The de jure one-party states are China, Cuba, Eritrea, Laos, North Korea, and Vietnam. So that's five.
Some of the larger de-facto ones are Russia, Japan, and Mexico. Some of the smaller ones are Singapore, Angola, Republic of Congo, Equitorial Guinea, and Rwanda. That's eight more, so 13 total.
Most monarchies are effectively one-party states, with the royal family being the ruling party. That includes Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Brunei, Eswatini, and Morocco. That's another 10, so 23 total.
There are countries like Venezuela, Turkmenistan, Belarus, and Syria, which are dictatorships, so four more. Then there are countries like Egypt and Burma which are run by the military. We're up to 29 now.
Iran's ruling mullahs have been in charge since 1979. The Turkish AK Party has been in charge since 2002. The CCM party in Tanzania has ruled since 1977.
The Taliban are in control of Afghanistan. Thailand spent long stretches under military rule. So that's 34.
I could keep going, but fortunately, Freedom in the World made a list already. 83 of 194 countries on it are not electoral democracies. The good news is another 84 countries are electoral democracies which are rated as "free". The remaining 27 are partly free.
I do not think one-party states are inevitable, but they are a common outcome. Once a country slides into one-party rule, it tends to stay there. They are also not always bad places to live, as Japan proves.
On the whole, it seems economic freedom is more important than political freedom to well-being. Economic freedom tends to promote political freedom.
No comments:
Post a Comment