despotism

Etymology

From French despotisme; equivalent to despot + -ism.

noun

1. government by a singular authority, either a single person or tight-knit group, which rules with absolute power, especially in a cruel and oppressive way.
   But now events have proved that I was right because Khrushchev's grandchildren do live in freedom and the great question of our time: can they continue to live in freedom, or will they revert to the old, or a new despotism? March 30, 1992, Richard Nixon, 4:50 from the start, in Richard Nixon on "Inside Washington", Richard Nixon Foundation, retrieved 2020-05-25