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{{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|''{{wiktgrc|ὀλιγαρχία}}'' ({{grc-transl|ὀλιγαρχία}})|rule by few}}; {{etymology||''{{wiktgrc|ὀλίγος}}'' ({{grc-transl|ὀλίγος}})|few||''{{wiktgrc|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 conceptual form of [[power structure]] in which [[Power (social and political)|power]] rests with a small number of people. These people may or may not be distinguished by one or several characteristics, such as [[nobility]], fame, wealth, education, or corporate, religious, political, or military control.

Throughout history, power structures considered to be oligarchies have often been viewed as [[Tyrant|tyrannical]],{{citation needed|date=May 2023}} relying on public obedience or oppression to exist. [[Aristotle]] pioneered the use of the term as meaning rule by the rich.<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> In the early 20th century [[Robert Michels]] developed the theory that democracies, like all large organizations, tend to turn into oligarchies. In his "[[Iron law of oligarchy]]" he suggests that the necessary division of labor in large organizations leads to the establishment of a ruling class mostly concerned with protecting their own power.

== Minority rule ==
{{Main|Minoritarianism}}

The exclusive consolidation of power by a [[dominant minority|dominant religious or ethnic minority]] has also been described as 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> Examples of this system include South Africa under ''[[apartheid]]'', Liberia under [[Americo-Liberians]], the [[Sultanate of Zanzibar]], and [[Rhodesia]], where the installation of oligarchic rule by the descendants of foreign settlers was primarily regarded as a legacy of various forms of [[colonialism]].<ref name=Minority1/>

== Putative oligarchies ==
A business group might be defined as an oligarchy if it satisfies all of the following conditions:
* Owners are the largest private owners in the country.
* It possesses sufficient political power to promote its own interests.
* Owners control multiple businesses, which intensively coordinate their activities.<ref name="Chern2018">{{cite journal|last1= Chernenko|first1= Demid |title= Capital structure and oligarch ownership |journal= Economic Change and Restructuring |date=2018|pages=383–411|doi= 10.1007/S10644-018-9226-9|volume=52|issue= 4|s2cid= 56232563 |url= https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/83641/1/MPRA_paper_83641.pdf }}</ref>

==Intellectual oligarchies==
[[George Bernard Shaw]] defined in his play ''[[Major Barbara]]'', premiered in 1905 and first published in 1907, a new type of Oligarchy namely the intellectual oligarchy that acts against the interests of the common people: "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."<ref>Shaw, Bernard und Baziyan, Vitaly. 2-in-1: English-German. Major Barbara & Major in Barbara. New York, 2020, {{ISBN|979-8692881076}}</ref>

==Cases perceived as oligarchies==
[[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
|accessdate=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, but also to the contemporary United States.
}}</ref>

=== Philippines ===
{{Main|Monopolies in the Philippines (1965–1986)}}
During the [[Presidency of Ferdinand Marcos|presidency]] of [[Ferdinand Marcos]] from 1965 to 1986, several [[Monopolies in the Philippines (1965–1986)|monopolies]] arose in the Philippines, particularly centred around the [[Marcos family|family]] and [[Cronies of Ferdinand Marcos|close associates of the president]]. This period, as well as subsequent decades, have led some analysts to describe the country as an oligarchy.<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}}</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}}</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]], who was elected in 2016, spoke of dismantling 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" />

===Russian Federation===
{{main|Russian oligarchs}}

Since [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union|the collapse of the Soviet Union]] and [[privatization]] of the economy in December 1991, privately owned Russia-based multinational corporations, including producers of petroleum, natural gas, and metal have, in the view of many analysts, led to the rise of [[Russian oligarch]]s.<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> Most of these are connected directly to the highest-ranked government officials, such as the [[Presidents of the Russian Federation|president]].

=== Iran ===
{{Main|Khomeinism|Velayat-e-faqih}}
The religious government of Iran formed after the 1979 [[Iranian Revolution|Iranian revolution]] is described as a clerical oligarchy led by a coalition of militant [[Khomeinism|Khomeinist]] ideologues and fundamentalist [[Shia Islam|Shia]] clergy. The ruling system led by clerical oligarchs is known as "''Velayat e-Faqih''" , i.e., governance by a class of [[Twelver Shi'ism|Twelver Shia]] ''[[Marja'|marja]]'' designated with the title of "''[[Ayatollah]]''". Highest ranking Shia cleric in the political system is the "''[[Supreme Leader of Iran|Rahbar]]''" (Supreme Leader) who serves for life and is considered to be "protector of the faith" in Khomeinist theology. The clerical oligarchs supervise the activities of the parliament and controls the armed forces, state media, sectors of the national economy and religious funds. The ''Rahbar'' is also the military chief of the [[Iranian Armed Forces|Iranian armed forces]] and directly controls the conglomerate of Khomeinist paramilitaries known as the [[Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps|IRGC]].<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>

===Ukraine===
{{main|Ukrainian oligarchs}}
The Ukrainian oligarchs are a group of [[business oligarch]]s that quickly appeared on the economic and political scene of Ukraine after its independence in 1991. Overall there are 35 oligarchic groups.<ref name=Chern2018 />

On 23 September 2021 the Ukrainian government released law No. 1780-ІХ which is primarily focused on protecting national interest and limiting oligarchs impact on democracy in Ukraine.

===United States===
{{further|Income inequality in the United States#Democracy and society|Politics of the United States#Concerns about oligarchy|||}}
[[File:The Bosses of the Senate by Joseph Keppler.jpg|thumb|240px|''[[The Bosses of the Senate]]'', [[Corporatocracy|corporate interests]] as giant money bags looming over [[United States Senate|senators]]<ref>[[Joseph Ferdinand Keppler|Joseph Keppler]], ''[[Puck (magazine)|Puck]]'' (January 23, 1889)</ref>]]

Some contemporary authors have characterized conditions in the United States in the 21st century as oligarchic in nature.<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> [[Simon Johnson (economist)|Simon Johnson]] wrote in 2009 that "the reemergence of an American financial oligarchy is quite recent", a structure which he delineated as being the "most advanced" in the world.<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> [[Jeffrey A. Winters]] wrote that "oligarchy and democracy operate within a single system, and American politics is a daily display of their interplay."<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> The top 1% of the U.S. population by wealth in 2007 had a larger share of total income than at any time since 1928.<ref name="CBPP-20140524">{{cite journal | title=Tax Data Show Richest 1 Percent Took a Hit in 2008, But Income Remained Highly Concentrated at the Top. Recent Gains of Bottom 90 Percent Wiped Out | url=http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3309 | journal=Center on Budget and Policy Priorities | date=25 May 2011 | access-date=30 May 2014}}</ref> In 2011, according to [[PolitiFact]] and others, the top 400 wealthiest Americans "have more wealth than half of all Americans combined."<ref name="PF-20110311">{{cite news |last1=Kertscher |first1=Tom |last2=Borowski |first2=Greg |title=The Truth-O-Meter Says: '''True''' – Michael Moore says 400 Americans have more wealth than half of all Americans combined |url=http://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2011/mar/10/michael-moore/michael-moore-says-400-americans-have-more-wealth-/ |date=10 March 2011 |work=[[PolitiFact]] |access-date=11 August 2013 }}</ref><ref name="HP-20110306">{{cite news |last=Moore |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Moore |title=America Is Not Broke |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-moore/america-is-not-broke_b_832006.html |date=6 March 2011 |work=[[Huffington Post]] |access-date=11 August 2013 }}</ref><ref name="MM-20110307">{{cite web |last=Moore |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Moore |title=The Forbes 400 vs. Everybody Else |url=http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/must-read/forbes-400-vs-everybody-else |date=7 March 2011 |work=michaelmoore.com |url-status=dead |archive-date=9 March 2011 |access-date=2014-08-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110309211959/http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/must-read/forbes-400-vs-everybody-else }}</ref><ref name="CNN-20100922">{{cite news |last=Pepitone |first=Julianne |title=Forbes 400: The super-rich get richer |url=https://money.cnn.com/2010/09/22/news/companies/forbes_400/index.htm |date=22 September 2010 |work=[[CNN]] |access-date=11 August 2013 }}</ref>

In 1998, [[Bob Herbert]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' referred to modern American plutocrats as "The Donor Class"<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> (list of top donors)<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> and defined the class, for the first time,<ref name="CS-20141226">{{cite news |last=McCutcheon |first=Chuck |title=Why the 'donor class' matters, especially in the GOP presidential scrum |url=http://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> as "a tiny group—just one-quarter of 1 percent of the population—and it is not representative of the rest of the nation. But its money buys plenty of access."<ref name="NYT-19980719" />

French economist [[Thomas Piketty]] states in his 2013 book, ''[[Capital in the Twenty-First Century]],'' that "the risk of a drift towards oligarchy is real and gives little reason for optimism about where the United States is headed."<ref>[[Thomas Piketty|Piketty, Thomas]] (2014). ''[[Capital in the Twenty-First Century]].'' [[Belknap Press]]. {{ISBN|067443000X}} p. 514</ref>

A 2014 study by political scientists Martin Gilens of [[Princeton University]] and [[Benjamin Page]] of [[Northwestern University]] stated that "majorities of the American public actually have little influence over the policies our government adopts."<ref>{{cite journal |title=Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens |last1=Gilens |first1=Martin |last2=Page |first2=Benjamin I. |name-list-style=amp |journal=[[Perspectives on Politics]] |date=2014 |volume=12 |issue=3 |pages=564–581 |doi=10.1017/S1537592714001595 |doi-access=free }}</ref> The study analyzed nearly 1,800 policies enacted by the US government between 1981 and 2002 and compared them to the expressed preferences of the American public as opposed to wealthy Americans and large special interest groups.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/major-study-finds-that-the-us-is-an-oligarchy-2014-4|title=Major Study Finds The US Is An Oligarchy|website=businessinsider.com}}</ref> It found that wealthy individuals and organizations representing business interests have substantial political influence, while average citizens and mass-based interest groups have little to none. The study did concede that "Americans do enjoy many features central to democratic governance, such as [[Elections in the United States|regular elections]], [[Freedom of speech in the United States|freedom of speech]] and [[Freedom of association|association]], and a widespread ([[Voter suppression in the United States|if still contested]]) [[Suffrage|franchise]]." Gilens and Page do not characterize the US as an "oligarchy" per se; however, they do apply the concept of "civil oligarchy" as used by [[Jeffrey A. Winters|Jeffrey Winters]] with respect to the US. Winters has posited a comparative theory of "oligarchy" in which the wealthiest citizens—even in a "civil oligarchy" like the United States—dominate policy concerning crucial issues of wealth- and income protection.<ref>Gilens & Page (2014) p. 6</ref>

Gilens says that average citizens only get what they want if wealthy Americans and business-oriented interest groups also want it; and that when a policy favored by the majority of the American public is implemented, it is usually because the economic elites did not oppose it.<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> Other studies have criticized the Page and Gilens study.<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|pages = 2053168015608896|volume = 2|issue = 4|doi = 10.1177/2053168015608896|language = en|first = Omar S.|last = Bashir|doi-access = free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|title = Relative Policy Support and Coincidental Representation|journal = Perspectives on Politics|date = 1 December 2015|issn = 1541-0986|pages = 1053–1064|volume = 13|issue = 4|doi = 10.1017/S1537592715002315|first = Peter K.|last = Enns|s2cid = 14664012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|title = Reconsidering the Middle: A Reply to Martin Gilens|journal = Perspectives on Politics|date = 1 December 2015|issn = 1541-0986|pages = 1072–1074|volume = 13|issue = 4|doi = 10.1017/S1537592715002339|first = Peter K.|last = Enns|s2cid = 148467972|url = https://semanticscholar.org/paper/d4afb06067143f72ef5253ec265bb044486731a2}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Matthews|first=Dylan|date=9 May 2016|title=Remember that study saying America is an oligarchy? 3 rebuttals say it's wrong.|url=https://www.vox.com/2016/5/9/11502464/gilens-page-oligarchy-study|access-date=2021-11-10|website=[[Vox (website)|Vox]]|language=en}}</ref> Page and Gilens have defended their study from criticism.<ref name=":0" />

In a 2015 interview, former President [[Jimmy Carter]] stated that the United States is now "an oligarchy with unlimited political bribery" due to the ''[[Citizens United v. FEC]]'' ruling which effectively removed limits on donations to political candidates.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/videos/jimmy-carter-u-s-is-an-oligarchy-with-unlimited-political-bribery-20150731|title=Jimmy Carter: U.S. Is an 'Oligarchy With Unlimited Political Bribery'|last=Kreps|first=Daniel|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=31 July 2015}}</ref> [[Wall Street]] spent a record $2 billion trying to influence the [[2016 United States presidential election]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Wall Street spends record $2bn on US election lobbying |url=https://www.ft.com/content/5060844a-0420-11e7-ace0-1ce02ef0def9 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/5060844a-0420-11e7-ace0-1ce02ef0def9 |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |work=Financial Times |date=8 March 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Wall Street Spent $2 Billion Trying to Influence the 2016 Election |url=https://fortune.com/2017/03/08/wall-street-2016-election-spending/ |work=Fortune |date=8 March 2017}}</ref>

===China===

Since 1950, China has commonly been considered an oligarchy. "China describes itself as a communist “people’s republic,” but leadership of the country has been maintained by a select few for several decades. Members of the oligarchy have included those who were part of the Communist Party and the revolution in 1949, as well as those who came into wealth and power since the opening of China to the global market in the 1980s (often descendants of the early revolutionaries). This system has helped the wealthy and powerful maintain their control, while providing relatively little power or freedom to most citizens."<ref>{{cite web |title=Oligarchy |url=https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/oligarchy |website=education.nationalgeographic.org |publisher=National Geographic |access-date=21 July 2023 |language=en}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Politics}}
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* [[Aristocracy]]
* [[Cacique democracy]]
* [[Despotism]]
* [[Dictatorship]]
* [[Inverted totalitarianism]]
* [[Iron law of oligarchy]]
* [[Kleptocracy]]
* [[Meritocracy]]
* [[Military dictatorship]]
* [[Minoritarianism]]
* [[Nepotism]]
* [[Netocracy]]
* [[Oligopoly]]
* [[The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism|Oligarchical collectivism]]
* [[Parasitism (social offense)|Parasitism]]
* [[Plutocracy]]
* [[Political family]]
* [[Power behind the throne]]
* ''[[The Power Elite]] ''(1956 book by [[C. Wright Mills]])
* [[Polyarchy]]
* [[Stratocracy]]
* [[Synarchism]]
* [[Theocracy]]
* [[Timocracy]]
{{div col end}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{refbegin}}
{{refend}}

== 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 }}
* 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 | 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 }}
* {{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}}

==External links==
{{Wiktionary|oligarchy}}
{{Wikiquote|Oligarchy}}
*{{Commons category-inline|Oligarchies}}

{{authoritarian types of rule}}
{{extreme wealth}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:Oligarchy| ]]
[[Category:Authoritarianism]]
[[Category:Political culture]]

Oligarchy - Revision history

Ajay Kumar: Created a new article