Editing Communist state (section)

== Overview ==
[[File:Communist countries.svg|thumb|upright=1.35|An anachronous map of countries that have been ruled by a one-party Marxist–Leninist state at some point in their history. From August 4 to October 25 1983, during the time the [[People's Revolutionary Government]] in [[Grenada]] overlapped with [[Thomas Sankara]] Government in the [[Republic of Upper Volta]], all the colored nations except [[State of the Comoros|Comoros]] above were simultaneously Marxist–Leninist.]]

=== Development ===
{{history of Communist Nations}}
During the 20th century, the world's first constitutionally communist state was [[RSFSR|Soviet Russia]] at the end of 1917. In 1922, it [[Treaty on the Creation of the USSR|joined]] other former territories of the empire to become the [[Soviet Union]]. After [[World War II]], the [[Soviet Army]] occupied much of Eastern Europe and helped bring the existing communist parties to power in those countries. Originally, the communist states in Eastern Europe were [[Warsaw Pact|allied]] with the Soviet Union. [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]] would declare itself [[Non-Aligned Movement|non-aligned]], and [[People's Socialist Republic of Albania|Albania]] later took a different path. After a [[Second Sino-Japanese War|war against Japanese occupation]] and a [[Chinese Civil War|civil war]] resulting in a [[Chinese Communist Party|Communist]] victory, the [[People's Republic of China]] was established in 1949. Communist states were also established in [[Cambodia]], [[Cuba]], [[Laos]], [[North Korea]], and [[Vietnam]]. In 1989, the communist states in Eastern Europe collapsed after the [[Iron Curtain]] broke under public pressure during a wave of mostly non-violent movements as part of the [[Revolutions of 1989]] which led to the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]] in 1991. China's socio-economic structure has been referred to as "nationalistic state capitalism" and the Eastern Bloc ([[Eastern Europe]] and the [[Third World]]) as "bureaucratic-authoritarian systems."<ref>{{cite book |last=Morgan |first=W. John |date=2001 |chapter=Marxism–Leninism: The Ideology of Twentieth-Century Communism |editor-last=Wright |editor-first=James D. |title=International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences |edition=2nd |location=Oxford |publisher=[[Elsevier]] |pages=657–662}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Andrai |first=Charles F. |date=1994 |title=Comparative Political Systems: Policy Performance and Social Change |location=Armonk, New York |publisher=[[M. E. Sharpe]] |pages=24–25}}</ref>

Today, the existing communist states in the world are in [[China]], [[Cuba]], [[Laos]], [[Vietnam]], and [[North Korea|North Korea (DPRK)]]. These states do not claim to have achieved communism in their countries but to be building and working toward its establishment. The preamble to the [[Constitution of Vietnam|Socialist Republic of Vietnam's Constitution]] states that Vietnam only entered a transition stage between [[capitalism]] and [[socialism]] after the country was re-unified under the [[Communist Party of Vietnam|communist party]] in 1976<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vietnamembassy-usa.org/learn_about_vietnam/politics/constitution/ |website=Vietnam Embassy |title=Constitution of 1992 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110709162321/http://www.vietnamembassy-usa.org/learn_about_vietnam/politics/constitution/ |archive-date=9 July 2011 |quote=On 2 July 1976, the National Assembly of reunified Vietnam decided to change the country's name to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam; the country entered a period of transition to socialism, strove for national construction, and unyieldingly defended its frontiers while fulfilling its internationalist duty.}}</ref> and the [[Constitution of Cuba|1992 Constitution of the Republic of Cuba]] states that the role of the [[Communist Party of Cuba|communist party]] is to "guide the common effort toward the goals and construction of socialism."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cubanet.org/ref/dis/const_92_e.htm |website=Cubanet |title=Constitution of the Republic of Cuba, 1992 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110709122434/http://www.cubanet.org/ref/dis/const_92_e.htm |archive-date=9 July 2011 |quote=The Communist Party of Cuba, a follower of Martí's ideas and of Marxism–Leninism, and the organized vanguard of the Cuban nation, is the highest leading force of society and of the state, which organizes and guides the common effort toward the goals of the construction of socialism and the progress toward a communist society.}}</ref> The DPRK's constitution outlines a socialist economy and the ruling [[Workers' Party of Korea]] remains ideologically committed to communism.{{cn|date=March 2025}}

=== Institutions ===
Communist states share similar institutions, which are organised on the premise that the [[communist party]] is a [[Vanguardism|vanguard of the proletariat]] and represents the long-term interests of the people. The doctrine of [[democratic centralism]], developed by [[Vladimir Lenin]] as a set of principles to be used in the internal affairs of the communist party, is extended to society at large.{{sfn|Furtak|1987|pp=8–9}} According to democratic centralism, the people must elect all leaders, and all proposals must be debated openly, but once a decision has been reached, all people have a duty to account to that decision. When used within a political party, democratic centralism is meant to prevent factionalism and splits. When applied to an entire state, democratic centralism creates a [[One-party state|one-party system]].{{sfn|Furtak|1987|pp=8–9}} The constitutions of most communist states describe their political system as a form of democracy.{{sfn|Furtak|1987|p=12}} They recognise the sovereignty of the people as embodied in a series of [[Representative democracy|representative]] parliamentary institutions. Such states do not have a [[separation of powers]] and instead have one national legislative body (such as the [[Supreme Soviet]] in the Soviet Union), which is bestowed with unitary power and is often defined as the highest organ of state power. Unitary power means that the legislature has the power of the judiciary, legislature and executive but chooses to delegate these powers to other institutions.{{sfn|Furtak|1987|p=13}}

In communist states, the unitary legislatures often have a similar structure to the parliaments in [[Liberal democracy|liberal republics]], with two significant differences. First, the deputies elected to these unitary legislatures are not expected to represent the interests of any particular constituency but rather the long-term interests of the people as a whole; and second, against [[Karl Marx]]'s advice, the unitary legislatures of communist states are not in permanent session. Instead, they convene once or several times yearly in sessions that usually last only a few days.{{sfn|Furtak|1987|p=14}} When the unitary legislature is not in session, its powers are transferred to a smaller council (often called a [[presidium]]) which acts as a collective [[head of state]]. In some systems, the presidium is composed of crucial communist party members who vote the resolutions of the communist party into law.{{sfn|Furtak|1987|p=14}}

A feature of communist states is the existence of numerous state-sponsored social organisations (associations of journalists, teachers, writers and other professionals, [[consumer cooperatives]], [[sports club]]s, [[trade union]]s, [[youth organisation]]s, and [[women's organisations]]) which are integrated into the political system. In communist states, the social organisations are expected to promote social unity and cohesion, to serve as a link between the government and society and to provide a forum for the recruitment of new communist party members.{{sfn|Furtak|1987|pp=16–17}}

Historically, the political organisation of many socialist states has been dominated by a one-party monopoly. Some communist governments such as those in [[List of political parties in the People's Republic of China|China]], [[National Front (Czechoslovakia)#1948–1990|Czechoslovakia]], or [[National Front (East Germany)|East Germany]] have or had more than one political party, but all minor parties are or were required to follow the leadership of the communist party. In communist states, the government may not tolerate criticism of policies that have already been implemented in the past or are being implemented in the present.{{sfn|Furtak|1987|pp=18–19}}