One-party state
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A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system, or single-party system is a type of state in which one political party has the right to form the government, usually based on the existing constitution. All other parties are either outlawed or allowed to take only a limited and controlled participation in elections. Sometimes the term de facto one-party state is used to describe a dominant-party system that, unlike the one-party state, allows (at least nominally) democratic multiparty elections, but the existing practices or balance of political power effectively prevent the opposition from winning the elections.
Contents
1 Concept
2 Examples
2.1 Current one-party states
2.2 Former one-party states
2.2.1 Former big tent modernization one-party states
2.2.2 Former left-wing one-party states
2.2.3 Former Marxist–Leninist one-party countries
2.2.4 Former right-wing one-party states
2.2.5 Former fascist or nationalist one-party states
3 See also
4 Notes
5 References
6 External links
Concept
One-party states explain themselves through various methods. Most often, proponents of a one-party state argue that the existence of separate parties runs counter to national unity. Others argue that the one party is the vanguard of the people, and therefore its right to rule cannot be legitimately questioned. The Soviet government argued that multiple parties represented the class struggle, which was absent in Soviet society, and so the Soviet Union only had one party, namely the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
Some one-party states only outlaw opposition parties, while allowing allied parties to exist as part of a permanent coalition such as a popular front. However, these parties are largely or completely subservient to the ruling party and must accept the ruling party’s monopoly of power as a condition of their existence. Examples of this are the People's Republic of China under the United Front, the National Front in former East Germany and the Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland in North Korea. Others may allow non-party members to run for legislative seats, as was the case with Taiwan’s Tangwai movement in the 1970s and 1980s, as well as the elections in the former Soviet Union.
Within their own countries, dominant parties ruling over one-party states are often referred to simply as the Party. For example, in reference to the Soviet Union, the Party meant the Communist Party of the Soviet Union; in reference to the pre-1991 Republic of Zambia, it referred to the United National Independence Party.
Most one-party states have been ruled by parties forming in one of the following three circumstances:
- an ideology of Marxism–Leninism and international solidarity (such as the Soviet Union for most of its existence)
- some type of nationalist or fascist ideology (such as Italy under Benito Mussolini)
- parties that came to power in the wake of independence from colonial rule. One-party systems often arise from decolonization because a single party gains an overwhelmingly dominant role in liberation or in independence struggles.
One-party states are usually considered to be authoritarian, to the extent that they are politically totalitarian. On the other hand, not all authoritarian or totalitarian states operate upon one-party rule. Some, especially amongst absolute monarchies and military dictatorships, have no need for a ruling party, and therefore make all political parties illegal.
The term “communist state” is often used in the West to apply to states in which the ruling party subscribes to a form of Marxism–Leninism. However, such states do not use that term themselves, seeing communism as a phase to develop after the full maturation of socialism, and instead often use the titles of “people's republic”, “socialist republic”, or “democratic republic”. One peculiar example is Cuba. While the role of the Communist Party is enshrined in the constitution, no party is permitted to campaign or run candidates for election, including the Communists. Candidates are elected on an individual referendum basis without formal party involvement, though elected assemblies predominantly consist of members of the Communist Party alongside non-affiliated candidates.[1]
Examples
Current one-party states
As of 2019[update] the following countries are legally constituted as one-party states:
Country | Head of party | Party | Head of popular front | Popular Front | Date of establishment | Duration |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic People's Republic of Korea | Kim Jong-un, Chairman | Workers' Party of Korea | Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland | October 10, 1945 | 7004267730000000000♠73 years, 110 days | |
Lao People's Democratic Republic | Bounnhang Vorachith, General Secretary | Lao People's Revolutionary Party | Xaysomphone Phomvihane, President of the Standing Committee | Lao Front for National Construction | December 2, 1975 | 7004157630000000000♠43 years, 57 days |
People's Republic of China | Xi Jinping, General Secretary | Communist Party of China | Wang Yang, Chairman of National CPPCC You Quan, Head of the Department | United Front | October 1, 1949 | 7004253210000000000♠69 years, 119 days |
Republic of Cuba | Raúl Castro, First Secretary | Communist Party of Cuba | January 1, 1959 | 7004219420000000000♠60 years, 27 days | ||
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic | Brahim Ghali, Secretary General | Polisario Front | February 27, 1976 | 7004156760000000000♠42 years, 335 days | ||
Socialist Republic of Vietnam | Nguyễn Phú Trọng, General Secretary | Communist Party of Vietnam | Trần Thanh Mẫn, Chairman | Vietnamese Fatherland Front | April 30, 1975 | 7004159790000000000♠43 years, 273 days |
State of Eritrea | Isaias Afwerki, Chairperson | People's Front for Democracy and Justice | February 10, 1994 | 7003911800000000000♠24 years, 352 days |
Former one-party states
Former big tent modernization one-party states
Country | Party | Date of establishment | Date of dissolution |
---|---|---|---|
Turkey | Republican People's Party | 1923 | 1945 |
Mexico | Institutional Revolutionary Party | 1929 | 2000 |
Cameroon | Cameroon People's Democratic Movement | 1975 | 1990 |
Tunisia | Neo Destour | 1963 | 1964 |
Tunisia | Socialist Destourian Party | 1964 | 1981 |
Republic of China | Kuomintang | 1925 | 1990 |
Syrian Republic | Arab Liberation Movement | 1953 | 1954 |
Former left-wing one-party states
Country | Party | Front | Date of establishment | Date of dissolution |
---|---|---|---|---|
Algeria | National Liberation Front | 1962 | 1989 | |
Angola | People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola | 1975 | 1991 | |
Bangladesh | Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League | 1974 | 1975 | |
Burma | Burma Socialist Programme Party | 1962 | 1988 | |
Cape Verde | African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde | 1975 | 1980 | |
African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde | 1980 | 1990 | ||
Central African Republic | Movement for the Social Evolution of Black Africa | 1962 | 1980 | |
Republic of China (Nationalist government)
|
| 1925
| 1948
| |
Djibouti | People's Rally for Progress | 1977 | 1992 | |
Egypt | Arab Socialist Union | 1962 | 1976 | |
Eritrea | Eritrean People's Liberation Front | 1993 | 1994 | |
Ethiopia
|
|
|
| |
Ghana | Convention People's Party | 1964 | 1966 | |
Guinea | Democratic Party of Guinea – African Democratic Rally | 1958 | 1984 | |
Guinea-Bissau | African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde | 1974 | 1991 | |
Indonesia | Indonesian National Party | 1945 | 1945 | |
Iraq | Iraqi Arab Socialist Union | 1964 | 1968 | |
Iraq | Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party | National Progressive Front | 1968 | 2003 |
Libya | Libyan Arab Socialist Union | 1971 | 1977 | |
Democratic Republic of Madagascar | National Front for the Defense of the Revolution | 1976 | 1989 | |
Mali | Democratic Union of the Malian People | 1976 | 05/04/1991[2] | |
Mauritania | Mauritanian People's Party | 1961 | 1978 | |
São Tomé and Príncipe | Movement for the Liberation of São Tomé and Príncipe/Social Democratic Party | 1975 | 1990 | |
Senegal | Socialist Party of Senegal | 1966 | 1974 | |
Seychelles | Seychelles People's Progressive Front | 1977 | 1991 | |
Sierra Leone | All People's Congress | 1978 | 1991 | |
Democratic Republic of the Sudan | Sudanese Socialist Union | 1971 | 1985 | |
Syria | Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party | National Progressive Front | 1963 | 2011 |
Tanzania | Chama Cha Mapinduzi | 1977 | 1992 | |
Tanganyika | Tanganyika African National Union | 1961 | 1977 | |
Uganda | Uganda People's Congress | 1969 | 1971 | |
United Arab Republic | National Union | 1958 | 1961 | |
Zambia | United National Independence Party | 1972 | 1990 | |
Zanzibar | Afro-Shirazi Party | 1964 | 1977 |
Former Marxist–Leninist one-party countries
Country | Party | Popular Front | Date of establishment | Date of dissolution |
---|---|---|---|---|
Afghanistan | People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan | National Fatherland Front | 24/12/1980 | 27/06/1990 |
Democratic Government of Albania | Party of Labour of Albania | National Liberation Movement | 20/10/1944 | 05/08/1945 |
Democratic Front | 05/08/1945 | 11/01/1946 | ||
People's Republic of Albania People's Socialist Republic of Albania | Party of Labour of Albania | Democratic Front | 11/01/1946 | 11/12/1990 |
People's Republic of Angola | People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola | 11/11/1975 | 10/12/1977 | |
People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola – Labour Party | 10/12/1977 | 31/05/1991 | ||
Armenia | Communist Party of Armenia | 1920 | 1922 | |
Azerbaijan | Communist Party of Azerbaijan | 1920 | 1922 | |
Benin | People's Revolutionary Party of Benin | 1975 | 1990 | |
Bulgaria | Bulgarian Communist Party | Fatherland Front | 1946 | 1990 |
Byelorussia | Communist Party of Byelorussia | 1920 | 1922 | |
Chinese Soviet Republic | Communist Party of China | 1930 | 1937 | |
Czechoslovakia | Communist Party of Czechoslovakia | National Front | 1948 | 1989 |
Democratic People's Republic of Korea | Workers' Party of Korea | Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland | 30/06/1949 | 19/02/1992 |
East Germany | Socialist Unity Party of Germany | Democratic Bloc | 1949 | 1950 |
National Front of Democratic Germany | 1950 | 1973 | ||
National Front of the German Democratic Republic | 1973 | 1989 | ||
Estonia | Russian Communist Party (Central Committee of the Estonian Sections) | 1918 | 1919 | |
Estonia | Communist Party of Estonia | 1940 | 1940 | |
Ethiopia | Workers' Party of Ethiopia | 1984 | 1987 | |
Ethiopia | Workers' Party of Ethiopia | 1987 | 1991 | |
Finland | Communist Party of Finland | 1939 | 1940 | |
Georgia | Communist Party of Georgia | 1921 | 1922 | |
Grenada | New Jewel Movement | 1979 | 1983 | |
Guangzhou | Communist Party of China | 1927 | 1927 | |
Hunan | Communist Party of China | 1927 | 1927 | |
Hungary | Hungarian Working People's Party | 1949 | 1956 | |
Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party | 1956 | 1989 | ||
Jinggang | Communist Party of China | 1927 | 1928 | |
Kampuchea | Communist Party of Kampuchea | 1975 | 1982 | |
Kampuchea | Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party | 1979 | 1991 | |
Latvia | Communist Party of Latvia | 1918 | 1920 | |
Latvia | Communist Party of Latvia | 1940 | 1940 | |
Mongolia | Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party | 1921 | 1990 | |
Mozambique | FRELIMO | 1975 | 1990 | |
North Vietnam | Workers' Party of North Vietnam | League for the Independence of Vietnam | 1945 | 1946 |
Vietnamese National Popular Front | 1951 | 1955 | ||
Vietnamese Fatherland Front | 1955 | 1976 | ||
Lithuania | Communist Party of Lithuania | 1940 | 1940 | |
Lithuania–Byelorussia | Communist Party of Lithuania and Belorussia | 1919 | 1919 | |
People's Republic of the Congo | Congolese Party of Labour | 1969 | 1990 | |
Persia | Communist Party of Persia | 1920 | 1921 | |
Poland | Polish United Workers' Party | Front of National Unity | 1947 | 1983 |
Patriotic Movement for National Rebirth | 1983 | 1989 | ||
Romania | Romanian Communist Party | People's Democratic Front | 1948 | 1968 |
Front of Socialist Unity | 1968 | 1980 | ||
Front of Socialist Unity and Democracy | 1980 | 1989 | ||
Russia Soviet Russian Republic Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic | Russian Social Democratic Labour Party | 19/01/1918 | 08/03/1918[3] | |
Russian Communist Party | 08/03/1918[3] | 30/12/1922 | ||
Somalia | Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party | 1976 | 1991 | |
South Yemen | Yemeni Socialist Party | 1978 | 1990 | |
Southwest Jiangxi | Communist Party of China | 1930 | 1931 | |
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics | Russian Communist Party | 30/12/1922 | 31/12/1925[3] | |
All-Union Communist Party | 31/12/1925[3] | 13/10/1952[3] | ||
Communist Party of the Soviet Union | 13/10/1952[3] | 09/10/1990[4] | ||
Transcaucasia | Communist Part of Armenia | 1922 | 1922 | |
Communist Party of Azerbaijan | 1922 | 1922 | ||
Communist Party of Georgia | 1922 | 1922 | ||
Tuvan | Tuvan People's Revolutionary Party | 1921 | 1944 | |
Ukraine | Communist Party of Ukraine | 1919 | 1922 | |
Yan'an | Communist Party of China | 1937 | 1949 | |
Yemen | Yemeni Socialist Party | 1994 | 1994 | |
Yugoslavia | League of Communists of Yugoslavia | Socialist Alliance of Working People of Yugoslavia | 1945 | 1990 |
Former right-wing one-party states
Country | Party | Date of establishment | Date of dissolution |
---|---|---|---|
Hawaii | Reform Party of Hawaii | 1894 | 1898 |
Gabon | Gabonese Democratic Party | 1968 | 1990 |
Iran | Islamic Republican Party | 1981 | 1987 |
Malawi | Malawi Congress Party | 1964 | 1993 |
Niger | National Movement for the Development of Society | 1989 | 1991 |
Rwanda | National Republican Movement for Democracy and Development | 1978 | 1991 |
Kingdom of Spain
| Spanish Patriotic Union | 1924 | 1930 |
Former fascist or nationalist one-party states
Country | Party | National front | Date of establishment | Date of dissolution |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republic of Afghanistan | National Revolutionary Party | 24/02/1977[5][6] | 28/04/1978 | |
Albanian Kingdom | Albanian Fascist Party | 02/06/1939 | 27/07/1943 | |
Guard of Greater Albania | 27/07/1943 | 08/09/1943 | ||
Albanian Kingdom | National Front | 14/09/1943 | 29/11/1944 | |
Federal State of Austria | Fatherland Front | 01/05/1934 | 13/03/1938 | |
Republic of Burundi | Union for National Progress | 11/07/1974 | 13/03/1992 | |
Republic of Cameroon | Cameroonian National Union | 01/09/1966[7] | 24/03/1985 | |
Central African Republic | Central African Democratic Union | 01/03/1980 | 02/09/1981 | |
Central African Democratic Rally | 06/02/1987 | 22/04/1991[8] | ||
Republic of Chad | Chadian Progressive Party | 16/04/1962 | 06/04/1973 | |
National Movement for the Cultural and Social Revolution | 06/04/1973 | 13/04/1975 | ||
National Union for Independence and Revolution | 1984 | 1990 | ||
Comoros | Comorian Union for Progress | 1982 | 1990 | |
Independent State of Croatia | Ustaša – Croatian Revolutionary Movement | 10/04/1941 | 08/05/1945 | |
Dahomey | Dahomeyan Unity Party | 1961 | 1963 | |
Dahomeyan Democratic Party | 1963 | 1965 | ||
Dominican Republic | Dominican Party | 1931 | 1961 | |
Egypt | National Democratic Party | 1956 | 1958 | |
1961 | 1962 | |||
El Salvador | National Pro Patria Party | 1931 | 1944 | |
Equatorial Guinea | United National Workers Party | 1970 | 1979 | |
Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea | 1987 | 1991 | ||
Republic of Estonia | Patriotic League | National Front for the Implementation of the Constitution | 09/03/1935 | 21/07/1940 |
German Reich
Greater German Reich
| National Socialist German Workers' Party
| 14/07/1933
| 23/05/1945
| |
Guatemala | Progressive Liberal Party | 1931 | 1944 | |
Haiti | National Unity Party | 1957 | 1985 | |
Hungary
| Arrow Cross Party | 16/10/1944 | 07/05/1945 | |
India | Azad Hind Dal | 21/10/1943 | 18/08/1945 | |
Imperial State of Iran | Rastakhiz Party | 1975 | 1978 | |
Kingdom of Italy
| National Fascist Party
| 17/05/1928[9]
| 27/07/1943
| |
Italian Social Republic
| Republican Fascist Party | 13/09/1943 | 28/04/1945 | |
Ivory Coast | Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire – African Democratic Rally | 1960 | 1990 | |
Kenya | Kenya African National Union | 1982 | 1991 | |
Lithuania | Lithuanian Nationalist Union | 1927 | 1940 | |
Manchukuo | Concordia Association | 01/04/1932[10] | 01/05/1934[10] | |
Empire of Manchuria | Concordia Association | 01/05/1934[10] | 25/07/1934[10] | |
Manchurian Empire Concordia Association | 25/07/1934[10] | 15/08/1945[10] | ||
Reich Commissariat for the Occupied Dutch Territories | National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands | 14/12/1941 | 06/05/1945 | |
Niger | Nigerien Progressive Party – African Democratic Rally | 1960 | 1974 | |
North Yemen | General People's Congress | 1982 | 1988 | |
Norway
| National Gathering | 01/02/1942 | 09/05/1945 | |
Ottoman Empire | Committee of Union and Progress | 1913 | 1918 | |
Paraguay | Colorado Party | 1947 | 1962 | |
Philippine Executive Commission | Association for Service to the New Philippines | 08/12/1942 | 14/10/1943 | |
Republic of the Philippines | Association for Service to the New Philippines | 14/10/1943 | 17/08/1945 | |
Portugal
| National Union | 30/07/1930[11] | 08/10/1945[11] | |
31/01/1948[12] | 25/04/1974 | |||
Romania
| National Renaissance Front | 16/12/1938 | 21/06/1940 | |
Party of the Nation | 21/06/1940 | 06/09/1940 | ||
Iron Guard | 14/09/1940 | 23/01/1941 | ||
Rwanda | Parmehutu | 1965 | 1973 | |
San Marino | Sammarinese Fascist Party | 1926 | 1943 | |
Republican Fascist Party of San Marino | 1943 | 1944 | ||
Slovak Republic | Hlinka's Slovak People's Party – Party of Slovak National Unity | 14/03/1939 | 08/05/1945 | |
Spanish State
| Falange | 19/04/1937 | 06/07/1976[13] | |
Sudan | National Congress Party | 1989 | 2005 | |
Togo | Party of Togolese Unity | 1962 | 1963 | |
Rally of the Togolese People | 1969 | 1991 | ||
Turkmenistan | Democratic Party of Turkmenistan | 1992 | 2008 | |
Upper Volta | Voltaic Democratic Union-African Democratic Rally | 1960 | 1966 | |
Yugoslavia | Yugoslav Radical Peasants' Democracy | 1929 | 1931 | |
Zaire | Popular Movement of the Revolution | 1970 | 1990 |
See also
- Ban on factions in the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
- Political organisation
- Dominant-party system
- Political factionalism
- Outline of democracy
- Multi-party system
- Two-party system
- List of political party songs
Notes
References
^ Cuba: Elections and Events 1991–2001 Archived 2007-03-01 at the Wayback Machine Latin American Election Statistics Home
^ 24. Mali (1960-present)
^ abcdef The Constitution of the Russian Federation: A Contextual Analysis By Jane Henderson
^ Ideology And Political System By Kundan Kumar
^ Afghanistan: A Country Study
^ Afghanistan 1977
^ The Search for a Cameroonian Model of Democracy or the Search for the Domination of the State Party: 1966-2006
^ Central African Republic Unions Strike for Democracy 1990-1993
^ Mediterranean Fascism 1919–1945
^ abcdef China at War: Regions of China, 1937-1945
^ ab 12th Period - Second Republic of Portugal
^ Fascism and Resistance in Portugal: Communists, Liberals and Military
^ Law 21/1976, of June 14, on the Right of Political Association.
External links
- Map of One Party States, 1945-95
One-party states in Africa BBC- List of One-Party Regimes