Editing Oligarchy (section)

=== Minority rule ===
{{Main|Minoritarianism}}

The consolidation of power by a [[dominant minority]], whether religious or ethnic, can be considered a form of oligarchy.<ref name=Minority1>{{cite book |last1=Coleman |first1=James |last2=Rosberg |first2=Carl |title=Political Parties and National Integration in Tropical Africa |url=https://archive.org/details/politicalparties0000cole |url-access=registration |date=1966 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/politicalparties0000cole/page/681 681–683] |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |location=Los Angeles |isbn=978-0520002531}}</ref> Examples include South Africa during [[apartheid]], Liberia under [[Americo-Liberian people|Americo-Liberians]], the [[Sultanate of Zanzibar]],{{Citation needed|reason=How?|date=November 2024}} and [[Rhodesia]]. In these cases, oligarchic rule was often tied to the legacy of colonialism.<ref name=Minority1/> 

In the early 20th century, [[Robert Michels]] expanded on this idea in his [[iron law of oligarchy]], arguing that even democracies, like all large organizations, tend to become oligarchic due to the necessity of dividing labor, which ultimately results in a ruling class focused on maintaining its power.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Michels |first1=Robert |author1-link=Robert Michels |last2=Paul |first2=E. |last3=Paul |first3=C. |title=Political Parties: A Sociological Study of the Oligarchical Tendencies of Modern Democracy |publisher=Hearst's International Library Company |year=1915 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8XXl87CLp5cC |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=8XXl87CLp5cC&dq=%22who%20says%20organization,%20says%20oligarchy%22&pg=PA401 401]}}</ref><ref name="USAToday">{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2023/03/10/oligarchy-government-power-explained/11338810002/|title=This form of government leaves power in the hands of a few: Oligarchies explained|date=March 10, 2023|last=Mulroy|first=Claire|publisher=USA Today|access-date=April 21, 2025}}</ref>