Should I use a colon after 'as'?

Do I need to place a colon after 'as' in the following sentence?

The main subject of 'Animal Farm' is totalitarianism, which is defined as(:)'a system of government that is centralized and dictatorial and requires complete subservience to the state'.

You have a number of options at your disposal. Here's an interesting one that--while wordy--might be appropriate in an introduction to a paragraph or two on the topic of totalitarianism:

The main subject of Animal Farm is totalitarianism, which is defined as a system of government that is a) centralized; b) dictatorial; and c) demanding, by requiring complete subservience to the state.

But no, you do not need a colon after the word as.