Single-party state

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(Redirected from One-party system)
Jump to: navigation, search
States in which the constitution mandates power to a sole party are colored brown. Click the image for an explanation of the color codes.
States in which the constitution mandates power to a sole party are colored brown. Click the image for an explanation of the color codes.

A single-party state or one-party system or single-party system is a type of party system government in which a single political party forms the government and no other parties are permitted to run candidates for election. Sometimes the term de facto single-party state is used to describe a dominant-party system where unfair laws or practices prevent the opposition from legally getting power. Some single party states only outlaw opposition parties, while allowing subordinate allied parties to exist as part of a permanent coalition such as a popular front. Within their own countries, dominant parties ruling over single-party states are often referred to simply as the Party.

A one-party system should not be confused with a non-partisan democracy which prohibits all political parties. Also, some one-party states may allow non-party members to run for legislative seats, as was the case with Taiwan's Tangwai movement in the 1970s and 1980s.

In most cases, single-party states have arisen from Leninist, fascist or nationalist ideologies, particularly in the wake of independence from colonial rule. One-party systems often arise from decolonization because one party has had an overwhelmingly dominant role in liberation or in independence struggles.

Where the ruling party subscribes to a form of Marxism-Leninism, the one-party state system is usually called a communist state, though such states do not use that term to describe themselves, adopting instead the title of people's republic, socialist republic or democratic republic. In communist states such as Cuba, the role of the Communist Party is enshrined in the constitution, and no party is permitted to campaign or run candidates for election, including the Communist party. Candidates are elected on an individual referendum basis without formal party involvement, though elected assemblies predominantly consist of members of the dominant party alongside non-affiliated candidates.[1]

Contents

The True Whig Party of Liberia is considered the founder of the first single-party state in the world. The party was the brainchild of the original Black American settlers and their descendants who referred to themselves as Americo-Liberians. Initially, its ideology was heavily influenced by that of the United States party of the same name. Overtime it morphed into powerful Masonic Order that ruled every aspect of Liberian society for well over a century until it was overthrown in 1980. Although the True Whig Party still exist today its influence has declined substantially.


The following list includes the countries that are legally constituted as single-party states as of 2007 and the name of the single party in power:

Examples include:

  1. ^ Cuba: Elections and Events 1991-2001 Latin American Election Statistics Home

v • d • e
Forms of Government and Methods of Rule: Autocratic and Authoritarian
Autocratic Despotism · Dictatorship · Tyranny · Absolute monarchy · Caliphate · Despotate · Emirate · Empire · Khanate · Sultanate · Other monarchical titles · Enlightened absolutism
Other Authoritarian Military dictatorship (often a Junta) · Oligarchy · Single-party state (Communist state · Fascist(oid) state) · de facto: Illiberal democracy
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single-party_state"
Advanced Search
Included Web Search Engines


Safe Search

close

Top Matching Results

Occasionally Search.com will highlight specialized results that are based on the context of your query. Examples of specialized results include specific links to news, images, or video.

Top Matching Results may highlight information from other Search.com pages, content from the CNET Network of sites, or third party content. The listings are based purely on relevance. Search.com does not receive payment for listings in this section but our partners that provide this data may get paid for listing these products.

Sponsored Links

This section contains paid listings which have been purchased by companies that want to have their sites appear for specific search terms and related content. These listings are administered, sorted and maintained by a third party and are not endorsed by Search.com.

Search Results

Search.com sends your search query to several search engines at one time and integrates the results into one list which has been sorted by relevance using Search.com's proprietary algorithm. You can customize the list of search engines included in your metasearch from the preferences.

The search engines that are used in your metasearch may allow companies to pay to have their Web sites included within the results. To view the Paid Inclusion policy for a specific search engine, please visit their Web site. Search.com does not accept payment or share revenue with any search engine partner for listings in this section.