Totalitarian leaders differ from despots in being genuinely unconstrained

Evidence

In contrast, however, to other despotic forms of government, where frequently a clique rules and the despot plays only the representative role of a puppet ruler, totalitarian leaders are actually free to do whatever they please and can count on the loyalty of their entourage even if they choose to murder them. — Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, 890

Categorization

• XREF: Contrast with classic despotism texts and with Weberian patrimonialism; also connects to the necropolitics theme — the leader’s power includes power over followers’ lives.