as in rulers
one who rules over a people with a sole, supreme, and usually hereditary authority
European autocrats once commonly believed that they had received the right to rule directly from God
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Recent Examples of autocrats
There’s nothing tough about bowing to autocrats.
—
Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 16 Oct. 2024
Harris has placed herself squarely in the tradition of recent Democratic administrations, especially Biden’s, arguing that the United States must lead strong international coalitions to contain autocrats such as Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
—Doyle McManus, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2024
Putin’s nativist turn has inspired autocrats in other parts of the world, from Hungary’s Viktor Orban to Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro, who see Putin as the leader of a new kind of conservatism and anti-Westernism.
—Cristina Florea, Foreign Affairs, 10 May 2022
On one end are the high risks that come from giving autocrats advice on sectors that are closely associated with the coercive power of authoritarian regimes, such as internal security and surveillance.
—Calvert W. Jones, Foreign Affairs, 16 Apr. 2019
In spite of these common setbacks, autocrats still tend to see experts as necessary to provide fresh thinking on reforms and to build support for them.
—Calvert W. Jones, Foreign Affairs, 16 Apr. 2019
But even beyond buttressing like-minded autocrats, Russia’s and China’s international activism may also work to weaken democracies.
—Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Foreign Affairs, 2 Oct. 2018
Russia and China—two great powers with autocrats at their helms—are actively testing the durability of the international order as the West seemingly retreats.
—Alina Polyakova, Foreign Affairs, 2 Feb. 2018
Elected autocrats thus have a powerful incentive to purge career civil servants and other independent-minded officials and replace them with partisans.
—Robert Mickey, Foreign Affairs, 17 Apr. 2017
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Cite this Entry
“Autocrats.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/autocrats. Accessed 3 Dec. 2024.
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