Crossword Genius

Ideal citizen displaying love for autocratic leader (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

notional

'ideal' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

I cannot understand how the rest of the clue works.

(Other definitions for notional that I've seen before include "La Gioconda" , "Assumed to be correct for particular purpose, say estimate" , "Hypothetical, speculative" , "Theoretic" , "Existing as theory, not existing in reality" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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