ὀλιγαρχία

Oligarchy (; ) is a form of government in which power rests with a small number of people. Members of this group, called oligarchs, generally hold usually hard, but sometimes soft power through nobility, fame, wealth, or education; or through corporate, religious, political, or military control.

Throughout history, power structures considered to be oligarchies have often been viewed as coercive, relying on public obedience or oppression to exist. Aristotle pioneered the use of the term as meaning rule by the rich, contrasting it with aristocracy, arguing that oligarchy was a corruption of aristocracy.

Types

Minority rule

The consolidation of power by a dominant minority, whether religious or ethnic, can be considered a form of oligarchy. Examples include South Africa during apartheid, Liberia under Americo-Liberians, the Sultanate of Zanzibar, and Rhodesia. In these cases, oligarchic rule was often tied to the legacy of colonialism.

In the early 20th century, Robert Michels expanded on this idea in his iron law of oligarchy, arguing that even democracies, like all large organizations, tend to become oligarchic due to the necessity of dividing labor, which ultimately results in a ruling class focused on maintaining its power.

Putative oligarchies

Business groups may be considered oligarchies if they meet the following criteria:
* They are the largest private owners in the country.
* They possess sufficient political power to influence their own interests.
* The owners control multiple businesses, coordinating activities across sectors.

Intellectual oligarchies

George Bernard Shaw coined the concept of an intellectual oligarchy in his play ''Major Barbara'' (1907). In the play, Shaw criticizes the control of society by intellectual elites and expresses a desire for the empowerment of the common people:

I now want to give the common man weapons against the intellectual man. I love the common people. I want to arm them against the lawyer, the doctor, the priest, the literary man, the professor, the artist, and the politician, who, once in authority, is the most dangerous, disastrous, and tyrannical of all the fools, rascals, and impostors. I want a democratic power strong enough to force the intellectual oligarchy to use its genius for the general good or else perish.

History

Athens

The Ancient Greek word ''oligarchia'' is used by historians of Ancient Greece to describe the position of the Eupatridae, the aristocratic elite, of the city-state of Athens. However, in the mid-6th century BC, the tyrant Pisistratus dismantled this structure and replaced it with a semi- popular autocratic system. As Pisistratus was succeeded by his two sons, Hippias and Hipparchus, the tyranny became increasingly more unpopular in Athens, especially among the aristocracy.

In 510 BC, the influential and exiled Athenian aristocrat Cleisthenes, of the powerful Alcmaeonid clan, convinced King Cleomenes I of Sparta to invade Athens, in order to overthrow Hippias. Cleomenes installed Isagoras, Cleisthenes's rival, as an oligarch. Over the next few years, Cleisthenes and Isagoras entered into a power struggle. With Isagoras calling for the Spartans to return to the city in support of him, Cleisthenes mobilised the middle class and overthrew Isagoras in the 508–507 BC Athenian Revolution. Cleisthenes reforms laid the foundation for Athenian democracy.

Reaction against the Spartan hegemony also turned several oligarchies in the Peloponnese into democracies. However, the elite soon came into conflict with the people, or ''demos'', specifically in Aegina, Syracuse, and Naxos in the 500s and 490s BC. Soon many city-states had settled into a fairly constant system of plutocracy (rule by the rich), with the ''demos'' being used periodically by the weaker party and otherwise being out of power. Many nominally democratic Greek city-states, despite frequent revolt by the ''demos'', remained firmly controlled by the wealthy elite, who spurned attempts to allow commoners into power.

In 493 BC, a member of the middle class named Themistocles became archon. This may not have led to any political change on its own, but Themistocles, to counter the threat of the rising Persians to the east, greatly increased the power of the Athenian navy, which allowed the lower classes, through their military might, to influence Athenian politics. The first of a group of Athenian populists, Themistocles ruled Athens for over twenty years, and is best known as the victor of the Greco-Persian Wars.

When Themistocles fell from power around 471 BC, the Areopagus, an aristocratic council which was formerly the most powerful body in Athens, began to gain more prominence, spearheaded by the conservative politician Cimon, a ''strategos'' who oversaw an aggressive expansionist policy for the Athenian Empire amid closer relations with Sparta. Cimon's failed attempt to provide military aid to Sparta caused him to lose the support of the Athenians, allowing the democratic faction to make a bid for power. In 461 BC, politician Ephialtes, who supported radical democracy, proposed a law to limit the Areopagus' powers, which the '' ecclesia'', or Assembly, passed unanimously. The ancient ''boule'', or Council of Five Hundred, which had also existed under the old oligarchy, but whose membership had been changed from being hereditary to being chosen by lot, took over its remaining functions. Cimon was ostracized for ten years by Ephialtes and his supporters.

Ephialtes was assassinated in 461 BC, possibly by the aristocrats. In the aftermath of Ephialtes' death, power in Athens was consolidated by his protegé, Pericles, an influential Alcmaeonid, who had such an impact on Athens as a city-state that the entire fifth century in Athens is sometimes simply called the Age of Pericles. Pericles led Athens for over thirty years, presiding over the Delian League during the First Peloponnesian War with Sparta. After the Thirty Years' Peace was concluded with Sparta in 445 BC, Thucydides, son of Melesias (not to be confused with Thucydides the historian), a relative of Cimon and the new head of the conservative faction, attempted to gain power using the Ecclesia. Pericles' powerful oratory instead led to Thucydides' being ostracised.

By country

Jeffrey A. Winters and Benjamin I. Page have described Colombia, Indonesia, Russia, Singapore and the United States as oligarchies.

The Philippines

During the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos from 1965 to 1986, several monopolies arose in the Philippines, primarily linked to the Marcos family and their close associates. Analysts have described this period, and even subsequent decades, as an era of oligarchy in the Philippines.

President Rodrigo Duterte, elected in 2016, promised to dismantle the oligarchy during his presidency. However, corporate oligarchy persisted throughout his tenure. While Duterte criticized prominent tycoons such as the Ayalas and Manny Pangilinan, corporate figures allied with Duterte, including Dennis Uy of Udenna Corporation, benefitted during his administration.

Russia

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the subsequent privatization of state-owned assets, a class of Russian business oligarchs emerged. These oligarchs gained control of significant portions of the economy, especially in the energy, metals, and natural resources sectors. Many of these individuals maintained close ties with government officials, particularly the president, leading some to characterize modern Russia as an oligarchy intertwined with the state.

In 1996, fearing the possible victory of the Communist Party, the oligarchs, especially the Seven Bankers, funded and substantially supported Boris Yeltsin's re-election campaign in that year's election, continuing to manipulate him and exert influence over his government over the next several years. After Yeltsin's successor, Vladimir Putin, came to power in 1999, he cracked down on many oligarchs, arresting several for tax evasion and forcing others into exile. By the end of the 2000s decade, however, Putin had created a new class of oligarchs consisting mainly of his own personal friends and colleagues, continuing to crack down on those who opposed him. According to NPR, he "changed the guy sitting in hechairs, but he didn't change the chairs".

Iran

The Islamic Republic of Iran, established after the 1979 Iranian Revolution, is sometimes described as a clerical oligarchy. Its ruling system, known as '' Velayat-e-Faqih'' (Governance of the Jurists), places power in the hands of a small group of high-ranking Shia clerics, led by the Supreme Leader. This group holds significant influence over the country's legislative, military, and economic affairs, and critics argue that this system concentrates power in a religious elite, marginalizing other voices within society. The Iranian government has also intensified its surveillance efforts to suppress dissent, particularly targeting women and human rights activists. The "Noor plan," implemented in April 2024, has led to increased policing and criminal prosecution against women defying mandatory hijab laws.

Ukraine

Since Ukraine's independence in 1991, a powerful class of business elites, known as Ukrainian oligarchs, have played a significant role in the country's politics and economy. These oligarchs gained control of state assets during the rapid privatization that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union. President Leonid Kuchma's multi-vector policy, which favored close relations with both the West and Russia, was seen as appeasing both groups' oligarchical business interests. In 2021, Ukraine passed a law aimed at curbing oligarchic influence on politics and the economy.

United States

Several commentators and scholars have suggested that the United States demonstrates characteristics of an oligarchy, particularly in relation to the concentration of wealth and political influence among a small elite, as exemplified by the list of top donors to political parties.

Economist Simon Johnson argued that the rise of an American financial oligarchy became particularly prominent following the 2008 financial crisis. This financial elite has been described as wielding significant power over both the economy and political decisions. Former President Jimmy Carter in 2015 characterized the United States as an "oligarchy with unlimited political bribery" following the 2010 '' Citizens United v. FEC'' Supreme Court decision, which removed limits on donations to political campaigns.

In 2014, a study by political scientists Martin Gilens of Princeton University and Benjamin Page of Northwestern University argued that the United States' political system does not primarily reflect the preferences of its average citizens. Their analysis of policy outcomes between 1981 and 2002 suggested that wealthy individuals and business groups held substantial influence over political decisions, often sidelining the majority of Americans. While the United States maintains democratic features such as regular elections, freedom of speech, and widespread suffrage, the study noted that policy decisions are disproportionately influenced by economic elites. However, the study received criticism from other scholars, who argued that the influence of average citizens should not be discounted and that the conclusions about oligarchic tendencies were overstated. Gilens and Page defended their research, reiterating that while they do not label the United States an outright oligarchy, they found substantial evidence of economic elites dominating certain areas of policy-making.

In his presidential farewell address on January 15, 2025, outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden warned that an oligarchy was taking shape in America which threatened democracy, basic rights, and freedom, aided by a tech–industrial complex. Businessman Elon Musk, a close collaborator of Donald Trump during his 2024 campaign and head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has been described as an oligarch due to his extensive influence on Trump during the first few months of his second presidency. Musk contributed over $200 million into the 2024 election, creating a "super" PAC to promote Trump's campaign. However, in June 2025, Musk feuded with Trump, leaving the DOGE and calling for his impeachment.

See also

* ''The Power Elite'', a 1956 book by C. Wright Mills
* Cacique democracy
* Historic recurrence
* Inverted totalitarianism
* Minoritarianism
* Nepotism
* Netocracy
* Parasitism
* Plutocracy
* Political family
* Polyarchy
* Power behind the throne
* Synarchism
* Technocracy
* Oligarchical collectivism
* Timocracy

References

Footnotes

Citations

Books

*
*

Further reading

*
*
*
*
*
* Osnos, Evan, "Oligarch-in-Chief: The greed of the Trump Administration has galvanized America's ultra-rich – and their opponents", ''The New Yorker'', 2 June 2025, pp. 32–39.
* Ostwald, M. (2000), ''Oligarchia: The Development of a Constitutional Form in Ancient Greece (''Historia'' Einzelschirften; 144)''. Stuttgart: Steiner, .
*
*
*

External links

*

{{Authority control

Authoritarianism

Political culture