Absolutism

A political theory and form of government where a single ruler, typically a monarch, holds supreme, unrestricted power over the state and its people, without being bound by a constitution or laws.

Example: King Louis XIV of France is the classic historical example of absolutism, famously (though perhaps apocryphally) declaring ‘L’état, c’est moi’ (‘I am the state’) to centralize all authority.

Common misconception: Absolutism means the ruler has no advisors or administrative structure. Absolute monarchs still rely on vast bureaucracies, ministers, and nobles to govern; the ‘absolute’ part refers to the lack of legal or institutional checks on their final decisions.