List of communist states

A map of current communist states

A communist state is a form of government that combines the state leadership of a communist party through the supreme state organ of power, Marxist–Leninist political philosophy, and an official commitment to the construction of a communist society. Communism in its modern form grew out of the socialist movement in 19th-century Europe and blamed capitalism for societal miseries. In the 20th century, several communist states were established, first in Russia with the Russian Revolution of 1917 and then in portions of Eastern Europe, Asia, and a few other regions after World War II. The institutions of these states were heavily influenced by the writings of Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin and others. However, the political reforms of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev known as Perestroika and socio-economic difficulties produced the revolutions of 1989, which brought down all the communist states of the Eastern Bloc bar the Soviet Union. The repercussions of the collapse of these states contributed to political transformations in the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia and several other non-European communist states. Presently, there are five communist states in the world: China, Cuba, Laos, North Korea, and Vietnam.

In accordance with Marx's theory of the state, communists believe all state formations are under the control of a ruling class. Communist states are no different, and the ruling communist party is defined as the vanguard party of the most class conscious section of the working class (this class is known as the proletariat in Marxist literature). Communist states usually affirm that the working class is the state's ruling class and that the most class-conscious workers lead the state through the communist party, establishing the dictatorship of the proletariat as its class system and, by extension, the socialist state. However, not all communist states chose to form this state form and class system, and some, such as Laos, have opted to establish a people's democratic state instead, in which the working class shares political power with other classes. According to this belief system, communist states need to establish an economic base to support the ruling class system (called "superstructure" by Marxists) by creating a socialist economy, or at the very least, some socialist property relations that are strong enough to support the communist class system. By ensuring these two features, the communist party seeks to make Marxism–Leninism the guiding ideology of the state. Normally, the constitution of a communist state defines the class system, economic system and guiding ideology of the state.

The political systems of these states are based on the principles of democratic centralism and unified power. Democratic centralism seeks to centralise powers in the highest leadership and, in theory, reach political decisions through democratic processes. Unified power is the opposite of the separation of powers and seeks to turn the national representative organ elected through non-competitive, controlled elections into the state's single branch of government. This institution is commonly called the supreme state organ of power, and a ruling communist party normally holds at least two-thirds of the seats in this body. The supreme state organ of power has unlimited powers bar the limits it has itself set by adopting constitutional and legal documents. What would be considered executive or judicial branches in a liberal democratic system are in communist states deemed as bodies of the supreme state organ of power. The supreme state organ of power usually adopts a constitution that explicitly gives the ruling communist party leadership of the state.

The communist party controls the supreme state organ of power through the political discipline it exerts on its members and, through them, dominates the state. Ruling communist parties of these states are organised on Leninist lines, in which the party congress functions as its supreme decision-making body. In between two congresses, the central committee acts as the supreme organ. When neither the party congress nor the central committee is in session, the decision-making authorities of these organs are normally delegated to its politburo, which makes political decisions, and a secretariat, which executes the decisions made by the party congress, central committee and the politburo. These bodies are composed of leading figures from state and party organs. The leaders of these parties are often given the title of general secretary, but the power of this office varies from state to state. Some states are characterised by one-man dominance and the cult of personality, while others are run by a collective leadership, a system in which powers are more evenly distributed between leading officials and decision-making organs are more institutionalised.

These states seek to mobilise the public to participate in state affairs by implementing the transmission belt principle, meaning that the communist party seeks to maintain close contact with the masses through mass organisations and other institutions that try to encompass everyone and not only committed communists. Other methods are through coercion and political campaigns. Some have criticised these methods as dictatorial since the communist party remains the centre of power. Others emphasise that these are examples of communist states with functioning political participation processes (i.e. Soviet democracy) involving several other non-party organisations such as direct democratic participation, factory committees, and trade unions.

## Overview

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### Socialist states

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Main article: Socialist state (communism)

Overview of communist states that have self-described as socialist  State  | Established  | Dissolved  | Duration  | Leading party | Supreme state organ of power | Ref.

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Albania | 28 December 1976 | 29 April 1991 | 14 years, 122 days  | Party of Labour[a] | People's Assembly | [1]
Bulgaria | 18 May 1971 | 12 July 1991 | 20 years, 55 days  | Communist Party | National Assembly | [2]
China | 17 November 1975 | —  | 49 years, 262 days  | Communist Party | National People's Congress | [3]
Cuba | 24 February 1976 | —  | 49 years, 163 days  | Communist Party[b] | National Assembly of People's Power | [4]
Czechoslovakia | 11 July 1960 | 29 March 1990 | 29 years, 261 days  | Communist Party | Federal Assembly | [5]
East Germany | 8 April 1968 | 3 October 1990 | 22 years, 178 days  | Socialist Unity Party | People's Chamber | [6]
Hungary | 26 April 1972 | 23 October 1989 | 17 years, 180 days  | Socialist Workers' Party[c] | National Assembly | [7]
Mongolia | 6 July 1960 | 12 February 1990 | 29 years, 221 days  | People's Revolutionary Party | Great People's Khural | [8]
North Korea | 27 December 1972 | —  | 52 years, 222 days  | Workers' Party | Supreme People's Assembly | [9]
Poland | 10 February 1976 | 9 December 1989 | 13 years, 302 days  | United Workers' Party | Sejm | [10]
Romania | 21 August 1965 | 30 December 1989 | 24 years, 131 days  | Communist Party[d] | Great National Assembly | [11]
Somalia | 21 October 1969 | 26 January 1991 | 21 years, 97 days  | Revolutionary Socialist Party | People's Assembly | [12]
Soviet Union | 30 December 1922[I] | 26 December 1991 | 68 years, 361 days[II] | Communist Party | Supreme Soviet | [16]
Vietnam | 2 July 1976 | —  | 49 years, 35 days  | Communist Party | National Assembly | [17]
Yugoslavia | 7 April 1963 | 27 April 1992 | 29 years, 20 days  | League of Communists[e] | Assembly | [18]

### People's democratic states

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Main article: People's democratic state

Overview of communist states that have self-described as people's democratic  State  | Established  | Dissolved  | Duration  | Leading party | Supreme state organ of power | Ref.

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Afghanistan[III] | 30 April 1978 | 27 December 1979 | 1 year, 241 days  | People's Democratic Party | Revolutionary Council | [20]
Albania | 11 January 1946 | 28 December 1976 | 30 years, 352 days  | Party of Labour[a] | People's Assembly | [21]
Angola | 10 December 1977 | 26 August 1992 | 14 years, 260 days  | People's Movement for the Liberation | People's Assembly | [22]
Benin | 23 May 1977 | 1 March 1990 | 12 years, 282 days  | People's Revolutionary Party | National Revolutionary Assembly | [23]
Bulgaria | 4 December 1947 | 18 May 1971 | 24 years, 245 days  | Communist Party | National Assembly | [24]
Cambodia | 7 January 1979 | 15 March 1992 | 13 years, 68 days  | People's Revolutionary Party | National Assembly | [25]
China | 1 October 1949 | 17 November 1975 | 26 years, 47 days  | Communist Party | National People's Congress | [26]
Congo | 31 December 1969 | 15 March 1992 | 22 years, 75 days  | Party of Labour | National People's Assembly | [27]
Cuba | 16 February 1959 | 24 February 1976 | 17 years, 8 days  | Communist Party[b] | National Assembly of People's Power | [28]
Czechoslovakia | 25 February 1948 | 11 July 1960 | 12 years, 137 days  | Communist Party | National Assembly | [29]
East Germany | 9 October 1949 | 8 April 1968 | 18 years, 182 days  | Socialist Unity Party | People's Chamber | [30]
Ethiopia | 22 February 1987 | 28 May 1991 | 4 years, 95 days  | Workers' Party | National Shengo | [31]
Hungary | 18 August 1949 | 26 April 1972 | 22 years, 250 days  | Socialist Workers' Party[d] | National Assembly | [32]
Kampuchea | 17 April 1975 | 7 January 1979 | 3 years, 2 days  | Communist Party | Assembly of People's Representatives | [33]
Laos | 2 December 1975 | —  | 49 years, 247 days  | People's Revolutionary Party | National Assembly | [34]
Mongolia | 24 November 1924 | 6 July 1960 | 35 years, 225 days  | People's Revolutionary Party | Great People's Khural | [35]
Mozambique | 25 June 1975 | 30 November 1990 | 15 years, 158 days  | Liberation Front | People's Assembly | [36]
North Korea | 9 September 1948 | 27 December 1972 | 24 years, 109 days  | Workers' Party | Supreme People's Assembly | [37]
North Vietnam | 2 September 1945 | 2 July 1976 | 30 years, 304 days  | Workers' Party | National Assembly | [38]
Poland | 14 December 1948 | 10 February 1976 | 27 years, 58 days  | United Workers' Party | Sejm | [39]
Romania | 30 December 1947 | 21 August 1965 | 17 years, 234 days  | Communist Party[d] | Great National Assembly | [40]
South Vietnam | 30 April 1975[IV] | 2 July 1976 | 1 year, 63 days[V] | People's Revolutionary Party | People's Assembly | [42]
South Yemen | 30 November 1970 | 20 May 1990 | 19 years, 171 days  | Socialist Party | Supreme People's Council | [43]
Tuva[VI] | 14 August 1921 | 11 October 1944 | 23 years, 58 days  | People's Revolutionary Party | People's Khural | [45]
Yugoslavia | 20 November 1945 | 7 April 1963 | 17 years, 138 days  | League of Communists[b] | Federal People's Assembly | [46]

### National democratic states

[edit]

Main article: National democratic state

Overview of communist states that have self-described as national democratic  State  | Established  | Dissolved  | Duration  | Leading party | Ref.

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Afghanistan[VII] | 27 December 1979 | 28 April 1992 | 12 years, 123 days  | People's Democratic Party | [47]
Angola | 11 November 1975 | 10 December 1977 | 2 years, 29 days  | People's Movement for the Liberation | [48]
Congo | 16 August 1963 | 31 December 1969 | 6 years, 137 days  | National Movement of the Revolution | [49]
Ethiopia | 12 September 1974 | 22 February 1987 | 12 years, 163 days  | Workers' Party | [50]
Grenada | 13 March 1979 | 29 October 1983 | 4 years, 230 days  | New Jewel Movement | [51]

### Communist predecessor states to the USSR

[edit]

See also: October Revolution and Russian Civil War

Overview of communist predecessor states to the USSR  State  | Established  | Dissolved  | Duration  | Ref.

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Armenia | 29 November 1920 | 30 December 1922 | 2 years, 31 days  | [52]
Azerbaijan | 2 September 1920 | 27 October 1922 | 1 year, 318 days  | [53]
Bukhara | 8 October 1920 | 27 October 1924 | 4 years, 19 days  | [54]
Byelorussia, 1st attempt | 1 January 1919 | 27 February 1919 | 57 days  | [55]
Byelorussia, 2nd attempt | 31 July 1920 | 31 December 1922 | 2 years, 153 days  | [56]
Crimea | 12 May 1919 | 26 June 1919 | 45 days  | [57]
Donetsk–Krivoy Rog | 12 February 1918 | 20 March 1918 | 36 days  | [58]
Estonia | 29 November 1918 | 5 June 1919 | 188 days  | [59]
Far Eastern Republic | 6 April 1920 | 15 November 1922 | 2 years, 223 days  | [60]
Galicia | 8 July 1920 | 21 September 1920 | 75 days  | [61]
Georgia | 25 February 1921 | 30 December 1922 | 1 year, 308 days  | [62]
Khorezm | 26 April 1920 | 24 October 1924 | 4 years, 181 days  | [63]
Latvia | 17 December 1918 | 13 January 1920 | 1 year, 27 days  | [64]
Lithuania | 16 December 1918 | 27 February 1919 | 73 days  | [65]
Lithuania and Belorussia | 27 February 1919 | 31 July 1920 | 1 year, 155 days  | [65]
Mughan | 15 May 1919 | 25 June 1919 | 41 days  | [66]
Odessa | 1 March 1918 | 13 March 1918 | 12 days  | [67]
Russia | 7 November 1917 | 30 December 1922 | 5 years, 53 days  | [68]
Ukraine, 1st attempt | 25 December 1917 | 18 April 1918 | 114 days  | [69]
Ukraine, 2nd attempt | 10 March 1919 | 30 December 1922 | 3 years, 295 days  | [70]

### Ephemeral states

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Overview of ephemeral communist states  State  | Established  | Dissolved  | Duration  | Ref.

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Azerbaijan | 20 November 1945 | 12 December 1946 | 1 year, 22 days  | [71]
Bavaria | 7 April 1919 | 2 May 1919 | 25 days  | [72]
Bremen | 10 January 1919 | 4 February 1919 | 21 days  | [64]
Chile | 4 June 1932 | 13 September 1932 | 101 days  | [73]
China | 7 November 1931 | 22 September 1937 | 5 years, 319 days  | [74]
Fatsa | 14 October 1979 | 11 June 1980 | 241 days  | [75]
Finland, 1st attempt | 29 January 1918 | 5 May 1918 | 96 days  | [76]
Finland, 2nd attempt | 1 December 1939 | 12 March 1940 | 102 days  | [77]
Hungary | 21 March 1919 | 3 August 1919 | 135 days  | [78]
Mahabad | 22 January 1946 | 15 December 1946 | 327 days  | [79]
Persia | 20 May 1920 | 20 September 1920 | 123 days  | [80]
Slovakia | 16 June 1919 | 7 July 1919 | 21 days  | [64]
Turkestan | 7 November 1944 | 1 October 1949[VIII] | 4 years, 328 days  | [81]

## See also

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* Liberal democratic constitutions with references to socialism
* List of non-communist socialist states

## Explanatory notes

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1. ^ The Soviet Union was established on 30 December 1922, but was not declared a socialist state until 5 December 1936, when the second Soviet constitution was adopted.[13] Vladimir Lenin, the first leader of the Soviet Union, was unsure how to categorise the Soviet state. He made it clear that he did not believe either the state or society of the Soviet Union to be socialist.[14] Joseph Stalin, who eventually succeeded Lenin, initiated policies in the late 1920s to create socialism in the Soviet Union. His theory of the socialist state was formulated in the mid-1930s. He claimed that the Soviet Union had become a socialist state in the 1930s, and the constitution formalised it in 1936.[15]
2. ^ If one only counts the period the Soviet Union self-designated as a socialist state, the USSR was socialist for 55 years, 21 days.[13]
3. ^ The first communist leaders of communist Afghanistan, Nur Muhammad Taraki and Hafizullah Amin, believed they had created a people's democratic state. An internal party faction, the Parcham, believed they had created a national democratic state. The Soviets agreed with the former.[19]
4. ^ The Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam was formally established on 8 June 1969, but did not capture state power until the fall of the US-backed Republic of Vietnam on 30 April 1975.[41]
5. ^ If one counts days from the formal establishment of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam in June 1969, it existed for 7 years, 24 days.[41]
6. ^ The Tuvan People's Republic did not claim to have reached socialism or to have created a socialist state. The Soviet Union believed its material base, meaning its socio-economic level, was too low to establish socialism, and it was believed it was on the path of non-capitalist development. It was termed a people's republic, but at this time, the Soviets had not created a cohesive theoretical framework to explain what the Tuvan People's Republic was. The first such attempt came later in the form of people's democracy.[44]
7. ^ The Soviet intervention in Afghanistan produced a new Afghan state leadership headed by Babrak Karmal. This leadership believed the Saur Revolution had produced a national democratic state: the Soviets concurred.[19]
8. ^ Turkestan was annexed by the People's Republic of China.

1. ^ a b Named the Communist Party of Albania from 1941 until 1948.
2. ^ a b c From 1962 to 1965 the United Party of the Socialist Revolution of Cuba
3. ^ From 1948-1956 the Hungarian Working People's Party
4. ^ a b c From 1948-1965 the Romanian Workers' Party
5. ^ From 1919 to 1952 known as the Communist Party of Yugoslavia

## Footnotes

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1. ^ Vucinich 1951, p. 345; Prifti 1978, pp. 45–47.
2. ^ Radenkova 1978, p. 59; Holmes 1981, p. 125; Crampton 1987, pp. 164−165.
3. ^ Lindsay 1976, p. 56; Rickett 1982, pp. 108 & 115; Zhai 2016, p. 145; Lu 2021, p. 82.
4. ^ Bui 2024, pp. 45−47.
5. ^ Kalvoda 1961, pp. 220−221; Skilling 1962, pp. 142 & 155.
6. ^ McCauley 1979, p. 173 & 204.
7. ^ Vastagh 2017, pp. 224 & 231.
8. ^ Ginsburgs 1961, pp. 141 & 146.
9. ^ Chung 1986, pp. 21–22.
10. ^ Granat & Granat 2019, pp. 24–25.
11. ^ Kase 1968, p. 136; Höhmann, Kaser & Thalheim 1975, p. 174.
12. ^ Szajkowski 1982, pp. 99–101.
13. ^ a b Davies et al. 2018, p. 32.
14. ^ Thomas 1952, p. 11; Boer 2023, p. 74.
15. ^ Boer 2017, pp. 314–315; Davies et al. 2018, p. 32.
16. ^ Brown 2009, p. 74; Davies et al. 2018, p. 32.
17. ^ Pike 1977, pp. 37–38.
18. ^ Kase 1968, p. 151.
19. ^ a b Cordovez & Harrison 1995, pp. 28 & 403.
20. ^ Cordovez & Harrison 1995, p. 403.
21. ^ Skilling 1961a, pp. 241 & 258; Vucinich 1951, p. 345; Szajkowski 1982, pp. 50–52.
22. ^ James 2011, p. 174.
23. ^ Decalo 1981, p. 95.
24. ^ Skilling 1961a, pp. 241 & 258; Radenkova 1978, p. 59; Szajkowski 1982, pp. 52–54; Crampton 1987, pp. 164–165.
25. ^ Vickery 1986, p. 98; Nilsson 2018, p. 125.
26. ^ Skilling 1961a, pp. 241 & 258; Lindsay 1976, p. 56; Rickett 1982, p. 108; Szajkowski 1982, pp. 71–75; Zhai 2016, p. 145.
27. ^ Szajkowski 1982, pp. 94–95; Radu & Somerville 1989, pp. 194–195.
28. ^ Kase 1968, p. 17; Szajkowski 1982, pp. 87–93.
29. ^ Skilling 1961a, pp. 241 & 258; Kalvoda 1961, p. 220; Skilling 1962, pp. 142 & 147; Szajkowski 1982, pp. 57–60.
30. ^ Skilling 1961a, pp. 241 & 258; McCauley 1979, pp. 22 & 49; Szajkowski 1982, pp. 76–79.
31. ^ Limberg 1990, p. 89.
32. ^ Skilling 1961a, pp. 241 & 258; Szajkowski 1982, pp. 69–71; Vastagh 2017, pp. 203−204.
33. ^ Quinn 1977, pp. 43−44; Szajkowski 1982, pp. 106–108; Frings 1997, p. 828.
34. ^ Stuart-Fox 1986, p. 174; Stuart-Fox 1991, p. 302.
35. ^ Skilling 1961a, pp. 241 & 258; Kase 1968, p. 11; Sablin & Zhamsoev 2025, pp. 287−290.
36. ^ Ottaway & Ottaway 1981, p. 77.
37. ^ Skilling 1961a, pp. 241 & 258; Kase 1968, p. 16; Szajkowski 1982, pp. 60–63; Kim 2022, pp. 75−76.
38. ^ Skilling 1961a, pp. 241 & 258; Kase 1968, pp. 16–17; Szajkowski 1982, pp. 47–49; Le 2024, pp. 89–91.
39. ^ Skilling 1961a, pp. 241 & 258; Kase 1968, p. 16; Szajkowski 1982, pp. 64–69; Granat & Granat 2019, p. 24.
40. ^ Skilling 1961a, pp. 241 & 258; Kase 1968, p. 16; Höhmann, Kaser & Thalheim 1975, p. 174; Szajkowski 1982, pp. 55–57.
41. ^ a b Szajkowski 1982, pp. 1 & 135.
42. ^ Szajkowski 1982, pp. 89—91 & 135.
43. ^ Szajkowski 1982, pp. 96–99.
44. ^ Kase 1968, pp. 11−13.
45. ^ Szajkowski 1982, pp. 36–38.
46. ^ Skilling 1961a, pp. 241 & 258; Kase 1968, p. 16; Szajkowski 1982, pp. 44–47.
47. ^ Gupta 1986, p. 45; Cordovez & Harrison 1995, p. 403.
48. ^ Ottaway & Ottaway 1981, p. 6.
49. ^ Vine 2004, p. 142–144.
50. ^ Ottaway & Ottaway 1981, pp. 136–137; Schwab 1981, p. 305.
51. ^ Puri 2014, pp. 41–42.
52. ^ Szajkowski 1982, p. 35.
53. ^ Szajkowski 1982, pp. 30–31.
54. ^ Szajkowski 1982, pp. 33–35.
55. ^ Szajkowski 1982, pp. 23–24.
56. ^ Szajkowski 1982, p. 24.
57. ^ Dufaud 2012, pp. 263–264.
58. ^ Toal 2017, p. 356.
59. ^ Szajkowski 1982, pp. 21–22.
60. ^ Szajkowski 1982, pp. 29–30.
61. ^ Smele 2015, p. 439.
62. ^ Szajkowski 1982, p. 36.
63. ^ Szajkowski 1982, pp. 28–29.
64. ^ a b c Szajkowski 1982, p. 23.
65. ^ a b Szajkowski 1982, p. 22.
66. ^ Smele 2015, p. 771.
67. ^ Szajkowski 1982, p. 20; Toal 2017, p. 356.
68. ^ Szajkowski 1982, pp. 18–19.
69. ^ Szajkowski 1982, pp. 19–20; Toal 2017, p. 356.
70. ^ Szajkowski 1982, p. 20.
71. ^ Szajkowski 1982, pp. 49–50.
72. ^ Szajkowski 1982, p. 26.
73. ^ Szajkowski 1982, p. 39.
74. ^ Szajkowski 1982, pp. 71–75.
75. ^ Zürcher 2004, p. 267.
76. ^ Szajkowski 1982, pp. 20–21.
77. ^ Szajkowski 1982, pp. 43–44.
78. ^ Szajkowski 1982, pp. 25–26.
79. ^ Szajkowski 1982, p. 50.
80. ^ Szajkowski 1982, pp. 31–33.
81. ^ Szajkowski 1982, p. 44.

## References

[edit]

### Books

[edit]

* Boer, Roland (2023). Socialism in Power: On the History and Theory of Socialist Governance. Springer Publishing. ISBN 978-981-19-5413-9.
* Brown, Archie (2009). The Rise and Fall of Communism. The Bodley Head. ISBN 9780224078795.
* Bui, Ngoc Son (2024). Legal Reform in the Contemporary Socialist World. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780192671585.
* Cordovez, Diego; Harrison, Selig S. (1995). Out of Afghanistan: The Inside Story of the Soviet Withdrawal. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195362688.
* Crampton, R. J. (1987). A Short History of Modern Bulgaria. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521273237.
* Davies, R. W.; Harrison, Mark; Khlevniuk, Oleg; Wheatcroft, Stephen G. (2018). The Industrialisation of Soviet Russia: The Soviet Economy and the Approach of War, 1937–1939. Vol. 7\. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 9781137362384.
* Granat, Mirosław; Granat, Katarzyna (2019). The Constitution of Poland: A Contextual Analysis. Hart. ISBN 9781509913961.
* Gupta, Bhabani Sen (1986). Afghanistan: Politics, Economics and Society. Frances Pinter Publishers. ISBN 0861873912.
* Höhmann, Hans-Hermann; Kaser, Michael Charles; Thalheim, Karl Christian (1975). The New Economic Systems of Eastern Europe. University of California Press. ISBN 0520027329.
* James, W. Martin (2011). Historical Dictionary of Angola. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810874589.
* Kase, Francis J. (1968). People's Democracy: A Contribution To the Study of the Communist Theory of State and Revolution. A. W. Sijthoff—Leyden.
* Lindsay, Michael (1976). New Constitution of Communist China: Comparative Analysis. Institute of International Relations.
* Lu, Da (2021). Development of the Constitutions in China and the Visegrad States: A Comparative Perspective. Springer Nature Singapore. ISBN 9789811656361.
* McCauley, Martin (1979). Marxism−Leninism in the German Democratic Republic: The Socialist Unity Party (SED). The Macmillan Press. ISBN 9780333258286.
* Nilsson, Astrid Norén (2018). Cambodia's Second Kingdom: Nation, Imagination, and Democracy. Cornell University Press. ISBN 9781501725944.
* Ottaway, David; Ottaway, Marina (1981). Afrocommunism. Africana Publishing Company. ISBN 0841906645.
* Prifti, Peter R. (1978). Socialist Albania since 1944: Domestic and Foreign Developments. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
* Puri, Shalini (2014). The Grenada Revolution in the Caribbean Present. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 9781349298549.
* Radenkova, Petra (1978). Georgi Dimitrov: a Short Biography. Sofia Press.
* Smele, Jonathan D. (2015). Historical Dictionary of the Russian Civil Wars, 1916–1926. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 9781442252813.
* Szajkowski, Bogdan (1982). The Establishment of Marxist Regimes. Butterworths. ISBN 0408108339.
* Thomas, Charles Marion (1952). The Development of Communist Theory Under the U.S.S.R. Air University.
* Toal, Gerard (2017). Near Abroad: Putin, the West and the Contest Over Ukraine and the Caucasus. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780190253301.
* Vickery, Michael (1986). Kampuchea: Politics, Economics and Society. Frances Pinter Publishers. ISBN 0861874234.
* Vine, Victor T. Le (2004). Politics in Francophone Africa. Lynne Rienner Publishers. ISBN 1-58826-249-9.
* Zürcher, Erik J. (2004). Turkey: A Modern History. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 9780857717566.

### Book entries

[edit]

* Chung, Chin-Wee (1986). "The Evolution of Political Institutions in North Korea". In Scalapino, Robert A.; Sato, Seizaburo; Wanandi, Jusuf (eds.). Asian Political Institutionalization. University of California Press. pp. 18–41.
* Decalo, Samuel (1981). "People's Republic of Benin". In Szajkowski, Bogdan (ed.). Marxist Governments: A World Survey, Albania ― The Congo. Vol. 1\. St. Martin's Press. pp. 87–115.
* Holmes, Leslie (1981). "People's Republic of Bulgaria". In Szajkowski, Bogdan (ed.). Marxist Governments: A World Survey, Albania ― The Congo. Vol. 1\. St. Martin's Press. pp. 116–144.
* Limberg, Wayne P. (1990). "Soviet military support for third-world Marxist regimes". In Katz, Mark N. (ed.). The USSR and Marxist Revolutions in the Third World. Cambridge University Press. pp. 51–118\. ISBN 9780521392655.
* Sablin, Ivan; Zhamsoev, Amgalan (2025). "A "Live Laboratory" of Noncapitalist Development: Positioning Mongolia in the Informal Soviet Empire, 1919–1940". In Fletcher, Robert S. G.; Reichardt, Alec Zuercher (eds.). Inlands: Empires, Contested Interiors, and the Connection of the World. Vol. 1\. Columbia University Press. pp. 287–313\. ISBN 9780231211567.
* Schwab, Peter (1981). "Socialist Ethiopia". In Szajkowski, Bogdan (ed.). Marxist Governments: A World Survey, Cuba ― Mongolia. Vol. 2\. St. Martin's Press. pp. 293–320.
* Radu, Michael S.; Somerville, Keith (1989). "The People's Republic of the Congo". In Szajkowski, Bogdan (ed.). Benin, the Congo, Burkina Faso: Politics, Economics and Society. Frances Pinter Publishers. pp. 145–236.

### Journal entries

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* Boer, Roland (2017). "After October: Towards a Theory of the Socialist State". International Critical Thought. 7 (3). Chinese Academy of Social Sciences: 309–326\. doi:10.1080/21598282.2017.1355742.
* Dufaud, Grégory (2012). "The Establishment of Bolshevik Power in the Crimea and the Construction of a Multinational Soviet State: Organisation, Justification, Uncertainties". Contemporary European History. 21 (2): 257–272\. doi:10.1017/S0960777312000148.
* Frings, K. Viviane (1997). "Rewriting Cambodian History to 'Adapt' It to a New Political Context: The Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party's Historiography (1979–1991)". Modern Asian Studies. 31 (4): 807–846\. doi:10.1017/S0026749X00017170. JSTOR 312846.
* Ginsburgs, George (1961). "Mongolia's "Socialist" Constitution". Pacific Affairs. 34 (2): 141–156\. doi:10.2307/2752987. JSTOR 2752987.
* Kalvoda, Josef (1961). "Czechoslovakia's Socialist Constitution". American Slavic and East European Review. 20 (2): 220–236\. doi:10.2307/3000909. JSTOR 3000909.
* Kim, Aileen S. (2022). "Rebuilding Lost Identity: Rethinking Korean Reunification as an Imagined Community of Shared National Identity". UCLA Pacific Basin Law Journal. 39 (61): 61–98\. doi:10.5070/P839158049.
* Le, Nguyen Dinh (2024). "The Principles of Building a People's Democratic State According to President Ho Chi Minh During the War of Resistance Against French Colonialism (1945–1954)". Dalat University Journal of Science. 14 (4): 89–102\. doi:10.37569/DalatUniversity.14.4.1360(2024).
* Pike, Douglas (1977). "Vietnam during 1976: Economics in Command". Asian Survey. 17 (1): 34–42\. doi:10.2307/2643438. JSTOR 2643438.
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*[Ref.]: Reference.