despot
The Inca emperor was a despotic ruler of a highly stratified society.
They built up a great and powerful despotic state.
Dictators are individuals that exercise despotic power.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Systems of government
absolutism
advanced capitalism
ancien régime
anti-apartheid
anti-communism
democrat
democratic
democratically
democratization
democratize
kakistocracy
kleptocracy
kleptocratic
majority rule
martial law
plutocratic
police state
post-apartheid
pre-fascist
pure democracy