What is Authoritarianism?

In Aristotle's classification of political regimes, tyranny and authoritarianism are most confusing. Tyranny takes the power and jurisdiction of a state to serve the interests of a dominant class, but authoritarianism is based on traditional norms. Thus, the concept of authoritarianism is separate from tyranny.

In the absence of political training, it is difficult to distinguish between traditional norms and natural law. The power of authoritarian leaders can be likened to that of a father in a traditional family. Most authoritarian regimes have a patriarchal character. Like a husband who has abused his wife so brutally she has come to believe he is correct, the community around an authoritarian regime accedes to extreme lawlessness. The community structure around an authoritarian regime is very similar. In circumstances where this type of political organization isn't formed, the authoritarian regime will not be stable and can only be supported by violence, which could later render it functionally tyrannical.