despotism
n 1: dominance through threat of punishment and violence [syn: {absolutism},
{tyranny}]
2: a form of government in which the ruler is an absolute
dictator (not restricted by a constitution or laws or
opposition etc.) [syn: {dictatorship}, {absolutism}, {authoritarianism},
{Caesarism}, {monocracy}, {one-man rule}, {shogunate}, {Stalinism},
{totalitarianism}, {tyranny}]