In
politics
Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...
, the opposition comprises one or more
political parties
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...
or other organized groups that are opposed to the
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...
(or, in
American English
American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the Languages of the United States, most widely spoken lang ...
, the
administration
Administration may refer to:
Management of organizations
* Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal: the process of dealing with or controlling things or people.
** Administrative assistant, traditionally known as a se ...
), party or group in
political control of a
city
A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...
,
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...
,
state
State most commonly refers to:
* State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory
**Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country
**Nation state, a ...
,
country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...
or other political body. The degree of opposition varies according to political conditions. For example, in
authoritarian
Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and ...
and
democratic systems, opposition may be respectively repressed or desired. Members of an opposition generally serve as antagonists to the other parties.
Scholarship focusing on opposition politics did not become popular or sophisticated until the mid-20th century.
Recent studies have found that popular unrest regarding the economy and quality of life can be used by political opposition to mobilize and to demand change. Scholars have debated whether political opposition can benefit from political instability and economic crises, while some conclude the opposite. Case studies in Jordan align with mainstream thought in that political opposition can benefit from instability, while case studies in Morocco display a lack of oppositional mobilization in response to instability. In the Jordan case study, scholars reference opposition increasingly challenge those in power as political and economic instability proliferated wereas the opposition in Morocco did not mobilize on the instability.
Furthermore, research on opposition politics in South Asia has helped inform researchers on possibilities of democratic renewal post-backsliding as well as possibilities of political violence.
Despite there being aggressive and powerful regimes in place in various South Asian countries, the opposition still poses a powerful counter-party. For example, members of opposition have made their way into office in Nepal and Sri Lanka has been hosting elections in regions known to previously not hold them. In these cases, the presence of opposition has brought about positive democratic change.
Political opposition through social media communication
As social media has become a larger part of society and culture around the world, so too has online political opposition. Online communication as a whole has also heightened the spread of clearer political opposition. Various factors like censorship, selective censoring, polarization, and echo chambers have changed the way that political opposition presents itself.
Controlled opposition
Controlled opposition can mean a party or group that stands as a placeholder for the opposition, but who are ultimately completely ineffective and therefore everything is "controlled" by the ruling parties, without necessarily a direct conspiracy taking place. Major examples include the Russian
systematic opposition and the
"democratic parties" of China. Similar claims have also been made about the designated
Democratic Party regarding their weakness to oppose the
second Trump administration
Donald Trump's second and current tenure as the president of the United States began upon his inauguration as the 47th president on January 20, 2025.
On his first day, Trump pardoned about 1,500 people convicted of offenses in the Janua ...
.
See also
*
Leader of the Opposition
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...
*
Parliamentary opposition
Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''t ...
*
Political dissent
Political dissent is a dissatisfaction with or opposition to the policies of a governing body. Expressions of dissent may take forms from vocal disagreement to civil disobedience to the use of violence.The Establishment
In sociology and in political science, the term the establishment describes the dominant social group, the elite who control a polity, an organization, or an institution. In the Praxis (process), praxis of wealth and Power (social and politica ...
*
Ruling party
The ruling party or governing party in a democratic parliamentary or presidential system is the political party or coalition holding a majority of elected positions in a parliament, in the case of parliamentary systems, or holding the executive ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Opposition (Politics)
Political terminology