Synonyms:
oligarchy
Meaning: a political system governed by a few people; "one of his cardinal convictions was that Britain was not run as a democracy but as an oligarchy"; "the big cities were notoriously in the hands of the oligarchy of local businessmen"
Usage examples
The real government had become a kind of oligarchy, as it always did after too much false democracy ruined the ideals of real and practical self-rule.
The doctrine seemingly most unpopular was found to be the only strength of the people. In short, we found that the only logical negation of oligarchy was in the affirmation of original sin.