One-party state
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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. In a one-party state, all opposition parties are either outlawed or have limited and controlled participation in elections. The expression "de facto one-party" 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.
Membership in the ruling party tends to be relatively small compared to the population. 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 multi-party democracies at a lower rate than dominant-party dictatorships. While one-party states prohibit opposition parties, some allow for independent candidates to stand for election in competition with party candidates. Therefore, they place elites and sympathetic candidates in key administrative races. For example, the Chinese Communist Party exercises political control by infiltrating village administrations. They view these positions as crucial for gathering information on the population and maintaining a presence in the far reaches of their borders.
One-party states recognize the trade-off between election victory and gathering valuable data. To account for this, the governments have been observed placing local nobility in easy-to-win races. One-party states have also been observed using elections to ensure that only the most popular elites get chosen to office. They also gather data from elections to indicate if a local official is performing poorly in the eyes of the residents. This gives locals the opportunity to monitor local officials and communicate satisfaction with the local government. Throughout the country, members of the one party hold key political positions. In doing so, the party avoids committing outright fraud and rather sustains their power at the local level with strategic appointment of elites. Data on one-party governments can be difficult to gather given their lack of transparency.
Current one-party states
The following countries are legally constituted as one-party states:
| Country | Head of party | Leader title | Party | Ideology | Date of establishment | Duration | Constitutional basis | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| China | Xi Jinping | General Secretary | Chinese Communist Party | Socialism with Chinese characteristics Marxism-Leninism | 1 October 1949 | 76 years, 198 days | Article 1 of the Constitution: "Leadership by the Communist Party of China is the defining feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics." | Eight minor parties have legal status as part of the "united front" system, but their leadership is determined by the Chinese Communist Party's United Front Work Department |
| Cuba | Miguel Díaz-Canel | First Secretary | Communist Party of Cuba | Marxism–Leninism Castroism Guevarism Left-wing nationalism | 3 October 1965 | 65 years, 1 day | Article 5 of the Constitution: "The Communist Party of Cuba, unique, Martiano, Fidelista, and Marxist-Leninist, the organized vanguard of the Cuban nation, sustained in its democratic character as well as its permanent linkage to the people, is the superior driving force of the society and the State." | |
| Eritrea | Isaias Afwerki | Chairperson | People's Front for Democracy and Justice | Eritrean nationalism Statism Left-wing nationalism | 16 February 1994 | 32 years, 60 days | ||
| Laos | Thongloun Sisoulith | General Secretary | Lao People's Revolutionary Party | Kaysone Phomvihane Thought Marxism-Leninism | 2 December 1975 | 50 years, 136 days | Article 3 of the Constitution: "The rights of the multi-ethnic people to be the masters of the country are exercised and ensured through the functioning of the political system with the Lao People's Revolutionary Party as its leading nucleus." | |
| North Korea | Kim Jong Un | General Secretary | Workers' Party of Korea | Kimilsungism–Kimjongilism Juche Communism | 9 September 1948 | 77 years, 220 days | Article 11 of the Constitution: "The Democratic People's Republic of Korea shall conduct all activities under the leadership of the Workers' Party of Korea." | Two minor parties are legally recognised, but are under the control of the Workers' Party of Korea |
| Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic | Brahim Ghali | Secretary General | Polisario Front | Sahrawi nationalism Arab socialism | 27 February 1976 | 50 years, 49 days | Article 32 of the Constitution: "Until the complete recovery of national sovereignty, the Frente POLISARIO shall be the political framework that shall unite and mobilise politically the Sahrawis to express their aspirations and legitimate rights to self-determination and independence and to defend their national unity and complete the building of their independent Sahrawi State." | State with limited recognition, headquartered in Algeria |
| Vietnam | Tô Lâm | General Secretary | Communist Party of Vietnam | Ho Chi Minh Thought Marxism-Leninism | 2 September 1945 | 80 years, 227 days | Article 4 of the Constitution: " Communist Party of Vietnam - the Vanguard of the working class, concurrently the vanguard of the labouring people and Vietnamese nation, faithfully representing the interests of the working class, labouring people and entire nation, and acting upon the Marxist-Leninist doctrine and Ho Chi Minh Thought, is the force leading the State and society." | Two minor parties, the Democratic Party of Vietnam and Socialist Party of Vietnam, had legal status within the Vietnam Fatherland Front until 1988. |
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. 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. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Azerbaijan | New Azerbaijan Party | 2010 | Although Azerbaijan is officially a constitutional democracy, and opposition parties remain active within the country, the New Azerbaijan Party and the ruling Aliyev family have maintained power uninterrupted since 1993. Founded by Heydar Aliyev, the former head of state of the Azerbaijan SSR, his son Ilham Aliyev has maintained the presidential position since 2003. Aliyev amended the Constitution to remove term limits in 2009, and while presidential elections are held, Aliyev consistently receives over 80% of the vote. Legislatively, the National Assembly has nominal powers under the Azerbaijan Constitution, but in practice power is heavily concentrated in the ruling party. Between 1993 and 2010, major opposition parties were allowed some representation in the Assembly in each election. However, since 2010, no opposition parties have held seats in the Assembly. There are nominal opposition parties and independents but they are supportive of the Aliyev regime. Consequently, parliamentary elections are not considered free or fair. |
| Cambodia | Cambodian People's Party | 2017 | While Cambodia is constitutionally a multi-party state, 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. |
| Cameroon | Cameroon People's Democratic Movement | 1997 | Although multiparty elections have been held since 1992 and other parties have minimal legislative seats, the Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (RDPC), the ruling party since independence, has always retained control of the National Assembly. The Cameroonian political system invests overwhelming power in the hands of the President of the Republic, Paul Biya, and the RDPC exists essentially to support Biya and his policies. The RDPC has held supermajorities in the National Assembly since 2002, and in the Senate since its formation in 2013. |
| Equatorial Guinea | Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea | 2013 | Equatorial Guinea, historically a one party-state under the PDGE from 1987 to 1992, has one nominal opposition party with the Convergence for Social Democracy. However, the opposition held at most 2 seats in the Chamber of Deputies between 1999, and 2013, and has held no seats in either the Chamber of Deputies or the Senate since 2013. The PDGE, by comparison, has held all seats in the Senate since 2013 and in the Chamber of Deputies since 2022 (CPDS did not run any candidates in 2017). |
| 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. |
| Russia | United Russia | 2009 | As of 2009, United Russia won a majority of seats in almost every Russian municipality. Opposition candidates stated they were hindered from campaigning for the elections, and some were denied places on the ballot. There were allegations of widespread ballot stuffing and voter intimidation, as well as statistical analysis results supporting these accusations. |
| Rwanda | Rwandan Patriotic Front | 1994 | Although Rwanda nominally allows for multiparty elections, they are manipulated in various ways, including bans on opposition parties, arrests or assassinations of critics, and electoral fraud. |
| Togo | Union for the Republic | 2024 | The official continuation of the Rally of the Togolese People, which ruled Togo as a one-party state under Gnassingbe Eyadema from 1967 to 1994, the Union for the Republic, has maintained power under Eyadema's son, Faure Gnassingbe, since its establishment in 2012. Although opposition parties exist within the country and other parties nominally hold seats in the National Assembly, the Union for the Republic has maintained an absolute majority since 2018 due to opposition boycotts while other represented parties only expedite the ruling party's legislation. This is demonstrated by the legislature's extension of Gnassingbe's term limit in 2019, extending it to 2030. With the 2024 Togolese parliamentary election, the UPLR received 108 seats out of 113, while also enabling Gnassingbe's revision of the Constitution switch from a semi-presidential system to a parliamentary one. With the parliamentary supermajority enabling Gnassingbe to become prime minister, the lack of term limits for the prime ministerial position, and the transformation of the presidency into a ceremonial figurehead, the party solidified Gnassingbe to rule for life like his father previously. |
| Venezuela | 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. |
| Uganda | National Resistance Movement | 1986 | Since assuming office in 1986 at the end of the Ugandan civil war, Yoweri Museveni has ruled Uganda as a dictator. Political parties were banned from 1986 to 2006 in the wake of the 2005 Ugandan multi-party referendum which was won by pro-democracy forces. Since 2006, Museveni has used legal means, patronage, and violence to maintain power. |
Former one-party states
See also
- Dominant-party system
- Ban on factions in the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
- Multi-party system
- Outline of democracy
- Political factionalism
- Political organisation
- Two-party system
- Uniparty
- Unitary parliamentary republic
- Landslide victory