duarchy

1 9.9

A government in which two rulers share power equally

noun
/ˈdjuːɑrki/

Specialized

: duarquía

The council operates as a duarchy, with each elected official sharing equal authority over policy decisions.

Examples

I make only this difference in the two duarchy candidates: with Romney, you have a tough row to hoe to defend that choice; with Obama, that soil is already thoroughly salted.

Blog text (19)
In a duarchy, the two leaders must work together to make decisions that benefit the entire community.
We deserve better than extending the 28-year Bush/Clinton duarchy into its fourth decade.

Blog text (15)
During the debate, they discussed how a duarchy can lead to more balanced governance compared to a single ruler.

Synonyms

duumvirate

vsduarchy

Specialized

1 9.9

Two people who share control of a government or group

is the general system of two equal leaders not a named office

diarchy

vsduarchy

Specialized

1 9.9

A government where two rulers share power

is the same system expressed with a different word form

dyarchy

vsduarchy

Specialized

1 9.9

A system in which two leaders share power in government

is the same system described using another variant of the term

Antonyms

monarchy

60 3.9

A country ruled by a king or queen who usually inherits the position

Surface Forms

duarchy singular

duarchies plural

Morphology

duarchy = du + archy

The combining form 'du-' (two) is not a standalone English word while '-archy' (rule) is productive, so learners can partly infer 'rule by two' but may not recognize the 'du-' element.

Etymology

Duarchy comes from the parts duo 'two' and -archy 'rule', the same -archy as in monarchy. So a duarchy is a government where two people share power.