Oligarchy

An oligarchy is a form of governmental or social power structure in which power rests with a small number of people, known as oligarchs, who typically hold either titles of nobility or substantial wealth, and oligarchies can take multiple forms, ranging from traditional systems in which a small elite formally and openly governs to a broader modern usage in which wealthy individuals wield disproportionate political influence even within ostensibly democratic frameworks without necessarily holding official government positions. Oligarchic influence in this broader sense operates through concentrated economic and political resources, including lobbying, campaign financing, shaping of media, and influence over judicial appointments, mechanisms that political scientists note can function independently of any formal government role held by the oligarchs themselves. Oligarchy can coexist with formally democratic institutions, including regular elections and broad suffrage, while policy decisions remain disproportionately influenced by economic elites, a tension between democratic principle and oligarchic power structure that political scientists and other scholars treat as a significant and continuing concern in contemporary political analysis.