oligarchic

(noun)

A form of power structure in which power effectively rests with a small number of people. These people could be distinguished by royalty, wealth, family ties, education, corporate, or military control. Such states are often controlled by a few prominent families who typically pass their influence from one generation to the next, but inheritance is not a necessary condition for the application of this term.

Related Terms

  • sarcophagi
  • Etruscan
  • theocracy

(noun)

A form of power structure in which power effectively rests with a small number of people. These people could be distinguished by royalty, wealth, family ties, education, corporate, or military control. Such states are often controlled by a few prominent families who typically pass their influence from one generation to the next; however, inheritance is not a necessary condition for the application of this term.

Related Terms

  • sarcophagi
  • Etruscan
  • theocracy

Examples of oligarchic in the following topics:

  • Oligarchy

    • In May 2004, the Russian edition of Forbes identified 36 of these oligarchs as being worth at least $1 billion.
    • Some contemporary authors have characterized the United States' current state of affairs as being oligarchic in nature.
    • In 1994, Nelson Mandela became the first president of South Africa elected in a fully representative election, which marked the end of oligarchic apartheid in that country.
    • Alexander Lebedev represents a new class of Russian oligarchs, which arose after the fall of communism by taking control of major industries.
    • Compare and contrast the different types of oligarchical governments that exist
  • Forms of Government

    • Fictional oligarchic examples include the dystopian society of Oceania displayed in the book Nineteen Eighty-Four, the stratocracy government of Starship Troopers, and the kritarchic "Street Judges" of Judge Dredd.
    • Governments with oligarchic attributes are ruled by a small group of powerful and/or influential people.
    • Fictional oligarchic examples include the dystopian society of Oceania displayed in the book Nineteen Eighty-Four, the stratocracy government of Starship Troopers, and the kritarchic "Street Judges" of Judge Dredd.
  • Non-Democratic Governments: Monarchy, Oligarchy, Technocracy, and Theocracy

    • Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, privately owned Russia-based multinational corporations, including producers of petroleum, natural gas, and metal have, in the view of some analysts, become oligarchs.
    • In May 2004, the Russian edition of Forbes identified 36 of these oligarchs as being worth at least $1 billion.
  • Archaic Greece

    • Others suggest that tyrannies were established as a consequence of in-fighting between rival oligarchs, rather than as a result of fighting between oligarchs and the people.
  • Effects of the Peloponnesian War

    • Following the Peloponnesian War, Athens underwent a period of harsh oligarchic governance and Sparta enjoyed a brief hegemonic period.
  • Etruscan Artifacts

    • For instance, wealth from trade seems to have supported the rise of aristocratic families who, in turn, were likely foundational to the Etruscan oligarchic system of governance.
  • Crises of the Republic

    • When Tiberius sought re-election to his one-year term, an unprecedented action, the oligarchic nobles responded by murdering Tiberius, and mass riots broke out in the city in reaction to the assassination.
    • Once again, the situation ended in violence and murder as Gaius fled Rome and was either murdered by oligarchs or committed suicide.
  • Participatory Democracy

    • In seventh and eighth century ancient Greece, the informal distributed power structure of the villages and minor towns began to be displaced with collectives of oligarchs seizing power as the villages and towns coalesced into city-states.
  • The Purpose of Elections

    • As the elections were considered an oligarchic institution and most political offices were filled using sortition, also known as allotment, by which officeholders were chosen by lot.
  • Types of States

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