One-Party State - GCSE History Definition

Reviewed by: Zoe Wade

Last updated

What is a one-party state?

In GCSE History, a one-party state is a country where only one political party runs the government. This means that other political parties are banned or cannot gain power

Many examples of one-party states are dictatorships. This is the opposite of a democracy, meaning people lose their right to vote in elections. An extreme one-party state will go so far as to remove all of people's basic human rights, such as freedom of speech. To enforce these rules, one-party states are sometimes called ‘police states’ or ‘military dictatorships.’ These states use a secret police force or the Army, to keep the leader of the government in power.

There have been many one-party states in history. Some examples are:

As the examples above show, one-party states usually have either Communist or Fascist political beliefs. 

One-Party State Revision Resources to Ace Your Exams

Explore our revision notes for Edexcel GCSE, AQA GCSE and CIE IGCSE to see where one-party states fit into the revision notes for those specifications

Explore Our GCSE History Revision Resources

Need help reaching your target grade? Explore our notes, questions by topic and worked solutions, tailor-made for GCSE History.

Explore GCSE History

Share this article

Zoe Wade

Reviewer: Zoe Wade

Expertise: History Content Creator

Zoe has worked in education for 10 years as a teaching assistant and a teacher. This has given her an in-depth perspective on how to support all learners to achieve to the best of their ability. She has been the Lead of Key Stage 4 History, showing her expertise in the Edexcel GCSE syllabus and how best to revise. Ever since she was a child, Zoe has been passionate about history. She believes now, more than ever, the study of history is vital to explaining the ever-changing world around us. Zoe’s focus is to create accessible content that breaks down key historical concepts and themes to achieve GCSE success.

The examiner written revision resources that improve your grades 2x.

Join now