The Purpose Of Authoritarian Governments

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An authoritarian state is a “government in which all legitimate power rests in one person (dictatorship) or a small group of persons (oligarchy); individual rights are subordinate to the wishes of the state, and all means necessary are used to maintain political power” (Magstadt 86). Totalitarianism is a political system in which every facet of the society, the economy, and the government is tightly controlled by the ruling elite” (Magstadt 116). Authoritarian governments are all about maintaining power under any circumstances necessary. As a result, they are much more violent than totalitarian governments. One particular attempt authoritarian governments use to overthrow their government is coup d’etat which is an “attempted seizure of