SUMMARY
Laos formed, together with present-day Vietnam and Cambodia, the French colony Indochina in the first half of the 20th Century. In October 1953, the Franco-Lao Treaty of Amity and Association transferred power to the independent Royal Lao Government, which did not include any representatives from the anti-colonial armed nationalist movement, Lao Issara.
The early resistance against the French consisted in Laos primarily of local ethnic rebellions or actions organized by the Vietnamese-dominated Indochinese Communist Party (ICP). During 1945, when Japan briefly occupied Indochina for five months, different Laotian nationalist movements with links to ICP, Japanese, Thai, "Free French", and American forces united into the Lao Issara (Free Laos Movement, in 1950 renamed the Neo Lao Issara; the Free Lao Front) and proclaimed independence on 12 October 1945. France re-established control over Laos in the following year, but the Lao Issara in close military co-operation with the Vietnamese Viet Minh and Cambodian Khmer Issarak continued the extra-state conflict until independence.
A left-wing faction of the Lao Issara, the Pathet Lao, continued to have close contacts with the North Vietnamese forces as intra-state conflict erupted in 1959-61 and 1963-73. The conflict became part of the regional war in Indochina at the time, and the government was supported by troops from Thailand, South Vietnam, and the USA. The conflict ended with the creation of a coalition government but the Pathet Lao leadership abolished the monarchy and proclaimed a one-party communist state in December 1975.
Since the takeover by the communist party, Laos has remained a single party state, under the official name, Lao People Democratic republic. However, despite its hard-line communist rule, the party has abandoned the word “socialism” from the party agenda. The Lao People’s Revolutionary party (LPRP) was inspired by the counterparts in Cambodia and Vietnam. As the party seized control over the government, re-education camps were established for specific military and civil officers in order to secure their loyalty. The 99 seats national assembly became the judicial institution and appoints the council of ministers as well as the president. Thus, one’s political career depends on the loyalty to the party, regardless of ethnic belonging. The president has the executive power and nominates the ministers although the parliament has to grant its approval.
The Lao contemporary constitution dates back to 1991 and stipulates that the leading institution is the communist party. However, the constitution also secures the existence of market economy with an emphasis on private ownership. Despite only one legal political party, elections are held every fifth year. However, since 1992, independent candidates are allowed to participate with the approval of the LPRP’s umbrella organisation. Regime critique is quickly handled and censorship makes it difficult to assess the human rights situation. There are reports regarding abuses within Lao prisons but this is not confirmed due to the isolation of the country.
Lao politics is permeated by military influence where the boundary between civil and military institutions is erased as active military officers are included in civil institutions. In addition, the military is an influential factor in the private business sector where it is a prominent business owner. The private sector was perceived as a necessity in late 1979 as the financial situation in Laos had deteriorated severely. As a result, the Lao government promulgated the opening up of the Lao market for foreign investors nine years later.
Despite its geographical isolation, cooperation is important for the Lao government as it has close links to the Vietnamese communist party and engages in the regional Mekong River cooperation including Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. The cooperation has rendered an intertwined economy. In addition, China has been an important partner as civil as well as military officials have been trained by Chinese cadres.
The Government of Laos has been involved in the interstate, intra-state and one-sided categories of UCDP organised violence.
