From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdespotismdes‧pot‧is‧m /ˈdespətɪzəm/ noun [uncountable] PGrule by a despot
Examples from the Corpus
despotism• The rationalist opposition replaced the murder of the imam with the triumph of reason as the barrier against despotism.• It was the judges' commitment to freedom that was the main guarantee against despotism.• Cecilia, viuda attacks despotism in the government.• That notion is quite compatible with a certain residue of benevolent despotism exercised by Tory squires.• Ministerial despotism could not be profitably run by clerical reactionaries ignorant of the financial world. 