collapse into...Glasnost inhibits the revival of centralised despotism, but accelerates the tendencies towards...various secessionist leaders. Also, despotism and anarchy are not diametrically opposite...
Despotism in New London
Newspaper article from: The Washington Post; 9/19/2004; ; 700+ words ; ...untrammeled power, which is the definition of despotism. But the human propensity for abusing...constitutional terminology to allow scope for despotism. Such carving is occurring in Connecticut...Bill of Rights. If you think the term "despotism" exaggerates what this repeal permits...
Join in the fight against soft despotism.(EDITORIAL)
Newspaper article from: The Record (Kitchener, Ontario); 8/20/2009; 700+ words ; ...subtle phenomenon today - soft despotism. This phrase, coined by American...Paul Rahe in his new book Soft Despotism, Democracy's Decline explains...were the limits of old-style despotism. These days, however, a revolution...
The Roots of Haitian Despotism
Magazine article from: Journal of Haitian Studies; 4/1/2008; ; 700+ words ; The Roots of Haitian Despotism. By Robert Fatton Jr. Boulder...only uncovers the roots of Haitian despotism, but also expertly traces how those...understand the social origins of Haitian despotism and why, since its inception, the...
Foundations of Despotism: Peasants, the Trujillo Regime, and Modernity in Dominican History
Magazine article from: Canadian Journal of Latin American & Caribbean Studies; 1/1/2006; ; 700+ words ; Richard Lee Furits Foundations of Despotism: Peasants, the Trujillo Regime, and...this "the paradoxical foundations of despotism" (23). By broadening the theoretical...There was, he reminds us constantly, despotism, but it was hardly a result of absolute...
Foundations of Despotism: Peasants, the Trujillo Regime, and Modernity in Dominican History.(Book Review)
Magazine article from: Canadian Journal of History; 4/1/2004; ; 700+ words ; Foundations of Despotism: Peasants, the Trujillo Regime...it becomes clear that Foundations of Despotism is indeed a sophisticated, scholarly...the large landowners. Foundations of Despotism is very well-researched and nicely...
The war against Arab despotism
Newspaper article from: Jerusalem Post; 3/23/2005; ; 700+ words ; ...2005 Headline: The war against Arab despotism Byline: AMIR TAHERI Edition; Daily...coup de grace given to the model of Arab despotism based on the one-party system dominated...going to develop into another form of despotism. To appreciate the importance of this...
Szalontai, Balazs: Kim Il Sung in the Khrushchev Era: Soviet-DPRK Relations and the Roots of North Korean Despotism, 1953-1964.(Book review)
Magazine article from: Asian Affairs: An American Review; 6/22/2006; ; 700+ words ; ...Relations and the Roots of North Korean Despotism, 1953-1964 Washington, DC: Woodrow...thesis of the book is that Kim Il Sung's despotism was neither inherited from the Korean...one of the principal causes of Kim's despotism was his intense and xenophobic nationalism...
Richard Lee Furits Foundations of Despotism: Peasants, the Trujillo Regime, and Modernity in Dominican History.(Book review)
Magazine article from: Canadian Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies; 1/1/2006; ; 700+ words ; Richard Lee Furits Foundations of Despotism: Peasants, the Trujillo Regime, and...this "the paradoxical foundations of despotism" (23). By broadening the theoretical...There was, he reminds us constantly, despotism, but it was hardly a result of absolute...