power sharing

• Power sharing


  Dividing power among different organs of government and social groups
• In a democracy, power does not rest with any one organ of the government. An intelligent sharing of power among legislature, executive and judiciary is very important to the design of a democracy.
• Ethnic


  A social division based on shared culture. People belonging to the same ethnic group believe in their common descent because of similarities of physical type or of culture or both. They need not always have the same religion or nationality.
• Communities and regions of Belgium

  • Flemish (Dutch-speaking)
  • Walloon (French-speaking)
  • German-speaking
  • Brussels-Capital Region
• Ethnic Communities of Sri Lanka

  • Sinhalese
  • Sri Lankan Tamil
  • Indian Tamil
  • Muslim
• Majoritarianism


  A belief that the majority community should be able to rule a country in whichever way it wants, by disregarding the wishes and needs of the minority.
• Majoritarian measures adopted by Sri Lankan government to establish Sinhala supremacy
• Measures by Sri Lankan government increased the feeling of alienation among the Sri Lankan Tamils
• Civil war


  A violent conflict between opposing groups within a country that becomes so intense that it appears like a war.
• Power sharing arrangements in Belgium

  1. Constitution prescribes equal number of Dutch and French-speaking ministers in central government

  2. Special laws require support of majority from each linguistic group

  3. Many powers given to state governments of the two regions

  4. Brussels has a separate government with equal representation of both communities
• Imposing the will of majority community over others


  May look attractive in short run but undermines the unity of the nation in long run
• Tyranny of the majority


  Oppressive for the minority and often brings ruin to the majority as well
• Power sharing is the very spirit of democracy
• Power sharing involves sharing power with those affected by its exercise and allowing them a voice in decision making
• When a majority community wants to force its dominance over others and refuses to share power


  It can undermine the unity of the country
• When leaders realise that unity of the country is possible only by respecting the feelings and interests of different communities and regions


  It results in mutually acceptable arrangements for sharing power
• Why power sharing is desirable?
• Prudential reasons


  Reasons based on prudence, or on careful calculation of gains and losses. Prudential decisions are usually contrasted with decisions based purely on moral considerations.
• Prudential reasons for power sharing

  • Power sharing helps to reduce the possibility of conflict between social groups
  • Power sharing ensures the stability of political order
  • Imposing the will of majority community over others may look attractive in the short run but undermines the unity of the nation in the long run
  • Tyranny of the majority is oppressive for the minority and often brings ruin to the majority as well
• Moral reasons for power sharing

  • Power sharing is the very spirit of democracy
  • A democratic rule involves sharing power with those affected by its exercise, and who have to live with its effects
  • People have a right to be consulted on how they are to be governed
  • A legitimate government is one where citizens, through participation, acquire a stake in the system
• The two parties are historically rivals to each other. They had to form a coalition government because neither of them got clear majority of seats on their own in the 2005 elections
• They take divergent positions on several policy matters, but still jointly run the government
• The idea of power-sharing has emerged in opposition to the notions of undivided political power
• One basic principle of democracy is that people are the source of all political power
• In a good democratic government, due respect is given to diverse groups and views that exist in a society. Everyone has a voice in the shaping of public policies
• Forms of power-sharing


  • Power is shared among different organs of government, such as the legislature, executive and judiciary (horizontal distribution of power)
  • Power can be shared among governments at different levels - a general government for the entire country and governments at the provincial or regional level (federal division of power)
  • Power may also be shared among different social groups such as the religious and linguistic groups
  • Power sharing arrangements can also be seen in the way political parties, pressure groups and movements control or influence those in power
• In a democracy, the citizens must have freedom to choose among various contenders for power
• In contemporary democracies, this takes the form of competition among different parties. Such competition ensures that power does not remain in one hand
• In a democracy, we find interest groups such as those of traders, businessmen, industrialists, farmers and industrial workers. They also will have a share in governmental power, either through participation in governmental committees or bringing influence on the decision-making process
• Pejorative anism


  Negative or critical attitude towards a particular group
• Accommodation


  Accepting and adapting to the needs and differences of various groups
• Sri Lanka has a population of two crores with 74% Sinhala-speaking Buddhists, 18% Tamil-speakers (5% Indian Tamils, 13% Sri Lankan Tamils), and 7% Christians
• After independence in 1948, the Sinhalese majority attempted to make Sri Lanka a Sinhala-Buddhist nation state
• Policies in Sri Lanka

  1. Enacting the Sinhala Only Act as the official language

  2. Creating special policies supporting Sinhala aspirations for university and government posts

  3. Making Buddhism the national religion
• Policies in Sri Lanka

  Augmented a sense of oppression in Sri Lankan Tamils, who felt denied political and social equality
• Tamil uprising in Sri Lanka

  1. Demanding Tamil as an official language

  2. Seeking social and political equality

  3. Demanding regional sovereignty

  4. Evolving into a demand for a separate Tamil Eelam state
• The Tamil uprising in Sri Lanka led to a prolonged civil war, causing widespread disorder and hindrance to development
• Belgium has a population of around 1 crore, with 59% Dutch-speakers in the Flemish region, 40% French-speakers in the Wallonia region, and 1% German-speakers
• The capital city of Brussels has 80% French-speakers and 20% Dutch-speakers
• The French-speaking minority in Belgium were wealthier, leading to tensions between the Dutch and French communities in the 1950s and 1960s