People's Republic
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- For the Marxist–Leninist form of government/ideological concept, see People's democracy (Marxism–Leninism)
"People's Republic" is a title used by certain republican states. Initially associated with populism (people's movements: Völkisch movement, Narodnik, others), it eventually became associated with countries adhering to communism, after the creation of the Soviet Union, such as China. However, the term is not unique to communist states. Many countries adopted the title given its rather generic nature, like Bangladesh, which was founded as a liberal parliamentary republic after a popular war of independence.
Marxist–Leninist People's Republics
The motivation for using this term lies in the claim that Marxist–Leninists govern in accordance with the interests of the vast majority of the people, and, as such, a Marxist–Leninist republic is a people's republic. Many of these countries also called themselves socialist states in their constitutions; Albania, for instance, used both terms, "socialist" and "people's", in its official name from 1976 to 1991. In the West, countries governed by Marxist–Leninists are referred to as "Communist states", though they never actually used this name for themselves and used the term countries of people's democracy. In the 1990s, many of the self-styled "People's Republics" of Eastern Europe (Poland, Hungary, and Bulgaria) and Mongolia dropped the term and became known simply as "Republics" as they adopted liberal democratic systems of government — the term "People's Republic" being associated with the former Communist regimes.
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The current nominally Communist or socialist states that include the words People's Republic in their full names:
- People's Republic of China (founded 1949)
- Lao People's Democratic Republic (founded 1975)
- Democratic People's Republic of Korea (founded 1948)
Historical examples include:
- People's Republic of Albania (1946–1976) and Socialist People's Republic of Albania (1976–1992)
- People's Republic of Angola (1975–1992)
- People's Republic of Benin (1975–1990)
- People's Republic of Bulgaria (1946–1990)
- People's Republic of the Congo (1970–1992)
- Czechoslovak Republic (1948–1960)
- People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (1987–1991)
- Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989)
- People's Republic of Kampuchea (1979–1989)
- Mongolian People's Republic (1924–1992)
- People's Republic of Mozambique (1975–1990)
- Polish People's Republic (1952–1989)
- Romanian People's Republic (1947–1965)
- Tuvan People's Republic (1921–1944)
- People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (1967–1990)
- Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia (1946–1963)
- Khorezm People's Soviet Republic(1920-1924)
- Bukharan People's Soviet Republic(1920-1925)
- Chinese People's Soviet Republic (1931-1937)
Other titles commonly used by Marxist–Leninist states are Democratic Republic (e.g. the German Democratic Republic or the Democratic Federal Yugoslavia between 1943 and 1946), and Socialist Republic (e.g. the Socialist Republic of Vietnam).
Non-Marxist–Leninist People's Republics
Current
- People's Democratic Republic of Algeria (Founded 1962)
- People's Republic of Bangladesh (Founded 1971)
- Unrecognized
The following separatist movements have declared People's Republics, but have not received diplomatic recognition from the international community:
- Donetsk People's Republic (Declared 2014)
- Luhansk People's Republic (Declared 2014)
Historical
- Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (1977–2011)
- Ukrainian People's Republic (1917–1921)
- West Ukrainian People's Republic (1918–1919, joined the Ukrainian People's Republic)
- Belarusian People's Republic (1918–1919, unrecognized)
- People's Republic of Korea (1945-1946)
- People's Republic of Zanzibar (1963-1964)
Other uses
The term People's Republic is sometimes used by critics and satirists to describe areas perceived to be dominated by left-wing politics. Some examples are "The People's Republic of New Jersey",[1] the "People's Republic of Dublin South-Central",[2] the "People's Republic of South Yorkshire", "The People's Republic of Boulder",[3] and the "People's Republic of Madison".[4]
See also
References
- ↑ Welcome to the People's Republic of New Jersey, Alan Caruba, 28 June 2004, enterstageright.com
- ↑ http://electionsireland.org/result.cfm?election=2011&cons=103
- ↑ http://www.colorado.com/articles/go-local-boulder
- ↑ Polarisation in the People's Republic of Madison (sic) The Economist. June 5, 2012. Accessed April 19, 2014