tyranny
Dictionary of the Social Sciences
... From the Greek turannos , meaning “absolute ruler.” Initially the term described the rule of a single individual, whether by force or with the tacit or formal consent of the people. By the fifth century bce , tyranny had acquired its more familiar association: unjust, illegitimate, and lawless rule. Plato and Aristotle described tyranny as a corrupt form of monarchy , in which the society serves the tyrant's ambition and egotism. The term still carries these connotations and is sometimes used to characterize societies in which individuals or single...
tyranny Quick reference
Andrew Reeve
A Concise Oxford Dictionary of Politics and International Relations (4 ed.)
... In classical thought, a corrupt form of monarchy in which a person ruled in his own interest. More generally, the abuse of the state’s coercive force in the absence of the rule of law. This absence more particularly suggests government by the will of the tyrant (cf. dictatorship ) and the arbitrary treatment of citizens, if not the systematic use of terror. Democratic theorists like J. S. Mill have been concerned to avoid the tyranny of the majority. They fear that the rights of minorities and the stability of expectations built on settled law could be...
tyranny ((tyrannos, ‘tyrant’, was perhaps a Lydian word)) Reference library
Victor Ehrenberg and P. J. Rhodes
The Oxford Classical Dictionary (4 ed.)
... ( tyrannos , ‘tyrant’, was perhaps a Lydian word) is the name given to the form of monarchy set up by usurpers in many Greek states in the 7th and 6th cents. bc . The earliest occurrence of the term is in Archilochus ( tyrannis , fr. 19. 3 West). Tyranny was not a special form of constitution, or necessarily a reign of terror; the tyrant might either rule directly or retain the existing political institutions but exercise a preponderant influence over their working, and his rule might be benevolent or malevolent. Tyranny was given a bad sense...
tyranny Quick reference
The Oxford Dictionary of the Classical World
... ( tyrannos , ‘tyrant’, was perhaps a Lydian word) was the form of monarchy set up by usurpers in many Greek states in the 7th and 6th cents. bc . The term first occurs in Archilochus . Tyranny was not a special form of constitution, or necessarily a reign of terror; the tyrant might either rule directly or retain the existing political institutions but exercise a preponderant influence over their working, and his rule might be benevolent or malevolent. Tyranny acquired a bad reputation esp. from Plato and Aristotle , for whom it was the worst...
tyranny Reference library
Victor Ehrenberg and P. J. Rhodes
The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization (2 ed.)
... ( tyrannos , ‘tyrant’, was perhaps a Lydian word ) is the name given to the form of monarchy set up by usurpers in many Greek states in the 7th and 6th cents. bc . The earliest occurrence of the term is in Archilochus ( tyrannis , fr. 19. 3 West). Tyranny was not a special form of constitution, or necessarily a reign of terror; the tyrant might either rule directly or retain the existing political institutions but exercise a preponderant influence over their working, and his rule might be benevolent or malevolent. Tyranny was given a bad sense...
Tyranny Reference library
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome
...early tyrannies were thus implicated with the consent of the governed. Poleis under tyrannies appear to have prospered, although how broadly their benefits were distributed is unclear. Tyrants themselves certainly profited: they were generally envied for their personal wealth, which enabled them to underwrite public works and other ostentations. Tyranny acquired opprobrium partly because of the active opposition of some aristocrats, such as Solon, early on, but especially because of the ideological opposition of fifth-century Athenian democracy to tyranny and...
Tyranny Reference library
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Politics
... . A word with a rich history in the Western lexicon, “tyranny” is today usually translated into Arabic and other languages spoken by Muslims as istibdād . This has become the usage since the publication at the turn of the twentieth century of Ṭabāʾiʿ al-istibdād wa-maṣāriʿ al-istiʿbād (The Characteristics of Tyranny and the Struggles against Enslavement) by ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Kawākibī ( 1849–1902 ). Before that time tyranny (oppressive and unjust government; despotism—to cite a current English dictionary definition) was usually conveyed in Arabic by...
majority tyranny Quick reference
A Dictionary of Philosophy (3 ed.)
...tyranny The Achilles heel of modern democracies, whereby once one party has gained power it can systematically ignore or predate upon the interests of the minority, for instance by changing the electoral system to facilitate its future power. The idea of a constitution, and of judicial review of law-making in the light of the constitution, is one check on this...
Taxation No Tyranny Reference library
The Oxford Companion to American Literature (6 ed.)
...No Tyranny , tract by Dr. Samuel Johnson...
‘Eleven Years Tyranny’ Quick reference
A Dictionary of British History (3 ed.)
...Years Tyranny’ ( 1629–40 ). After the tumultuous end to the 1629 session of Parliament ( see Eliot, Sir John ) Charles I broke with convention by ruling without Parliament for eleven years. Financial needs were met through prerogative levies, the most notorious of which was ship money, and the prerogative court of Star Chamber supervised the maintenance of order. This was hardly a tyranny, for Charles had no police force or army to compel obedience. Charles's own misjudgement in the Bishops' wars brought the ‘Eleven Years Tyranny’ to an...
‘Eleven Years Tyranny’ (1629–40) Reference library
Roger Lockyer
The Oxford Companion to British History (2 ed.)
...Years Tyranny’ ( 1629–40 ) . After the tumultuous end to the 1629 session of Parliament ( see Eliot, Sir John ) Charles I broke with convention—though not with law—by ruling without Parliament for eleven years. Financial needs were met through prerogative levies, the most notorious of which was ship money , and the prerogative court of Star Chamber supervised the maintenance of order in both state and church. This was hardly a tyranny, for Charles had no police force or standing army to compel obedience. Indeed, despite widespread resentment...
despotism and tyranny Reference library
The Oxford Dictionary of the Middle Ages
...a tyrant’s killer was praised, but recommended Christian acquiescence. Further, he addressed the tyranny of the majority (as in a *city-state ), extending the application of the concept outside monarchy. The emergence of the one-man rule of lords ( * signorie ) in Italy from the mid 13th century further focused discussion of tyranny. Their republican opponents described them as tyrants or despots. *Bartolo of Sassoferrato distinguished two kinds of tyranny: through defective title to rule, and through acting tyrannically. As signorie became seen as...
tyranny of numbers Quick reference
A Dictionary of African Politics
...tyranny of numbers A phrase coined by the political commentator and consultant Mutahi Ngunyi to refer to the ethnic distribution of votes in the 2013 Kenyan elections. Despite the fact that Ngunyi was specifically talking about his belief that the country’s ethnic make-up meant that Uhuru Kenyatta and the Jubilee Alliance would inevitably defeat Raila Odinga and the Coalition for Reform and Democracy ( CORD ), the term has since entered common usage. Most notably, although Ngunyi’s argument was criticized for being self-serving on the basis that...
Tyranny, “Blue” Gene (1 Jan 1945) Reference library
Cole Gagne
The Grove Dictionary of American Music (2 ed.)
...Jim Horton), elec, 1998 ; The Keys, études for standard and hypothetical kbds, incl. Holding Hands (Broca's Area) for hand movements and infrared elec, 1999 Bibliography C. Gagne : “‘Blue’ Gene Tyranny,” Sonic Transports (New York, 1990), 139–94 C. Gagne : “‘Blue’ Gene Tyranny,” Soundpieces 2 (Metuchen, NJ, 1993), 413–38 B. Duckworth : “‘Blue’ Gene Tyranny,” Talking Music (New York, 1995), 389–417 K. Gann : American Music in the twentieth Century (New York, 1997) Cole Gagne /R...
tyranny of the majority Quick reference
A Concise Oxford Dictionary of Politics and International Relations (4 ed.)
...would be a further protection against majority tyranny. Critics of Madison have pointed out that his formula gives no protection to minorities which do not form a local majority anywhere. In particular, the Madisonian constitution gave no effective protection to black Americans until the 1960s, largely because the states’ rights which Madison thought it so important to protect were used by the white majorities in the Southern states to oppress the local black minorities. J. S. Mill’s solutions to majority tyranny were proportional representation and extra...
Victims of tyranny, The (1847) Reference library
The Oxford Companion to Canadian Literature (2 ed.)
...of tyranny, The (2 vols, Buffalo, 1847 ). This early Canadian novel by Charles E. Beardsley is a republican's version of the political and personal conflicts in the brief public career of a young Irish immigrant to York (Toronto), Upper Canada. The hero, Joseph Wilcox, is a thinly disguised representation of the actual Joseph Willcocks , a member of the legislative assembly and critic of government who was killed fighting with the Americans in the War of 1812 . Wilcox is presented as a romantic paragon, a champion of truth and justice and tragic...
tyranny n Reference library
The Oxford Dictionary of Original Shakespearean Pronunciation
...tyranny n m 'tɪrǝnǝɪ, -ǝˌnǝɪ sp tiranny 2 , tirranie 2 , tirranny 1 , tirrany 3 , tyrannie 10 , tyranny 14 , [high-sighted]-tyranny 1 , tyrrany 1 rh incertainty S 115.9 ; misery VA 737 ; perpetuity 1H6 4.7.19 ...
tyranny Quick reference
New Oxford Rhyming Dictionary (2 ed.)
... • Léonie , peony • Tierney • Briony , bryony, Hermione • tourney • ebony • Albany • chalcedony • Alderney • Persephone , Stephanie, telephony • antiphony , epiphany, polyphony, tiffany • symphony • cacophony , homophony, theophany, Zoffany • euphony • agony • garganey • Antigone • cosmogony , mahogany, theogony • balcony • Gascony • Tuscany • calumny • felony , Melanie, miscellany • villainy • colony • Chamonix , salmony, scammony, Tammany • harmony • anemone , Emeny, hegemony, lemony, Yemeni • alimony , palimony • agrimony...