Dominant-party system

A dominant-party system, or one-party dominant system is a political system in which opposition groups or parties are permitted, but a single party dominates election results.[1] Any ruling party staying in power for more than one consecutive term may be considered a dominant (also referred to as predominant or hegemonic) party.[2]

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Between 1950 and 2017, more than 130 countries were included in the list of dominant-party systems, i.e., almost every state in the world on national, sub-national and district levels, both democratic and authoritarian.[3]

Contemporary examples include United Russia (UR) in Russia, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Turkey, the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) in Serbia,[4][5] the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) in Venezuela, the Justicialist Party (PJ) in Argentina, the New Azerbaijan Party (YAP) in Azerbaijan, Georgian Dream in Georgia, Nur Otan in Kazakhstan, the People's Democratic Party of Tajikistan (PDPT) in Tajikistan, the Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic Party in Uzbekistan, the Mongolian People's Party (MPP) in Mongolia, Fidesz in Hungary, the People's Action Party (PAP) in Singapore, the Scottish National Party (SNP) in Scotland, Welsh Labour in Wales, the African National Congress (ANC) in South Africa,[6] the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in Japan,[6] the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) in Cambodia, the Awami League in Bangladesh, the ZANU–PF in Zimbabwe, the National Resistance Movement (NRM) in Uganda, the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) in Botswana, the MPLA in Angola, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) in Rwanda, the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) in Samoa, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) in Tanzania, SWAPO in Namibia and the CNDD–FDD in Burundi.

Theory

Critics of the "dominant party" theory argue that it views the meaning of democracy as given, and that it assumes that only a particular conception of representative democracy (in which different parties alternate frequently in power) is valid.[6] Raymond Suttner, himself a former leader of the African National Congress (ANC), argues that "the dominant party 'system' is deeply flawed as a mode of analysis and lacks explanatory capacity. But it is also a very conservative approach to politics. Its fundamental political assumptions are restricted to one form of democracy, electoral politics and hostile to popular politics. This is manifest in the obsession with the quality of electoral opposition and its sidelining or ignoring of popular political activity organised in other ways. The assumption in this approach is that other forms of organisation and opposition are of limited importance or a separate matter from the consolidation of their version of democracy."[6]

One of the dangers of dominant parties is "the tendency of dominant parties to conflate party and state and to appoint party officials to senior positions irrespective of their having the required qualities."[6] However, in some countries this is common practice even when there is no dominant party.[6] In contrast to one-party systems, dominant-party systems can occur within a context of a democratic system. In a one-party system other parties are banned, but in dominant-party systems other political parties are tolerated, and (in democratic dominant-party systems) operate without overt legal impediment, but do not have a realistic chance of winning; the dominant party genuinely wins the votes of the vast majority of voters every time (or, in authoritarian systems, claims to). Under authoritarian dominant-party systems, which may be referred to as "electoralism" or "soft authoritarianism", opposition parties are legally allowed to operate, but are too weak or ineffective to seriously challenge power, perhaps through various forms of corruption, constitutional quirks that intentionally undermine the ability for an effective opposition to thrive, institutional and/or organizational conventions that support the status quo, occasional but not omnipresent political repression, or inherent cultural values averse to change.

In some states opposition parties are subject to varying degrees of official harassment and most often deal with restrictions on free speech (such as press laws), lawsuits against the opposition, and rules or electoral systems (such as gerrymandering of electoral districts) designed to put them at a disadvantage. In some cases outright electoral fraud keeps the opposition from power. On the other hand, some dominant-party systems occur, at least temporarily, in countries that are widely seen, both by their citizens and outside observers, to be textbook examples of democracy. An example of a genuine democratic dominant-party system would be the pre-Emergency India, which was almost universally viewed by all as being a democratic state, even though the only major national party at that time was the Indian National Congress. The reasons why a dominant-party system may form in such a country are often debated: supporters of the dominant party tend to argue that their party is simply doing a good job in government and the opposition continuously proposes unrealistic or unpopular changes, while supporters of the opposition tend to argue that the electoral system disfavors them (for example because it is based on the principle of first past the post), or that the dominant party receives a disproportionate amount of funding from various sources and is therefore able to mount more persuasive campaigns. In states with ethnic issues, one party may be seen as being the party for an ethnicity or race with the party for the majority ethnic, racial or religious group dominating, e.g., the African National Congress in South Africa (governing since 1994) has strong support amongst Black South Africans and the Ulster Unionist Party governed Northern Ireland from its creation in 1921 until 1972 with the support of the Protestant majority.

Sub-national entities are often dominated by one party due to the area's demographic being on one end of the spectrum. For example, the current elected government of the District of Columbia has been governed by Democrats since its creation in the 1970s, Bavaria by the Christian Social Union since 1957, Madeira by the Social Democrats since 1976, and Alberta by Progressive Conservatives from 1971 to 2015. On the other hand, where the dominant party rules nationally on a genuinely democratic basis, the opposition may be strong in one or more subnational areas, possibly even constituting a dominant party locally; an example is South Africa, where although the African National Congress is dominant at the national level, the opposition Democratic Alliance is strong to dominant in the Province of Western Cape.

Current dominant-party systems

Africa

Americas

Canada

Canada's lower house, the House of Commons of the Parliament of Canada, is a multi-party system. Multiple political parties are represented, however every federal election since WWII has seen in essence only two federal parties win enough seats to form a government: the Liberal Party, and various iterations of a conservative party including the now defunct Progressive Conservative Party of Canada and the newly-formed Conservative Party, which governed from 2006 to 2015.

With the emergence and strengthening of regional, and other non-traditional parties such as the Bloc Québécois following the Meech Lake Accord and the New Democratic Party, which have both served as the Official Opposition, both the Liberal and Conservative Party have relied on unofficial support from these smaller parties when in Minority Governments.

The Liberal Party of Canada has nonetheless been dominant in federal politics of Canada since its founding. So much so, that critics and academics alike have sometimes described the Liberal Party as "Canada's natural governing party".[14]

As of 2020, the Liberal Party of Canada has governed for 83 of the past 120 years. Canada's 23rd Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, has been the 13th Liberal to serve as Prime Minister.

The party ruled between 1935 and 1984 (the only exceptions being in 1957–1963 and 1979–1980), as well as 1896–1911, 1921–1930 (except a few months), and 1993–2006. In late 2006, the newly formed Conservative Party of Canada were elected, governing until 2015.

After a nearly a decade in opposition, the Liberals returned to power following the 2015 election and were subsequently re-elected in the 2019 election. [15]

  •  Alberta has been predominantly ruled by conservative parties since 1971. From 1971 to 2015, the ruling party was the Progressive Conservative Party. In the 2015 election, a split creating the Wildrose Party led to a one-off NDP led government due to the First Past the Post electoral system despite both right wing parties between them having a far bigger share of the vote. The Wildrose and Progressive Conservative parties reconciled to form the United Conservative Party of Alberta, restoring the conservatives' dominant position and governing from 2019 to present.
  •  Saskatchewan has seen the Saskatchewan Party win four consecutive elections in 2007, 2011, 2016, and 2020; with a majority government secured for the party in each of them. The Saskatchewan Party won 51 of the 61 seats in the 2016 election.

United States

As a whole, the nation has a two-party system, with the main parties since the mid-19th century being Democratic Party and the Republican Party. However, some states and cities have been dominated by one of these parties for up to several decades. Generally, the Democratic Party dominate in the urban metropolitan areas, while the Republican Party dominate in the rural areas. Following the 2018 elections, the Republican Party continued to hold a majority of State Legislatures and a majority of Governorships. However the Democratic Party won a majority of seats in the House of Representatives, while the Republican Party increased their majority in the Senate, resulting in a split Congress. As a consequence of Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 election, the Democratic Party also controls the Presidency.

Dominated by the Democratic Party:

  •  California had Republican governors as late as 2011 (except 1975-1983 and 1999-2003) but has voted for Democrats in national races and has a legislature dominated by the Democrats since the 1990s. Due to the top two primary election, many statewide and local races are contested by two members of the Democratic Party in the general election. State Legislatures are controlled by the Democrats since 1970 (except 1994-1996).
    • United States presidential election, 2016: Hillary Clinton (Democratic) 61.73% and won 55 electoral votes
    • United States Senate election, 2016: Democrats 61.6%
    • State Assembly election, 2016: Democrats 61.08% and won 55 of 80 seats
    • United States House of Representatives elections Democrats 63.91% and won 39 of 53 seats
  •  District of Columbia has been continuously governed by Democrats since the Home Rule Act of 1973 was passed.
  •  Hawaii has been dominated by Democrats since the Democratic Revolution of 1954. Beforehand, the then-Territory of Hawaii was dominated by Republicans and a sugar oligarchy.
  •  Illinois has been governed under a Democratic super-majority in both houses of the legislature and the governorship since the 2018 elections. Chicago, has been historically dominated by the Cook County Democratic Party – the office of mayor has been filled by a Democrat continuously since 1931.
  •  New York has an overwhelmingly Democratic population. Democrats have controlled all statewide offices since 2006 (not counting the governor, a Republican was last elected statewide in 2002).
  •  Oregon, while once a heavily Republican state, has had only one Republican governor since 1975, has voted Democrat in every Presidential election since 1988, and had no Republican statewide elected officials from 2002 until the election of Dennis Richardson as Oregon Secretary of State in 2016.
  •  Massachusetts has been dominated by Democrats for several decades, however there have been a number of Republican governors including the current governor Charlie Baker
  •  Maryland has been dominated by Democrats since the Civil War, with some exceptions.
  •  Washington, in a manner similar to Oregon, has not had a Republican governor since 1985.

Dominated by the Republican Party:

  •  Alabama: dominated by Republicans since the mid-1990s.
  •  Idaho has been dominated by Republicans for most of its existence, with no Democratic governors since 1994 and only two years in which the State Senate was tied evenly since 1960.
  •  Kansas has been dominated by Republicans for most of its existence, with only four years of Democratic majorities in the State House of Representatives since 1915 and only Republican majorities in the same period. Since 1967, however, five of the last nine governors have been Democrats, although one of these Democrats only held office for two years.[16]
  •  Louisiana is dominated by the Republicans. New Orleans, however, has been dominated by the Democratic Party since the 19th century.
  •  Mississippi: dominated by Republicans since the mid-1990s.
  •  Nebraska has been dominated by Republicans for most of its existence, with a non-partisan legislature (where a de facto Republican majority has held since records began in 2007), mostly Republican governors and elected cabinet officials and only one Republican who changed party to Democrat in 2006 holding state-level partisan office since 1999.
  •  South Carolina: dominated by Republicans since the mid-1990s.
  •  South Dakota has been dominated by Republicans for most of its existence, aside from a few Democratic and Populist governments and coalitions with Republicans, with only three elected high officials and two years of State Senate dominance since 1979.
  •  Texas: dominated by Republicans since the mid-1990s.
  •  Utah has been dominated by Republicans for most of its existence, except for Democratic dominance during the Fifth Party System and between 1917 and 1920, the 1890s, and between 1959 and 1984.
  •  Wyoming has been dominated by Republicans for most of its existence, with only four years where a house of the legislature has been Democratic since 1939, and mostly Republican governors during that period.

Dominant-party systems can also exist on native reservations with republican forms of government. The Seneca Nation of Indians, a tribe with territory within the bounds of New York State, has had the Seneca Party as the dominant party in its political system for several decades.

Asia and Oceania

Eurasia

Europe

Formerly dominant parties

North America

Caribbean and Central America

South America

Europe

Asia

Africa

Oceania
  •  Australia: The Liberal Party (generally in coalition with the National Party) held power federally from 1949 to 1972 and from 1975 to 1983 (31 out of 34 years). By the scheduled expiry of the 46th Parliament in 2022, the Liberal-National Coalition will have held power for 20 out of the 26 years between 1996 and 2022.
    •  Northern Territory: The Country Liberal Party held power from the granting of self-government in 1978 to 2001 (23 years).
    •  New South Wales: The Labor Party held power from 1941 to 1965 (24 years), and from 1976 to 1988 and 1995 to 2011 (28 out of 35 years) – in total 52 out of 70 years from 1941 to 2011.
    •  Queensland: The Labor Party held power from 1915 to 1929 and from 1932 to 1957 (39 out of 42 years). The National Party then held power from 1957 to 1989 (32 years).
    •  South Australia: The Liberal and Country League held power from 1933 to 1965 (32 years). The Labor Party held power from 1970 to 1979, from 1982 to 1993 and from 2002 to 2018 (26 out of 38 years).
    •  Tasmania: The Labor Party held power from 1934 to 1969 and from 1972 to 1982 (45 out of 48 years), from 1989 to 1992, and from 1998 to 2014 (16 years) – in total 64 out of 80 years from 1934 to 2014.
    •  Victoria: The Liberal Party held power from 1955 to 1982 (27 years).
    •  Western Australia: The Liberal Party held power from 1947 to 1983 with two one-term interruptions between 1953 and 1956 and 1971 to 1974 (30 out 36 years).
    •  Australian Capital Territory: The Labor Party has held power since 2001, previously holding government between 1989 and 1995 (24 years out of 30 years since self government).
  •  New Zealand: The Liberal Party governed from 1891 to 1912.

See also

Notes
  1. Presidents in Singapore are not allowed to belong to any party
  2. The predecessors of the ÖVP are the Christian Social Party ruled from 1907 to the renaming 1933 and the Fatherland Front ruled from 1933 to the Anschluss 1938.
  3. Formerly its predecessors Italian Socialist Party (before 1924), PCI, PDS and DS.
  4. Prior to 1942, the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario was formally known as the Liberal-Conservative Association of Ontario.
  5. Formerly its predecessors People's Labor Party (with SHP), People's Democracy Party, Democratic People's Party, Thousand Hope Candidates and Labour, Democracy and Freedom Bloc.

References
  1. Ostroverkhov, A.A. (2017). "In Searching for Theory of One-Party Dominance: World Experience of Studying Dominant-Party Systems (II)". The Journal of Political Theory, Political Philosophy and Sociology of Politics Politeia. 87 (4): 133–149 (p. 136). doi:10.30570/2078-5089-2017-87-4-133-149.
  2. Ostroverkhov, A.A. (2017). "In Searching for Theory of One-Party Dominance: World Experience of Studying Dominant-Party Systems (I)". The Journal of Political Theory, Political Philosophy and Sociology of Politics Politeia. 86 (3): 136–153 (p. 148). doi:10.30570/2078-5089-2017-86-3-136-153.
  3. Ostroverkhov, A.A. (2017). "In Searching for Theory of One-Party Dominance: World Experience of Studying Dominant-Party Systems (II)". The Journal of Political Theory, Political Philosophy and Sociology of Politics Politeia. 87 (4): 133–149 (p. 137). doi:10.30570/2078-5089-2017-87-4-133-149.
  4. Orlović, Slaviša (2015). "The Influence of Electoral System on Party Fragmentation in Serbian Parliament". Serbian Political Thought. 7 (11): 91–106. doi:10.22182/spt.1112015.5.
  5. Atlagić, Siniša; Vučićević, Dušan (2019). Thirty Years of Political Campaigning in Central and Eastern Europe. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. p. 20. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-27693-5_21. ISBN 978-3-030-27693-5.
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  7. Mehler, Andreas; Melber, Henning; Van Walraven, Klaas (2009). Africa Yearbook: Politics, Economy and Society South of the Sahara in 2008. Leiden: Brill. p. 411. ISBN 978-90-04-17811-3.
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  13. Ruiz, Gerardo (18 December 2018). "Partidos conservadores preparan una coalición electoral". CRHoy. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  14. Canada's 'natural governing party'. CBC News in Depth, 4 December 2006. Retrieved 2012-08-10.
  15. "Liberal Party | The Canadian Encyclopedia". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  16. "State of Kansas Governors". TheUS50.com. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
  17. Democracy, Peoples' (June 24, 2007). "West Bengal: How The Left Front And Its Government Emerged".
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  21. "TURKEY - AKP ushering in 'dominant-party system', says expert". hurriyetdailynews.com. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
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  30. "Landtag Bayern 1869-1918".
  31. "Landtagswahlen im Saarland seit 1945".
  32. "Bundestagswahlen - Saarland".
  33. "Wahlen zum Europäischen Parlament im Saarland".
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  35. Part 2: Communist take-over, 1946-1949. The Institute for the History of the 1956 Revolution.
  37. "Subscribe to read". Cite uses generic title (help)
  38. Cairney, Paul; McGarvey, Neil (2013). Scottish Politics. Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan Limited. p. 58. ISBN 978-0-230-39046-1.
  39. Garnett, Mark; Lynch, Philip (2007). Exploring British Politics. London: Pearson Education. p. 322. ISBN 978-0-582-89431-0.
  40. Johari, J. C. (1997). Indian Political System: a Critical Study of the Constitutional Structure and the Emerging Trends of Indian Politics. New Delhi: Anmol Publications. p. 250. ISBN 978-81-7488-162-5.
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