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A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system or single-party system is a governance structure in which only a single political party controls the ruling system.[1] In a one-party state, all opposition parties are either outlawed or enjoy limited and controlled participation in elections. The term "de facto one-party state" is sometimes used to describe a dominant-party system that, unlike a one-party state, allows (at least nominally) multiparty elections, but the existing practices or balance of political power effectively prevent the opposition from winning power.[2]
Membership in the ruling party tends to be relatively small compared to the population.[3] With such a small winning coalition, leaders in one-party states usually lack the incentive to care about the well-being of citizens.[4] Rather, they give out private goods to fellow elites to ensure continued support. One-party, compared to dominant-party dictatorships, structure themselves unlike democracies. They also turn into democracies at a lower rate than dominant-party dictatorships.[5] While one-party states prohibit opposition parties, some allow for elections at the smallest local level. One-party states lack any legitimate competition. Therefore, they place elites and sympathetic candidates in key administrative races.[6] For example, the Chinese Communist Party exercises political control by infiltrating village administrations.[7] They view these positions as crucial for gathering information on the population and maintaining a presence in the far reaches of their borders.[8]
One-party states recognize the trade-off between election victory and gathering valuable data.[9] To account for this, the regimes have been observed placing local nobility in easy-to-win races.[10] One-party states have also been observed using elections to ensure that only the most popular elites get chosen to office.[11] They also gather data from elections to indicate if a local official is performing poorly in the eyes of the residents.[11] This gives locals the opportunity to monitor local officials and communicate satisfaction with the local government.[11] Throughout the country, members of the one party hold key political positions.[5] In doing so, the party avoids committing outright fraud and rather sustains their power at the local level with strategic appointment of elites.[8] Data on one-party regimes can be difficult to gather given their lack of transparency.[6]
Current one-party states
As of 2024, the following countries are legally constituted as one-party states:
De facto one-party states
A de facto one-party system is one that, while not officially linking a single political party to governmental power, utilizes some means of political manipulation to ensure only one party stays in power.[23] Many different countries have been claimed to be de facto one-party states, with differing levels of agreement between scholars, although most agree that the African continent is marked by this political system.[24][25][26] Below are just a few examples of governments that have been claimed to have single party rule due to political manipulation.
Country | Party | Date of
establishment |
Information |
---|---|---|---|
Cambodia | Cambodian People's Party | 2017 | While Cambodia is constitutionally a multi-party state,[27] the Cambodian People's Party dominates its political system, and the party dissolved its main opposition party in 2017, making Cambodia a de facto one-party state.[28] |
Nicaragua | Sandinista National Liberation Front | 2021 | Although Nicaragua has been practicing multiparty elections since 1990, the country has become a de facto one-party state with Sandinista National Liberation Front as the sole dominating party and was consolidated after the 2021 Nicaraguan general election.[29] |
Rwanda | Rwandan Patriotic Front | 1994 | Although Rwanda nominally allows for multiparty elections, they are manipulated in various ways, which include the banning of opposition parties, the arrests or assassinations of critics, and electoral fraud.[30][31] |
Venezuela[32] | United Socialist Party of Venezuela | 2017 | Since 2014, the country has been going through a period of crisis of legitimacy and exceptionality due to the order to close the National Assembly and the convocation of a Constituent Assembly by Nicolás Maduro on May 1, 2017, composed mostly of PSUV politicians. Since then, different laws have been approved to restrict political participation, including informal persecution and the disqualification of certain politicians (including complaints of electoral fraud), concluding in 2024, at which point, because of new laws, the majority of opposition politicians have been disqualified and their organizations banned, leaving only a controlled opposition.[33][34] |
Former one-party states
See also
Notes
- ^ Previously known as the Democratic Republic of Vietnam from 2 September 1945 to 25 April 1976.[20] Reunified with the Republic of South Vietnam on 2 July 1976.[21][22]
- ^ The Republic of China controlled the mainland from 1912 to 1949 and the island of Taiwan since 1945, in which the ROC currently administers the Free area. This government served China in the United Nations from 1945 to 1971. See Political status of Taiwan and the One-China policy for various viewpoints.
- ^ Following the appointment of Marcelo Caetano as Prime Minister in 1968, the opposition was allowed to run to the 1969 Portuguese legislative election, before being banned.
References
- ^ Clark, William Roberts; Golder, Matt; Golder, Sona Nadenichek (23 March 2012). Principles of Comparative Politics. SAGE. p. 611. ISBN 9781608716791.
- ^ "One-Party States | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
- ^ Angiolillo, Fabio (27 April 2023). "Introducing the One-Party Membership Dataset: A dataset on party membership in autocracies". Journal of Peace Research. 61 (4): 694–708. doi:10.1177/00223433231155278. ISSN 0022-3433.
- ^ Hanson, Stephen E. (2009), "The Contribution of Area Studies", The SAGE Handbook of Comparative Politics, 1 Oliver's Yard, 55 City Road, London EC1Y 1SP United Kingdom: SAGE Publications Ltd, pp. 159–174, doi:10.4135/9780857021083.n10, ISBN 9781412919760, S2CID 184118662, retrieved 4 March 2023
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- ^ a b Creak, Simon; Barney, Keith (10 August 2018). "Conceptualising Party-State Governance and Rule in Laos". Journal of Contemporary Asia. 48 (5): 693–716. doi:10.1080/00472336.2018.1494849. ISSN 0047-2336. S2CID 158403649.
- ^ Hassan, Mai; Mattingly, Daniel; Nugent, Elizabeth R. (12 May 2022). "Political Control". Annual Review of Political Science. 25 (1): 155–174. doi:10.1146/annurev-polisci-051120-013321. ISSN 1094-2939. S2CID 241393914.
- ^ a b MALESKY, EDMUND; SCHULER, PAUL (26 October 2011). "The Single-Party Dictator's Dilemma: Information in Elections without Opposition". Legislative Studies Quarterly. 36 (4): 491–530. doi:10.1111/j.1939-9162.2011.00025.x. ISSN 0362-9805.
- ^ Frantz, Erica. Authoritarianism : what everyone needs to know. ISBN 978-0-19-756964-1. OCLC 1202872902.
- ^ Frantz, Erica. Authoritarianism : what everyone needs to know. ISBN 978-0-19-756964-1. OCLC 1202872902.
- ^ a b c Gandhi, Jennifer; Lust-Okar, Ellen (1 June 2009). "Elections Under Authoritarianism". Annual Review of Political Science. 12 (1): 403–422. doi:10.1146/annurev.polisci.11.060106.095434. ISSN 1094-2939.
- ^ "China", The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 26 January 2023, retrieved 5 February 2023
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- ^ Roman, Peter (2003). People's Power: Cuba's Experience with Representative Government. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 0-7425-2564-3.
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- ^ Tertitskiy, Fyodor (26 November 2014). "Being a minor party in the North". NK News. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
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- ^ "How Did the Vietnam War Affect the Economy – 551 Words | Bartleby".
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- ^ "Ho Chi Minh on Independence and Freedom - Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung". 29 August 2019.
- ^ McLean, Iain; McMillan, Alistair (2009). "One-Party State". Oxford Reference. doi:10.1093/acref/9780199207800.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-920780-0. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
- ^ Ziemer, Klaus (1995), Kirk-Greene, Anthony; Bach, Daniel (eds.), "The African One-Party State", State and Society in Francophone Africa since Independence, St Antony’s/Macmillan Series, London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, pp. 97–105, doi:10.1007/978-1-349-23826-2_7, ISBN 978-1-349-23826-2, retrieved 27 August 2023
- ^ Mitchinson, Naomi (January 1984). "One party rule in Africa". The Round Table. 73 (289): 38–44. doi:10.1080/00358538408453617. ISSN 0035-8533.
- ^ Schachter, Ruth (June 1961). "Single-Party Systems in West Africa". American Political Science Review. 55 (2): 294–307. doi:10.2307/1952240. ISSN 0003-0554. JSTOR 1952240.
- ^ "CONSTITUTION OF THE KINGDOM OF CAMBODIA". pressocm.gov.kh. Office of the Council of Ministers. 25 January 2017. Archived from the original on 19 August 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
- ^ Barrett, Chris (10 November 2022). "Biden, Albanese urged to fight repression in Cambodia". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 17 November 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
- ^ "Under Daniel Ortega, Nicaragua has become a one-party state". The Economist. 10 November 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
- ^ Thomson, Susan (2018). Rwanda: From Genocide to Precarious Peace. Yale University Press. p. 185. ISBN 978-0-300-23591-3.
- ^ Ph.D, Joseph Sebarenzi; Twagiramungu, Noel (8 April 2019). "Rwanda's economic growth could be derailed by its autocratic regime". The Conversation. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
- ^ "NA: "Regime wants to build a one-party political system". El Universal (in Spanish). 18 June 2020. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
- ^ Itriago Acosta, Andreina (2 April 2024). "'Anti-Fascism' Law to Tighten Crackdown on Venezuelan Opposition". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
- ^ Maria Delgado, Antonio (5 April 2024). "Maduro prepared harsh law to further punish criticism of Venezuela regime". Miami Herald. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
- ^ Afghanistan: A Country Study. Claitor's Law Books and Publishing. 2001. ISBN 978-1-57980-744-3.
- ^ "Afghanistan 1977". Princeton University. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012.
- ^ British Documents on Foreign Affairs. Reports and Papers from the Foreign Office Confidential Print: Burma, Ceylon, India and Pakistan. Volume 7. October 1947-December 1948. University Publications of America. 2001. p. 45. ISBN 155655768X.
- ^ British Documents on Foreign Affairs. Reports and Papers from the Foreign Office Confidential Print: Burma, Ceylon, India and Pakistan. Volume 7. October 1947-December 1948. University Publications of America. 2001. p. 45. ISBN 155655768X.
- ^ Mokam, David (2012). "The Search for a Cameroonian Model of Democracy or the Search for the Domination of the State Party: 1966-2006". Cadernos de Estudos Africanos (23): 85–108. doi:10.4000/cea.533.
- ^ Vehesh, M. M.; Palinchak, M. M.; Marchuk, V. V.; Kontsur-Karabinovych, N. M. (2020). Carpathian Ukraine in the Central European political crisis on the eve of World War II (1938-1939): collective monograph (PDF). Liha-Pres. pp. 21, 22, 24. ISBN 9789663972121. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 May 2023.
- ^ Токар, М. (2004). "Становлення партійної монополії Українського Національного Обʼєднання" (PDF). Науковий вісник Ужгородського університету. Серія: Історія (11): 105–112. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 May 2023.
- ^ Токар, М. (2004). "Становлення партійної монополії Українського Національного Обʼєднання" (PDF). Науковий вісник Ужгородського університету. Серія: Історія (11): 106. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 May 2023.
- ^ Central African Republic Unions Strike for Democracy 1990-1993
- ^ Schneiderman, Harry (1938). "Danzig". The American Jewish Year Book. 40: 226–228. JSTOR 23602316.
- ^ Hepburn, A. (7 April 2004). Contested Cities in the Modern West. Springer. ISBN 978-0-230-53674-6.
- ^ Delzell, Charles Floyd (18 June 1971). Mediterranean Fascism 1919–1945. Springer. ISBN 978-1-349-00240-5.
- ^ Ivanauskaitė-Pettinari, Kristina. POLITINIŲ PARTIJŲ TEISINIO STATUSO RAIDA LIETUVOJE 1918–1940 M. Doctoral dissertation. p. 1937
- ^ a b MacKinnon, Stephen R. (2007). China at War: Regions of China, 1937-45. Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-5509-2.
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