A dictatorship is an autocratic form of government, usually under a single leader (the dictator). The leader has no laws or regulations to control his/her actions (or writes the laws themselves), and acts on his/her own free will. This is similar to but not to be confused with totalitarianism, a government which regulates (or tries to regulate) every aspect within their nation's borders, both political and private.

One of the first well-known dictatorships is that of the Sulla dictatorship in the Roman Empire from 81 B.C.E. to 72 B.C.E.