Definition
Absolutism was a system of government, dominant in much of Europe during the 16th to 18th centuries, in which a monarch claimed total and centralized authority over the state. An absolute ruler answered to no parliament, no nobility, and no law beyond their own will.
The most famous example is King Louis XIV of France, often associated with the phrase "I am the state." Under absolutism, the personal power of the monarch was meant to be the whole of government.
Why it matters
How it works
Absolutism worked by removing checks on the ruler. A successful absolute monarch brought the nobility to court, where they competed for favor rather than power; sidelined or suspended representative assemblies; and built a professional administration loyal to the crown alone.
This concentration of power required justification, and absolutism leaned on divine right and on the promise of order and stability. Yet by claiming unlimited authority, absolute rulers also drew the opposition of thinkers who insisted that all legitimate power must have limits.