A ruling clique is a group of people who jointly rule an
oligarchic
Oligarchy (; ) is a conceptual form of power structure in which power rests with a small number of people. These people may or may not be distinguished by one or several characteristics, such as nobility, fame, wealth, education, or corporate, r ...
form of government.
Ruling cliques generally differ from another type of oligarchy: a
military junta
A military junta () is a government led by a committee of military leaders. The term ''junta'' means "meeting" or "committee" and originated in the national and local junta organized by the Spanish resistance to Napoleon's invasion of Spain in ...
. Military juntas are always ruled by military personnel (often high-ranking like
general
A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...
). A ruling clique can include people from various professions. The ruling
elites who comprise the leadership tend to form a council,
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...
, or another form of an organized group. The high-ranking members share a rough balance of power although sometimes one or more members seek to increase their power at the expense of others or some of them may attempt to transform the system into an
autocracy or make it more
democratic.
Some ruling cliques could be considered a form of
aristocracy while others are based on a very small circle of rulers rather than a broader based organization such as a political party. In some cases, the entire ruling clique is composed of a council of leaders who are the only members of the clique.
Government
{{Poli-stub