Socialism has been mentioned in several liberal democratic constitutions. It is referenced either in the form of denunciation (as is the case in the Croatian, Hungarian and Polish constitutions) or in form of construction, namely that the constitution of the state in question proclaim that it seeks to establish a socialist society (Bangladesh, India, Guyana and Portugal being examples). In these cases, the intended meaning of the term socialism can vary widely and sometimes the constitutional references to socialism are left over from a previous period in the country's history.

With the exceptions of Bangladesh, India, Guyana, Portugal, and Sri Lanka, references to socialism were introduced by Marxist–Leninist communist parties (sometimes in collaboration with more moderate socialist parties). In India, it is used in relation to secularism. In Sri Lanka, socialist terms were introduced by the United National Party. Tanzania considers itself to be a socialist state, having previously been a one-party state led by the Party of the Revolution (which has been in power since independence). Croatia, Hungary and Poland have references to socialism in the form of rejection of their own past communist state.

Countries governed by a single Marxist–Leninist party that have made an attempt to abolish capitalism and/or aim to implement socialism are socialist countries that are referred to as communist states. Some of these socialist states use the title of people's republic. A number of republics with liberal democratic political systems such as Algeria and Bangladesh also adopted the title.

In reference to construction Bangladesh

On 4 November 1972, the resolution of the Constituent Assembly of Bangladesh, dominated by the Bangladesh Awami League (BAL), stated: "We promise that the ideology which inspired our freedom fighters and heroic martyrs to sacrifice their lives, viz., nationalism, socialism, democracy and secularism, these ideals shall be the main features of our Constitution". In another nod to socialism, it went on to state: "We further promise that the main objectives of our nation shall be to establish by democratic methods a socialist society free from exploitation of any kind which will ensure for every citizen the rule of law, basic human rights and political, economic and social equality, liberty and justice". Several socialist principles exist throughout the document. Article 19 provides for equality of opportunities as well as the eradication of inequalities. Article 20 provides that for every able bodied citizen work is a right, a duty and an honour while Article 20 states "from everyone according to his capacity and to everyone according to his work". Having been removed in later amendments, the original constitution stated: "A socialist economic system shall be established with a view to ensuring the attainment of a just and egalitarian society, free from exploitation of man by man. [...] The people shall own or control the instruments and means of production and distribution, and with this end in view ownership shall assume the following forms (a) state ownership, (b) cooperative ownership, and (c) private ownership".

The AL's original aim was to establish socialism. On 25 January 1975, the AL led by Bangladeshi president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman instituted a one-party system led by the Bangladesh Worker-Peasant's People's League. Rahman referred to it as the start of the Second Revolution to bring about "the democracy of the exploiting masses". Having instituted a one-party socialist state, the government went on to nationalize the media and create a people's militia. The president was killed in a coup d'état on 15 August 1975. Military strongman Ziaur Rahman amended the constitution and dropped the terms socialism and socialist from the document. During the years of military rule of Rahman (1975–1981) and Hussain Muhammad Ershad (1982–1990), state enterprises were dismantled, state subsidies withdrawn and trade liberalization and exports promoted. Contemporary Bangladesh has among the most liberalized economies of South Asia. The term socialism and socialist were reintroduced in 2011 to make the constitution more in line with the original document. However, the meaning of socialism has changed, with AL's new leader Sheikh Hasina noting that socialism was a failed system in 1991.

After the July Revolution, the July Charter was passed. It replaced the four fundamental principles Nationalism, Socialism, Democracy, and Secularism with Equality, Human Dignity, Social Justice, and Religious Harmony. On 12 February 2026, a referendum was held over these amendments.

Guyana Although Guyana was a British colony until 1966, the People's Progressive Party (PPP) was established in 1950 as the country's first political party. The PPP was committed to Marxism–Leninism and was led by Cheddi Jagan. In 1957, the PPP split, officially over ideological differences. In reality, the split was along ethnic lines. The Indian community stayed in the PPP led by Jagan while the Afro-Guyanese left to establish the People's National Congress (PNC) led by Forbes Burnham. The PPP was in government until the British removed them from power in 1963 and instituted electoral changes which made it easier for Burnham's PNC to win a democratic election. The PNC won the 1968 general election, widely believed to have been rigged by the American government's Central Intelligence Agency to ensure the defeat of the PPP.

In 1970, the government proclaimed the Co-operative Republic of Guyana based on Burnham's idea of co-operative socialism. It was billed as a peaceful revolution and its first initiative was the nationalisation of foreign-owned enterprises. Burnham described the revolution's professed goal by using the Marxist–Leninist term commanding heights of the economy, meaning the nationalisation of the largest enterprises. Scholar Ivelaw L. Griffith has noted: "By 1976, US, Canadian, and European control over the sugar and bauxite industries, banking, drug manufacturing, imports, local trade, communications, as well as other areas, had all been transferred to the state". The changes were not revolutionary and the foreign-owners were compensated. The second initiative was the creation and the development of the cooperative sector of the economy. It was planned that this sector would dominate the economy, with state and private ownership playing a lesser role. In a further nod to the Marxist–Leninist conception of the socialist state, the PNC adopted the Doctrine of Paramountcy in 1973 which stated that all governing institutions were subordinate to the party. In the words of Burnham, "[i]i is the Party that formulates policy on the basis of its ideology, strategy and tactics. It is the Party that mobilizes, educates and appeals to the people. [...] It is the Party that then selects the members of the political government to execute the former's policy". The PNC's control of the state was strengthened by the establishment of the Office of the General Secretary of the People's National Congress and the Ministry of National Development in 1974. The Secretariat of the PNC, headed by the Office of the General Secretary, was fused into the Ministry of National Development. It was through this ministry that the PNC governed the country. The takeover of the state was followed by "socialist transformation, the harassing of the opposition and the eliminations of threats (most notably the murder of Walter Rodney), and subverting the electoral process to ensure PNC victories".

By the mid- to late 1970s, the PNC was making it clear that the country needed a new constitution. The old constitution was deemed to be "capitalist-oriented" which had entrenched "economic and associated social and political relationships which make up the framework of a capitalist society as an instrument of exploitation". The PNC had concluded that "the degree of people involvement which is possible [...] is limited. [...] They may criticise governmental action, but they do so as spectators. [...] The great forces which control the economy upon which their welfare is dependent are largely beyond their reach. [...] In effect, there is much formal democracy, but little practical democracy". In the preamble, it is stated: "WE THE PEOPLE OF THE CO-OPERATIVE REPUBLIC OF GUYANA, CONVINCED that the organisation of the State and society on socialist principles is the only means of ensuring social and economic justice for all of the people of Guyana; and, therefore, BEING MOTIVATED and guided by the principles of socialism, BEING OPPOSED to all social, economic and political systems which permit the exploitation of man by man; DO ADOPT the following-CONSTITUTION OF THE CO-OPERATIVE REPUBLIC OF GUYANA". Article 1 states that "Guyana is an indivisible, democratic sovereign state in the course of transition from capitalism to socialism" and that the principal objective of the state is "to extend socialist democracy by providing increasing opportunities for the participation of citizens in the management and decision-making processes of the State". Marxist–Leninist vocabulary are found throughout the document such as "the fullest possible satisfaction of the people's growing material, cultural and intellectual requirements, as well as the development of their personality and their socialist relations in society" and that the economy "will develop in accordance with the economic laws of socialism on the foundation of socialist relations of production and development of the production forces".

By Burnham's death on 6 August 1985, the country had moved into an authoritarian direction. At the beginning, his successor Desmond Hoyte stood by Burnham's policies, saying a couple of months after his death: "Our ultimate goal must be the same as his—creation a socialist society in the Cooperative Republic of Guyana. We must reaffirm our commitment and rededicate ourselves to the pursuit of this objective". The early 1990s saw the Hoyte government attempt to democratize society. As long as the United States was the "uncontested political hegemon, where their ideas permeated all other structures", the creation of a socialist political system was considered as untenable. In a further shift, the Hoyte government allowed for free and fair elections. The PPP is still committed to establishing a society based on Marxist–Leninist principles and "to build a socialist society and ultimately to construct a communist society". However, the PPP stopped calling for the establishment of a socialist state after the Revolutions of 1989. PNC and PPP remain the dominant parties in Guyanese politics.

India

The Constitution of India was amended in 1976 for the 42nd time. The Indian National Congress government of Indira Gandhi changed the preamble from "sovereign democratic republic" to "sovereign socialist secular democratic republic" to emphasize the secular nature of the Indian state.

Nepal All the major political forces in Nepal subscribe to one form of socialism and the country's founding document stresses the importance of its socialist nature. The two largest Marxist–Leninist parties with powered help from China merged to establish the Nepal Communist Party which could not live long and split within two years of merger. The Nepalese Civil War ended with the 2006 Nepalese revolution. On 28 May 2008, a republic under an interim constitution was proclaimed. The Constitution of Nepal adopted in 2015 states that "Nepal is an independent, indivisible, sovereign, secular, inclusive democratic, socialism-oriented federal democratic republican state".Article 4, Section 1 of the Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal (20 September 2015). "Nepal is an independent, indivisible, sovereign, secular, inclusive democratic, socialism-oriented federal democratic republican state".

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