The word autocracy comes from the Greek, and it means government by itself.
It is a political regime in which laws and decisions are based on the ruler's convictions. In autocracy, the power of the leader is absolute and unlimited, and the government ends up having its policies confused with the personal actions of the autocrat, as a personalization of power.
The absolutist monarchies were autocratic regimes, such as the tsarist period in Russia, or the absolutist regime in France, with their most famous autocrat in the person of Louis XIV. But not every monarchy is an autocracy, as kings and emperors could be advised and influenced by an administrative team. This does not happen due to the principle of autocracy, in which decision-making is exclusive to the ruler.
Autocracy can also be understood as monocracy, that is, the government of one person.
A modern example of autocratic rule is the German dictatorial government of Adolf Hitler. During the period when Hitler ruled, political decisions were exclusively personal to the dictator, based on his beliefs about a superior Germany.
The concept of autocracy is the starting point of the film Die Welle, by German director Dennis Gansel. The film tells the story of a teacher at a German school who conducts a hands-on experiment with his students about autocracy.
See too: Imperialism and Neocolonialism.
bourgeois autocracy
Bourgeois autocracy is an expression by sociologist Florestan Fernandes to designate the influence of a group, the bourgeoisie, on the power and development of Brazilian capitalism. The bourgeois autocracy is not a political regime, but the process of decision-making in terms of public policies, from the position of the bourgeoisie, which in turn is influenced by the imperialism of the countries centrals.
The expression is quoted and explored by José Paulo Netto in the book Ditadura & Social Service: an analysis of Social Service in post-64 Brazil