Car, Jaguar possibly, carrying Republican despot (8)
I believe the answer is:
autocrat
'despot' is the definition.
('autocrat' can be a synonym of 'despot')
'car jaguar possibly carrying republican' is the wordplay.
'car' becomes 'auto' ('auto' can be a synonym of 'car').
'jaguar possibly' becomes 'cat' (jaguar is a kind of cat).
'carrying' indicates putting letters inside.
'republican' becomes 'r' (abbreviation).
'cat' placed around 'r' is 'crat'.
'auto'+'crat'='AUTOCRAT'
(Other definitions for autocrat that I've seen before include "who's in charge? Absolutely!" , "All-powerful ruler" , "One person who has unlimited power" , "Despot, tyrant" , "Ruler with absolute power" .)