A one party dominant system is a system in which there is one party which dominates the government and an opposition which, while legally allowed to operate, is considered ineffective and unable to seriously take power. In contrast to one party systems, which tend to be authoritarian, one party dominant systems can occur within a context of a democratic system.
One party dominant systems have been criticized because without an effective opposition party, the dominant party tends to become corrupt and insensitive to public demands. Examples of one party dominant systems include the Southern United States in the early 20th century or post-World War II Japan.
