absolutism
A state-form typical of societies in the process of transition from feudalism to capitalism and in which power is concentrated in the person of a monarch, who has at his or her disposal a centralized ...
Alexis de Tocqueville
(1805–59)An early French sociologist who travelled to the United States between 1831 and 1832 to observe democracy at work. His classic work Democracy in America (1835–40) identifies within ...
authoritarianism
A style of government in which the rulers demand unquestioning obedience from the ruled. Traditionally, ‘authoritarians’ have argued for a high degree of determination by governments of belief and ...
autocracy
A regime in which power is concentrated in the person of a single individual—as, for example, in the case of ‘the Stalinist autocracy’. The term is thus loosely applied, and will be found in ...
Barrington Moore, Jr.
(1913 –2005)A major figure in comparative historical sociology, Moore devoted much of his career to the historical analysis of systems of government—especially the factors that influenced the ...
Benito Mussolini
(1883–1945) Italian Fascist statesman, Prime Minister (1922–43); known as Il Duce ('the leader'). He founded the Italian Fascist Party in 1919. He annexed Abyssinia in 1936 and entered World War ...
Bureaucratic Authoritarianism
The concept of bureaucratic authoritarianism arose from the study of major episodes of authoritarian rule in South America between the 1960s and the 1980s: Brazil from 1964 to 1985, Argentina ...
collectivism
An economic system in which much of the planning is carried out by a central government and the means of production is owned by the state. This system was formerly common in eastern Europe and the ...
Comparative Politics
The term comparative politics refers to both a subject matter and a method of analysis. In principle, the two should complement each other; in practice, they frequently do not.As ...
Erich Fromm
(1900–1980)German-born US psychoanalyst and social philosopher who emphasized the cultural determinants of personality. His works investigate emotional problems in free societies and advocate ...
fascism
An authoritarian and nationalistic right-wing system of government and social organization.The term Fascism was first used of the totalitarian right-wing nationalist regime of Mussolini in Italy ...
Fascist movement, Italy
In 1919, Mussolini founded the Fasci di Combattimento, a movement which combined militant nationalism with vociferous demands for political and social renewal. In particular, it demanded progressive ...
Frankfurt School
A school of philosophy of the 1920s (associated with the Institute for Social Research at Frankfurt in western Germany) whose adherents were involved in a reappraisal of Marxism, particularly in ...
general will
(French volonté générale)Term used by Rousseau to denote the will of society as manifested through its political institutions, as opposed to the ‘will of all’, which is the preference of members on ...
government
Sometimes central government only; on other occasions general government. This is the total of all levels of government, including central and local government, and state governments in federal ...
Hannah Arendt
(1906–1975)German-born US political philosopher, well known for her work on the nature of totalitarianism, violence, revolution, and other features of modern political life.Born in Hanover, she began ...
Herbert Marcuse
(1898–1979)German-born US philosopher, famous in the 1960s as the theorist of the new revolutionary left.Born in Berlin, Marcuse was educated at the University of Freiburg, where he gained his ...
historicism
[Th]A general and increasingly ambiguous term meaning a number of different things to different people. At its heart, however, is the idea that a society and its culture exist mainly in their dynamic ...
individualism
A philosophical belief and political ideology that gives primacy to the interests of the individual, rather than the interests of the community, perhaps even the family. A prevalent belief system in ...
Leo Strauss
(1899–1973)German emigré historian of ideas and political theorist. Strauss was professor of political science in the university of Chicago from 1949 to 1968. An élitist and critic of political ...
