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}]