I’ve seen governments organized in a 2x2 categorization where the two factors are despotism (whether or not the ruling power is arbitrary) and penetration (how much capacity to interfere in the lives of its subjects does the ruling power have).
Possibly by accident of history (most monarchies are pre-modern and most dictatorships are modern) monarchies have generally been high despotism, low penetration, while dictatorships have been high despotism, high penetration.
(A functioning modern democracy would be an example of low despotism, high penetration—it can interfere in many ways in the lives of the citizenry, but doesn’t generally do so arbitrarily.)
I’ve seen governments organized in a 2x2 categorization where the two factors are despotism (whether or not the ruling power is arbitrary) and penetration (how much capacity to interfere in the lives of its subjects does the ruling power have).
Possibly by accident of history (most monarchies are pre-modern and most dictatorships are modern) monarchies have generally been high despotism, low penetration, while dictatorships have been high despotism, high penetration.
(A functioning modern democracy would be an example of low despotism, high penetration—it can interfere in many ways in the lives of the citizenry, but doesn’t generally do so arbitrarily.)