Authoritarianism is the system, belief, or habit of strictly forcing people to obey a set of rules or laws, especially ones that feel wrong or unfair. If authoritarian is the adjective (or the person), authoritarianism is the -ism: the way of ruling, or the idea that rulers should have that kind of tight control. Political writers use it for governments that limit freedom, punish disagreement, and keep power in a small group — though actually it is a broad label, and scholars argue about where “strict” ends and authoritarianism begins. It is not always the same as a dictatorship, and it is not the same as mere discipline in a classroom, but people do stretch it in angry talk (“this school is authoritarianism”). In careful English it belongs mainly to politics and history.