Concept
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. For example, in reference to the Soviet Union, the Party meant the Communist Party of the Soviet Union; in reference to the former People's Republic of Poland it referred to the Polish United Workers' Party.
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. Other single-party states may allow limited participation by approved minor parties, such as the People's Republic of China under the United Front, or the National Front in former East Germany.
Most single-party states have been ruled either by parties following the ideology of Marxism-Leninism or international solidarity, such as the Soviet Union for most of its existence, by parties following some type of nationalist or fascist ideology, such as Germany under Adolf Hitler, or parties that came to power 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. Not all authoritarian states and dictatorships operate based on single-party rule. Some, especially absolute monarchies and certain military dictatorships, have made 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, where 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.
Read more about this topic: Single-party State
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