According to its 2008 constitution, Myanmar (commonly referred to as Burma) functions de facto as a unitary assembly-independent republic.
After a coup in 1962, the country's democracy was put on hold. Uncertainty and confusion made it possible for a nationalist administration in Burma to take power. The Burmese Socialist Programme Party ruled the nation as a one-party state from 1962 until 1988 under the Burmese Way to Socialism. The new Burmese authorities used isolationist policies and a sense of Burmese supremacy to transform Burma into a socialist republic.
