Patrimonialism

Definition

Patrimonialism is a form of governance where all power flows directly from the leader, similar to how a patriarch might run a family. This system is characterized by the leader's personal and direct control over both political and economic resources.

Related terms

Autocracy: A system of government in which supreme power is concentrated in the hands of one person, whose decisions are subject to neither external legal restraints nor regularized mechanisms of popular control.

Feudalism:

A social system existing in medieval Europe and other societies, where people worked and fought for nobles who gave them protection and the use of land in return.

Nepotism: The practice among those with power or influence of favoring relatives or friends, especially by giving them jobs