despotism

noun

Etymology: From French despotisme; equivalent to despot + -ism.

1. Government by a despot or despots: rule by a singular authority, either a single person or a tight-knit group, which rules with absolute power, especially in a cruel and oppressive way.

   “The iron hand of despotism has quenched the last spark of liberty; hunted down like a wild beast, I am watching an opportunity to fly my degraded and enslaved country.”

   “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?”