democratic centralism

British

noun

the Leninist principle that policy should be decided centrally by officials, who are nominally democratically elected

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

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According to the principle of "democratic centralism," party rule would be exerted downward through a tightly knit administration.

From Time Magazine Archive

To no one's surprise, the central committee formally endorsed the Berlinguer line and, in accordance with the Leninist dictum of "democratic centralism," formally closed ranks.

From Time Magazine Archive

While the United States remain the great American power, that system, or its kindred system, democratic centralism, can never become an American system, as Maximilian's experiment in Mexico is likely to prove.

From The American Republic : constitution, tendencies and destiny by Brownson, Orestes Augustus

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023