{{Short description|Form of government with small ruling class}} {{Distinguish||text=Oligopoly, a type of market structure which is controlled by a small number of firms}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2017}} {{basic forms of government|expanded=Oligarchy}}
'''Oligarchy''' ({{etymology|grc|''{{Wikt-lang|grc|ὀλιγαρχία}}'' ({{grc-transl|ὀλιγαρχία}})|rule by few}}; {{etymology||''{{Wikt-lang|grc|ὀλίγος}}'' ({{grc-transl|ὀλίγος}})|few||''{{Wikt-lang|grc|ἄρχω}}'' ({{grc-transl|ἄρχω}})|to rule, command}})<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Do%29li%2Fgos "ὀλίγος"], Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, ''A Greek–English Lexicon'', on Perseus Digital Library</ref><ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Da%29%2Frxw "ἄρχω"], Liddell/Scott.</ref><ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Do%29ligarxi%2Fa "ὀλιγαρχία"]. Liddell/Scott.</ref> is a form of government in which power rests with a small number of people. Leaders of such regimes are often referred to as '''oligarchs''', and generally are characterized by having titles of nobility or high amounts of wealth.<ref>{{cite book | last1=Winters | first1=Jeffrey A. | title=Oligarchy | date=18 April 2011 | publisher=Cambridge University Press | isbn=978-1-139-49564-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=trsFIM5h3P8C&dq=oligarchy&pg=PR9 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1=Bourguignon | first1=François | last2=Verdier | first2=Thierry | title=Oligarchy, democracy, inequality and growth | journal=Journal of Development Economics | date=2000 | volume=62 | issue=2 | pages=285–313 | doi=10.1016/S0304-3878(00)00086-9 | url=https://doi.org/10.1016/S0304-3878(00)00086-9 | url-access=subscription }}</ref>
== Types == === Minority rule === {{Main|Minoritarianism}}
The consolidation of power by a dominant minority, whether religious or ethnic, can be considered a form of oligarchy.<ref name=Minority1>{{cite book |last1=Coleman |first1=James |last2=Rosberg |first2=Carl |title=Political Parties and National Integration in Tropical Africa |url=https://archive.org/details/politicalparties0000cole |url-access=registration |date=1966 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/politicalparties0000cole/page/681 681–683] |publisher=University of California Press |location=Los Angeles |isbn=978-0520002531}}</ref> In these cases, oligarchic rule was often tied to the legacy of colonialism.<ref name=Minority1/> 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.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Michels |first1=Robert |author1-link=Robert Michels |last2=Paul |first2=E. |last3=Paul |first3=C. |title=Political Parties: A Sociological Study of the Oligarchical Tendencies of Modern Democracy |publisher=Hearst's International Library Company |year=1915 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8XXl87CLp5cC |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=8XXl87CLp5cC&dq=%22who%20says%20organization,%20says%20oligarchy%22&pg=PA401 401]}}</ref><ref name="USAToday">{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2023/03/10/oligarchy-government-power-explained/11338810002/|title=This form of government leaves power in the hands of a few: Oligarchies explained|date=March 10, 2023|last=Mulroy|first=Claire|publisher=USA Today|access-date=April 21, 2025}}</ref>
In their 2009 paper, "Oligarchy in the United States?", political scientists Benjamin Page and Jeffrey Winters acknowledge that an oligarchy doesn't control all political life and instead the common interests of an oligarchy lie more in "wealth protection". They define an oligarchy as a "type of political system" in which "the wealthiest citizens deploy unique and concentrated power resources to defend their unique minority interests", and that their disproportionate influence over policymaking may not reflect the broader public's interest. Oligarchs do not need to hold formal government positions, as indirect influence is sufficient. Winter and Page, along with other scholars, have outlined primary mechanisms through which this influence can be achieved:<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Oligarchy in the United States? |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/231898807 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250816071128/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/231898807_Oligarchy_in_the_United_States |archive-date=16 August 2025 |access-date=2025-12-29 |website=ResearchGate |language=en |url-status=live }}</ref>
* 1. '''Lobbying''' - allows concentrated wealth to access and shape political decisions and policy outcomes, typically for favorable tax policies, without holding any formal government positions. The field has become increasingly professionalized and resource-intensive.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=2020-05-04 |title=Unmaking Democracy: How Corporate Influence Is Eroding Democratic Governance |url=https://hir.harvard.edu/unmaking-democracy-how-corporate-influence-is-eroding-democratic-governance/ |access-date=2025-12-29 |website=Harvard International Review |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":3" /> * 2. '''Elections''' - Significant campaign contributions influence who becomes elected to office.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-05-02 |title=How Campaign Contributions and Lobbying Can Lead to Inefficient Economic Policy |url=https://www.americanprogress.org/article/how-campaign-contributions-and-lobbying-can-lead-to-inefficient-economic-policy/ |access-date=2025-12-29 |website=Center for American Progress |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite news |title=Is the U.S. witnessing the rise of oligarchy? |url=https://www.oxfamamerica.org/explore/issues/economic-justice/is-the-us-witnessing-the-rise-of-oligarchy/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251114163228/https://www.oxfamamerica.org/explore/issues/economic-justice/is-the-us-witnessing-the-rise-of-oligarchy/ |archive-date=14 November 2025 |access-date=2025-12-29 |language=en-US |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":3" /> * 3. '''Opinion shaping''' - Influence who gets heard by formal decision-makers and crowding out ordinary citizens.<ref name=":3" /> * 4. '''Constitutional rules''' - using financial resources and political networks to shape constitutional design. This includes supporting the appointments of judges that have legal interpretations that align with their economic interests.<ref name=":3" />
Scholars have also noted that modern democratic systems often exhibit structural biases favoring affluent citizens and organized corporate interests.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Sevenans |first1=Julie |last2=Marié |first2=Awenig |last3=Breunig |first3=Christian |last4=Walgrave |first4=Stefaan |last5=Soontjens |first5=Karolin |last6=Vliegenthart |first6=Rens |date=2025 |title=Are poor people poorly heard? |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1475-6765.12750 |journal=European Journal of Political Research |language=en |volume=64 |issue=3 |pages=1326–1350 |doi=10.1111/1475-6765.12750 |issn=1475-6765}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lupu |first1=Noam |last2=Warner |first2=Zach |date=2022 |title=Why are the affluent better represented around the world? |journal=European Journal of Political Research |language=en |volume=61 |issue=1 |pages=67–85 |doi=10.1111/1475-6765.12440 |issn=1475-6765|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Berman |first=Russell |date=2025-03-06 |title=The Specter of American Oligarchy |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2025/03/america-oligarchy-elon-musk-tech-trump/681942/ |access-date=2025-12-29 |website=The Atlantic |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":2" /> Political scientist and oligarchy scholar, Jeffrey Winters, cautions democracy and oligarchy can co-exist, but tension arises when a majority of voters opposes unequal wealth distribution and desires a more equitable distribution of wealth.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |date=2014-04-08 |title=Rich people rule! |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2014/04/08/rich-people-rule/ |access-date=2025-12-29 |newspaper=The Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Drutman |first=Lee |date=2025-04-28 |title=Democrats keep saying America is an "oligarchy." Is that true? |url=https://www.vox.com/politics/410415/america-oligarchy-economics-donald-trump-democracy |access-date=2025-12-29 |website=Vox |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Winters |first=Jeffrey A. |date=2017 |title=Wealth Defense and the Complicity of Liberal Democracy |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26785952 |journal=Nomos |volume=58 |pages=158–225 |jstor=26785952 |issn=0078-0979}}</ref>
=== Business oligarchies === {{Main|Business oligarch}}
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.<ref name="Chern2018">{{cite journal |last1=Chernenko |first1=Demid |title=Capital structure and oligarch ownership|journal=Economic Change and Restructuring |publisher=Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München|date=2018 |volume=52 |issue=4 |pages=383–411 |doi=10.1007/S10644-018-9226-9 |url=https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/83641/1/MPRA_paper_83641.pdf}}</ref>
=== 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:<ref>Shaw, Bernard und Baziyan, Vitaly. 2-in-1: English-German. Major Barbara & Major in Barbara. New York, 2020, {{ISBN|979-8692881076}}</ref><blockquote>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.</blockquote>
== History ==
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.<ref>Winters (2011) pp. 26–28. "Aristotle writes that 'oligarchy is when men of property have the government in their hands... wherever men rule by reason of their wealth, whether they be few or many, that is an oligarchy, and where the poor rule, that is a democracy'."</ref>
=== Athens === {{see also|Athenian democracy|Athens in the 5th century BC}} 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.{{sfn|Simonton|2017|p=21}} 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.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rosivach |first1=Vincent J. |title=The Tyrant in Athenian Democracy |journal=Quaderni Urbinati di Cultura Classica |date=1988 |volume=30 |issue=3 |pages=43–57 |doi=10.2307/20546964 |jstor=20546964 }}</ref>
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.<ref>Herodotus, ''Histories'', 5.70</ref> Over the next few years, Cleisthenes and Isagoras entered into a power struggle.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Lewis|first=D. M.|date=1963|title=Cleisthenes and Attica|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4434773|journal=Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte|volume=12|issue=1|pages=25|jstor=4434773|issn=0018-2311}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hayek|first=Friedrich A. von|title=The Constitution of Liberty|year=1960|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=0-226-32084-7|location=Chicago|pages=238–242|oclc=498999}}</ref>
Reaction against the Spartan hegemony also turned several oligarchies in the Peloponnese into democracies.{{sfn|Simonton|2017|pp=23–24}} However, the elite soon came into conflict with the people, or ''demos'', specifically in Aegina, Syracuse, and Naxos in the 500s and 490s BC.{{sfn|Simonton|2017|p=27}} 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.{{sfn|Simonton|2017|p=28}} 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.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26695493|last=Alwine|first=Andrew|title=The Soul of Oligarchy|year=2018|volume=148|pages=235–267|journal=Tapa|issue=2 |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|doi=10.1353/apa.2018.0010 |jstor=26695493 |access-date=April 24, 2025}}</ref>
In 493 BC, a member of the middle class{{efn|Plutarch described his birth as "lowly",<ref>Plutarch, Themistocles [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0066%3Achapter%3D2%3Asection%3D1 2.1]. Translated by Bernadotte Perrin, 1914.</ref> and his family as "too obscure to further his reputation".<ref>Plutarch, Themistocles [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0066%3Achapter%3D1%3Asection%3D1 1.1]. Translated by Bernadotte Perrin, 1914.</ref> He is known to have not been a citizen at birth, as his mother was not Athenian;<ref>Plutarch, Themistocles [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0066%3Achapter%3D1%3Asection%3D2 1.2]. Translated by Bernadotte Perrin, 1914.</ref> however, his father was descended from an Athenian priestly family, the Lycomidae.<ref>Plutarch, Themistocles [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0066%3Achapter%3D1%3Asection%3D3 1.3]. Translated by Bernadotte Perrin, 1914.</ref>}} 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,<ref>{{cite book |last=Holland |first=Tom |title=Persian Fire |publisher=Abacus |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-349-11717-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/persianfirefirst00tomh |pages=114–117}}</ref> Themistocles ruled Athens for over twenty years, and is best known as the victor of the Greco-Persian Wars.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://oxfordre.com/classics/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.001.0001/acrefore-9780199381135-e-6340|title=Themistocles, Athenian politician, c. 524–459 BCE|journal=Oxford Classical Dictionary|publisher=Oxford Research|date=7 March 2016|last1=Burn|first1=Andrew Robert|last2=Rhodes|first2=P. J.|doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.013.6340|isbn=978-0-19-938113-5 |access-date=April 25, 2025}}</ref>
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.<ref>Plutarch, Lives. Life of Cimon.([https://www.ucalgary.ca/~vandersp/Courses/texts/plutarch/plutcimo.html University of Calgary]/Wikisource)</ref> In 461 BC, politician Ephialtes, who supported radical democracy, proposed a law to limit the Areopagus' powers, which the ''ecclesia'', or Assembly, passed unanimously.<ref name="Cimon" /> 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.<ref name="pericl3s">{{cite book|last=Abbott|first=Evelyn|title=Pericles and the golden age of Athens|url=https://archive.org/details/periclesandgold00abbogoog|publisher=G. P. Putnam's sons|pages=85–88|year=1891|access-date=April 25, 2025}}</ref> Cimon was ostracized for ten years by Ephialtes and his supporters.<ref name=Cimon>{{cite journal|last=Goušchin|first=Valerij|date=26 February 2019|title=Plutarch on Cimon, Athenian Expeditions, and Ephialtes' Reform (Plut. Cim. 14–17)|url=https://grbs.library.duke.edu/article/view/16194|journal=Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies|language=en|volume=59|issue=1|pages=38–56|issn=2159-3159|access-date=April 25, 2025}}</ref>
Ephialtes was assassinated in 461 BC, possibly by the aristocrats.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4436111|title=Who Murdered Ephialtes?|journal=Historia|last=Rollar|first=Duane W.|year=1989|volume=38|issue=3|pages=257–266 |publisher=JSTOR|jstor=4436111 |access-date=April 25, 2025}}</ref> 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.<ref name="pericl3s" /> Pericles led Athens for over thirty years, presiding over the Delian League during the First Peloponnesian War with Sparta.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bagnall|first=Nigel|title=The Inter-War Years 480-431 BC – The Peloponnesian War: Athens, Sparta and the Struggle for Greece|location=New York|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books|year=2006|page=123}}</ref> 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.<ref>Plutarch, ''Pericles'' 11.2</ref>
The Thirty Tyrants were an oligarchy that briefly ruled Athens from 404 BC to 403 BC. Installed into power by the Spartans after the Athenian surrender in the Peloponnesian War, the Thirty became known for their tyrannical rule, first being called "The Thirty Tyrants" by Polycrates.<ref>Krentz, Peter. ''The Thirty at Athens'' p. 50 (hardcover {{ISBN|0801414504}})</ref> Although they maintained power for only eight months, their reign resulted in the killing of 5% of the Athenian population, the confiscation of citizens' property, and the exile of other democratic supporters.<ref>Wolpert, Andrew. ''Remembering Defeat: Civil War and Civic Memory in Ancient Athens''. (hardcover {{ISBN|0-8018-6790-8}}).</ref>
== By country == Jeffrey A. Winters and Benjamin I. Page have described Colombia, Indonesia, Russia, Singapore and the United States as oligarchies.<ref name="winters2009">{{Cite journal |last1=Winters |first1=Jeffrey |authorlink1=Jeffrey A. Winters |last2=Page |first2=Benjamin |authorlink2=Benjamin Page |publication-date=December 2009 |title=Oligarchy in the United States? |journal=Perspectives on Politics |year=2009 |volume=7 |issue=4 |pages=731–751 |doi=10.1017/S1537592709991770 |s2cid=144432999 |access-date=2022-03-12 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/231898807 |quote=the concept of oligarchy can be fruitfully applied not only to places like Singapore, Colombia, Russia, and Indonesia.}}</ref>
=== The Philippines === {{Main|Monopolies in the Philippines (1965–1986)}}
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.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hutchcroft |first=Paul D. |date=April 1991 |title=Oligarchs and Cronies in the Philippine State the Politics of Patrimonial Plunder |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/world-politics/article/abs/oligarchs-and-cronies-in-the-philippine-state-the-politics-of-patrimonial-plunder/ED0D256E6AA60C7FE702B4068CCAE06D |journal=World Politics |language=en |volume=43 |issue=3 |pages=414–450 |doi=10.2307/2010401 |jstor=2010401 |s2cid=154855272 |issn=1086-3338|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite SSRN |last=Mendoza |first=Ronald U. |last2=Bulaong |first2=Oscar Jr. |last3=Mendoza |first3=Gabrielle Ann S. |date=1 February 2022 |title=Cronyism, Oligarchy and Governance in the Philippines: 1970s vs 2020s |ssrn=4032259 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Quimpo |first=Nathan Gilbert |title=Can the Philippines' wild oligarchy be tamed? |date=2015 |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315674735-30/philippines-wild-oligarchy-tamed-nathan-gilbert-quimpo |work=Routledge Handbook of Southeast Asian Democratization |pages=347–362 |publisher=Routledge |doi=10.4324/9781315674735-30 |isbn=978-1-315-67473-5 |access-date=2022-05-15|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Explainer: The oligarchy in the Philippines is more than just one family or firm |url=https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2020/07/19/2028001/explainer-oligarchy-more-just-one-family-or-firm |access-date=2022-05-15 |website=Philstar.com}}</ref>
President Rodrigo Duterte, elected in 2016, promised to dismantle the oligarchy during his presidency.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Ruth Abbey Gita-Carlos |title=Duterte takes pride in dismantling oligarchy |url=https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1134133 |access-date=2022-05-15 |work=Philippine News Agency |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cnnphilippines.com/business/2022/6/29/Businesses-under-Duterte-administration-Who-gained-got-hurt.html |title=Businesses under Duterte administration: Who gained, who got hurt? |last=Esmael |first=Lisbet |date=June 29, 2022 |website=CNN Philippines |access-date=Sep 19, 2023 |archive-date=28 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928210716/https://www.cnnphilippines.com/business/2022/6/29/Businesses-under-Duterte-administration-Who-gained-got-hurt.html |url-status=dead}}</ref>
=== Russia === {{Main|Russian oligarchs}}
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.<ref>{{cite book |last=Scheidel |first=Walter |author-link=Walter Scheidel |title=The Great Leveler: Violence and the History of Inequality from the Stone Age to the Twenty-First Century |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2017 |isbn=978-0691165028 |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=NgZpDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA51 51] & [https://books.google.com/books?id=NgZpDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA222 222–223]}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Russian oligarchs: What are they and how have they changed over time? |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60731864 |access-date=2023-09-28 |website=BBC }}{{Dead link|date=January 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref>
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.<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Daniel|author1-link=Daniel Treisman |last=Treisman |date=November–December 2000 |url=http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20001101fareviewessay946/daniel-treisman/blaming-russia-first.html |title=Blaming Russia First |magazine=Foreign Affairs |access-date=May 13, 2025|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040803112056/http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20001101fareviewessay946/daniel-treisman/blaming-russia-first.html |archive-date=3 August 2004 }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|title=European Court: Khodorkovsky's Rights Violated|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/european_court_rules_khodorkovskys_rights_violated/24210627.html|access-date=2022-03-02|website=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty|language=en}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Aslund|first=Anders|date=2019-08-13|title=Putin's Economic Policy and Its Consequences|language=en-US|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0190697761}}</ref> According to NPR, he "changed the guy sitting in [the] chairs, but he didn't change the chairs".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-02-04 |title=What Americans can learn from the story of Russia's oligarchs |url=https://www.ijpr.org/npr-news/2025-02-04/what-americans-can-learn-from-the-story-of-russias-oligarchs |access-date=2025-05-08 |website=Jefferson Public Radio |language=en}}</ref> === India ===
In 2023, Robert Lighthizer, the architect of American trade policy during the first presidency of Donald Trump, wrote in his book ''No Trade is Free'' that, "fifteen or so billionaires" shaped India's trading policy. Terming them "oligarchs", Lighthizer called India "the most protectionist country in the world".<ref name="u078">{{cite web | last=Desk | first=Business Today | title='Fifteen or so billionaires': Former Trump aide claims they shaped India's trade policy in book | website=Business Today | date=2025-08-21 | url=https://www.businesstoday.in/india/story/fifteen-or-so-billionaires-former-trump-aide-claims-they-shaped-indias-trade-policy-in-book-490403-2025-08-21 | access-date=2025-12-06}}</ref>
Adani Group, owned by India's richest man Gautam Adani, immensely benefitted from the Modi government. After Narendra Modi became prime minister in 2014, Adani won bids to operate six Indian airports despite lacking any experience in the sector. His wealth increased by about $100 billion during just 2020–2023.<ref name="m664">{{cite web | title=Indian billionaire businessman Gautam Adani faces scrutiny | website=The World from PRX | date=2023-04-24 | url=https://theworld.org/stories/2023/04/24/indian-billionaire-businessman-gautam-adani-faces-scrutiny | access-date=2025-12-06}}</ref> However, in 2024, this came to be seen as a "cautionary tale" with regards to cronyism under the Modi government after Hindenburg Research accused Adani of fraud and stock manipulation, which resulted in Adani Group losing $110 billion in market value within days.<ref name="o215">{{cite web | last=Ghosh | first=Jayati | title=The Crisis of India's Oligarchy | website=Forbes.kz | date=2023-02-26 | url=https://forbes.kz/articles/the_crisis_of_indias_oligarchy | language=ru | access-date=2025-12-06}}</ref>
=== Iran === {{Main|Khomeinism|Velayat-e-faqih}} 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.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kazemzadeh |first=Masoud |title=Iran's Foreign Policy: Elite Factionalism, Ideology, the Nuclear Weapons Program, and the United States |publisher=Routledge |year=2020 |isbn=978-0-367-49545-9 |location=New York |pages=1–19}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Amuzager |first=Jahangir |title=The Islamic Republic of Iran: Reflections on an Emerging Economy |publisher=Routledge |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-85743-748-5 |location=New York |pages=48–50, 88–89}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Iran: Government continues systematic repression and escalates surveillance to crush dissent in the aftermath of protests, UN Fact-Finding Mission says |url=https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/03/iran-government-continues-systematic-repression-and-escalates-surveillance |access-date=2025-05-08 |website=OHCHR |language=en}}</ref>
=== Ukraine === {{Main|Ukrainian oligarchs}}
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.<ref name=Chern2018/> 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.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Riabchuk |first=Mykola |date=2012 |title=Ukraine's 'muddling through': National identity and postcommunist transition |journal=Communist and Post-Communist Studies |volume=45|issue=3–4 |pages=439–446 |doi=10.1016/j.postcomstud.2012.06.007 }}</ref> In 2021, Ukraine passed a law aimed at curbing oligarchic influence on politics and the economy.<ref name="USAToday" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Zelensky's battle against oligarchs: What does the new law mean? |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/9/23/ukraine-passes-controversial-anti-oligarch-bill |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=2023-09-28 }}{{Dead link|date=January 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref>
=== United States === {{Further|Income inequality in the United States#Democracy and society|Politics of the United States#Oligarchy}} [[File:The Bosses of the Senate by Joseph Keppler.jpg|thumb|240px|''The Bosses of the Senate'', corporate interests as giant money bags looming over senators]] 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,<ref name="Kroll 2010-12-02">{{cite news |first=Andy |last=Kroll |title=The New American Oligarchy |date=2 December 2010 |publisher=Truthout |url=http://archive.truthout.org/andy-kroll-the-new-american-oligarchy65597 |work=TomDispatch |access-date=17 August 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120122032008/http://archive.truthout.org/andy-kroll-the-new-american-oligarchy65597 |archive-date=22 January 2012 |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.tnr.com/article/magazine/books-and-arts/106430/money-politics-inequality-power-one-percent-move-on-effect |title=America on the Brink of Oligarchy |magazine=The New Republic |date=24 August 2012 |last1=Starr |first1=Paul}}</ref><ref name="TAI 11-12/2011"> {{cite journal |title=Oligarchy and Democracy |url=http://www.the-american-interest.com/articles/2011/09/28/oligarchy-and-democracy/ |journal=The American Interest |date=November–December 2011 |orig-year=28 September 2011 |first=Jeffrey A. |last=Winters |volume=7 |issue=2 |access-date=17 August 2012}}</ref><ref name="NYT-19980719">{{cite news |last=Herbert |first=Bob |author-link=Bob Herbert |title=The Donor Class |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/19/opinion/in-america-the-donor-class.html |date=19 July 1998 |work=The New York Times |access-date=10 March 2016}}</ref><ref name="NYT-20151010">{{cite news |last1=Confessore |first1=Nicholas |last2=Cohen |first2=Sarah |last3=Yourish |first3=Karen |title=The Families Funding the 2016 Presidential Election |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/10/11/us/politics/2016-presidential-election-super-pac-donors.html |date=10 October 2015 |work=The New York Times |access-date=10 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated -->|date=January 17, 2025|title=Is the U.S. witnessing the rise of oligarchy?|url=https://www.oxfamamerica.org/explore/issues/economic-justice/is-the-us-witnessing-the-rise-of-oligarchy/|website= |location= |publisher=Oxfam |access-date=July 22, 2025|quote=}}</ref> as exemplified by the list of top donors to political parties.<ref name="NYT-20151010-el">{{cite news |last1=Lichtblau |first1=Eric |last2=Confessore |first2=Nicholas |title=From Fracking to Finance, a Torrent of Campaign Cash – Top Donors List |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/11/us/politics/wealthy-families-presidential-candidates.html#donors-list |date=10 October 2015 |work=The New York Times |access-date=11 March 2016}}</ref><ref name="CS-20141226">{{cite news |last=McCutcheon |first=Chuck |title=Why the 'donor class' matters, especially in the GOP presidential scrum |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/Politics-Voices/2014/1226/Why-the-donor-class-matters-especially-in-the-GOP-presidential-scrum |date=26 December 2014 |work="The Christian Science Monitor |access-date=10 March 2016}}</ref><ref>Piketty, Thomas (2014). ''Capital in the Twenty-First Century.'' Belknap Press. {{ISBN|067443000X}} p. 514 "The risk of a drift towards oligarchy is real and gives little reason for optimism about where the United States is headed."</ref>
Economist Simon Johnson argued that the rise of an American financial oligarchy became particularly prominent following the 2008 financial crisis.<ref name="TA Johnson 2009-05">{{cite journal |title=The Quiet Coup |journal=The Atlantic |date=May 2009 |first=Simon |last=Johnson |author-link=Simon Johnson (economist) |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2009/05/the-quiet-coup/307364/?single_page=true |access-date=17 August 2012}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Kreps |first=Daniel |date=2015-07-31 |title=Jimmy Carter: America Is Now an 'Oligarchy' |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/jimmy-carter-u-s-is-an-oligarchy-with-unlimited-political-bribery-63262/ |access-date=2024-07-14 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}</ref>
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.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens |last1=Gilens |first1=Martin |last2=Page |first2=Benjamin I. |journal=Perspectives on Politics |date=2014 |volume=12 |issue=3 |pages=564–581 |doi=10.1017/S1537592714001595 |doi-access=free}}</ref> 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.<ref>Prokop, A. (18 April 2014) [https://www.vox.com/2014/4/18/5624310/martin-gilens-testing-theories-of-american-politics-explained "The new study about oligarchy that's blowing up the Internet, explained"] ''Vox''</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Testing Inferences about American Politics: A Review of the "Oligarchy" Result |journal=Research & Politics |date=1 October 2015 |issn=2053-1680 |article-number=2053168015608896 |volume=2 |issue=4 |doi=10.1177/2053168015608896 |language=en |first=Omar S. |last=Bashir |doi-access=free}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Gilens |first1=Martin |last2=Page |first2=Benjamin I. |date=2021-12-07 |title=Critics argued with our analysis of U.S. political inequality. Here are 5 ways they're wrong. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2016/05/23/critics-challenge-our-portrait-of-americas-political-inequality-heres-5-ways-they-are-wrong/ |access-date=2024-07-14 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref>
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 in what ''Politico'' described as "echoing Roosevelt's language in calling out the 'robber barons' of a new dystopian Gilded Age".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Wren |first=Adam |date=January 16, 2025 |title=Playbook: The 'tech-industrial complex' comes to Washington |work=Politico |url=https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2025/01/16/the-tech-industrial-complex-comes-to-washington-00198612 |access-date=January 16, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Watson |first=Kathryn |date=2025-01-16 |title=In final address, Biden warns of rise of "tech industrial complex" while outlining threats, challenges - CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/biden-primetime-farewell-address/ |access-date=2025-01-16 |website=www.cbsnews.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-01-16 |title=Biden warns of dangers of oligarchy taking shape in US |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1weqzl3ydro.amp |access-date=2025-01-16 |website=BBC News |language=en-gb}}</ref> 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 his second presidency.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.politico.eu/article/germanys-habeck-rails-against-musk-as-a-tech-oligarch-calls-for-european-alternative-to-x/|title=Germany's Habeck slams 'tech oligarch' Musk, calls for a European X|last=Lunday|first=Chris|date=February 18, 2025|publisher=Politico Europe|access-date=February 20, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2025/02/04/nx-s1-5269732/oligarchy-russia-united-states-trump-musk-bezos|title=What Americans can learn from the story of Russia's oligarchs|last=Inskeep|first=Steve|publisher=NPR|date=February 4, 2025|access-date=February 14, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Kuper |first=Simon |date=2023-10-28 |title=From Putin to Musk: the making of a modern-day oligarch |url=https://www.ft.com/content/1da1da6b-9410-4ab5-a295-f3a9e48f9977 |access-date=2025-02-04 |work=Financial Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-84786-8_5|last1=Merrin|first1=William|last2=Hoskins|first2=Andrew|title=Sharded Media: Trump's Rage Against the Mainstream|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|pages=83–108|doi=10.1007/978-3-031-84786-8_5 |isbn=978-3-031-84786-8|access-date=April 21, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Pruszyinski |first=Katie |date=March 24, 2025 |title=Trump 2.0 and the New American Oligarchy |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/20419058251332336a |journal=Political Insight |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=8–11 |doi=10.1177/20419058251332336a |access-date=April 21, 2025|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Naudé |first=Wim |date=22 March 2025 |title=The Economic Decline of the West: Guns, Oil, and Oligarchs |url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-82299-5_3 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |pages=55–96 |doi=10.1007/978-3-031-82299-5_3 |isbn=978-3-031-82298-8 |access-date=April 21, 2025}}</ref> Musk contributed over $200 million into the 2024 election, creating a "super" PAC to promote Trump's campaign.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://apnews.com/article/oligarchy-biden-zuckerburg-bezos-musk-altman-a44e281c6dbf2fd6cd174f13cdcdc1c5|title=Biden warns the US risks becoming an 'oligarchy.' What does the term mean?|website=Associated Press|last1=Boak|first1=Josh|date=January 16, 2025|access-date=February 19, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/elon-musk-trump-donations-super-pac|title=Elon Musk was behind mysterious pro-Trump super PAC that invoked Ruth Bader Ginsburg|last=Piper|first=Jessica|publisher=Politico|date=December 5, 2024|access-date=February 15, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vox.com/money/387348/elon-musk-trump-president-billionaire-oligarchy|title=Elon Musk and the age of shameless oligarchy|date=November 25, 2024|last=Kim|first=Whizy|publisher=Vox|access-date=April 21, 2025}}</ref> Two-time presidential candidate and progressive leader Bernie Sanders started his ''Fighting Oligarchy'' ("Where We Go from Here") Tour across America in response to Trump's election victory.<ref>[https://www.semafor.com/article/03/24/2025/aoc-sanders-erase-biden-as-progressive-movement-moves-on Semafor: AOC, Sanders erase Biden as progressive movement moves on]</ref>
== See also == {{Portal|Politics}} {{Div col|colwidth=22em}} * ''The Power Elite'', a 1956 book by C. Wright Mills * Inverted totalitarianism * Minoritarianism * Nepotism * Netocracy * Plutocracy * Political family * Oligarchical collectivism {{Div col end}}
==Notes== {{notelist}}
== References == {{Reflist}}
== Further reading == * {{citation |contribution=Comparative Oligarchy: Russia, Ukraine and the United States |title=CASE Network Studies and Analyses No. 296 |first=Anders |last=Aslund |publisher=Carnegie Endowment for International Peace |year=2005 |doi=10.2139/ssrn.1441910 |s2cid=153769623 |url=http://www.case-research.eu/upload/publikacja_plik/4931074_SA%20296last.pdf}} * {{cite journal |last=Gordon |first=Daniel |title=Hiring Law Professors: Breaking the Back of an American Plutocratic Oligarchy |journal=Widener Law Journal |date=2010 |volume=19 |pages=1–29 |ssrn=1412783}} * {{cite book |last1=Hollingsworth |first1=Mark |last2=Lansley |first2=Stewart |title=Londongrad: From Russia with Cash: The Inside Story of the Oligarchs |publisher=Fourth Estate |year=2010 |isbn=978-0007356379}} * {{cite book |last=Hudson |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Hudson (economist) |date=2023 |title=The Collapse of Antiquity: Greece and Rome as Civilization's Oligarchic Turning Point |url= |location= |publisher=Islet |page= |isbn=978-3949546129}} * {{cite book |title=Aristotle and Xenophon on democracy and oligarchy |editor=J. M. Moore |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0520029095 |year=1986}} * 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, {{ISBN|3515076808}}. * {{cite book |last1=Ramseyer |first1=J. Mark |last2=Rosenbluth |first2=Frances McCall |author-link2=Frances McCall Rosenbluth |title=The Politics of Oligarchy: Institutional Choice in Imperial Japan |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1998 |isbn=978-0521636490}} * {{cite book |last1=Tabachnick |first1=David |last2=Koivukoski |first2=Toivu |title=On Oligarchy: Ancient Lessons for Global Politics |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-1442661165}} * {{cite book|url=https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691192055/classical-greek-oligarchy|title=Classical Greek Oligarchy: A Political History|year=2017|last=Simonton|first=Matthew|publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=9780691192055}} * {{cite book |last1=Winters |first1=Jeffrey A. |author-link=Jeffrey A. Winters |title=Oligarchy |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2011 |location=Northwestern University, Illinois |isbn=978-1107005280}} * {{cite book |last1=Whibley |first1=Leonard |title=Greek oligarchies, their character and organisations |publisher=G. P. Putnam's Sons |year=1896 |url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924028258204}}
==External links== {{Wiktionary|oligarchy}} {{Wikiquote|Oligarchy}} *{{Commons category-inline|Oligarchies}}
{{Extreme wealth}}
{{Political philosophy}}
{{Authoritarian types of rule}}
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Category:Authoritarianism Category:Oligarchy Category:Political culture