Power-sharing

Every card in this deck

QEthnic (social division)

AA social division based on shared culture. Members believe in common descent because of similar physical type, culture or both, but need not share the same religion or nationality.

QWhat was the ethnic composition of Belgium, and why was Brussels a special problem?

A59 per cent lived in Flemish and spoke Dutch, 40 per cent lived in Wallonia and spoke French, and 1 per cent spoke German. In Brussels, 80 per cent spoke French. The Dutch speakers were a majority in the country but a minority in the capital.

QDescribe the ethnic composition of Sri Lanka.

ASinhala speakers make up 74 per cent and Tamil speakers 18 per cent. Tamils are split into Sri Lankan Tamils (13 per cent), concentrated in the north and east, and Indian Tamils, descended from colonial-era plantation workers. Most Sinhalas are Buddhist, most Tamils Hindu or Muslim, and about 7 per cent are Christian.

QMajoritarianism

AThe idea that the majority community is entitled to govern a country however it likes, ignoring what the minority wants or needs.

QWhat majoritarian measures did Sri Lanka adopt after independence to establish Sinhala supremacy?

AA 1956 Act made Sinhala the only official language, disregarding Tamil. Governments favoured Sinhala applicants for university places and government jobs. A new constitution required the state to protect and foster Buddhism.

QHow did majoritarian policies lead to civil war in Sri Lanka?

AThe measures alienated Sri Lankan Tamils, who felt denied equal rights, jobs and respect for their language and culture. Their demands for Tamil as an official language and for provincial autonomy were refused, so by the 1980s groups sought an independent Tamil Eelam. Distrust became a civil war that ended in 2009.

QCivil war

AViolent conflict between opposing groups inside one country that grows intense enough to resemble a war.

QWhat were the main features of the power-sharing arrangement Belgium adopted between 1970 and 1993?

AEqual numbers of Dutch- and French-speaking ministers in the central government, with some laws needing majority support from each group. Many central powers went to regional governments not subordinate to the centre. Brussels got a separate government with equal representation, and a third 'community government' was created.

QCommunity government (Belgium)

AA third tier of government elected by people of one language community (Dutch, French or German-speaking), wherever they live. It has power over cultural, educational and language-related issues.

QWhat did Belgium's power-sharing arrangements achieve?

AThough very complicated, they avoided civic strife between the two major communities and a possible split of the country on linguistic lines. When European countries formed the European Union, Brussels was chosen as its headquarters.

QWhat is the main lesson from comparing Belgium and Sri Lanka?

ABoth are democracies but handled power-sharing differently. Belgium kept its unity by respecting the feelings and interests of different communities and regions. Sri Lanka shows that when a majority forces its dominance and refuses to share power, it undermines the unity of the country.

QWhat is the prudential reason for power-sharing?

ASharing power lowers the risk of conflict between social groups. Since such conflict tends to turn violent and destabilise politics, power-sharing helps keep the political order stable. Forcing the majority's will on others may seem attractive at first, but over time it weakens national unity.

QWhat is the moral reason for power-sharing?

APower-sharing is the very spirit of democracy. People affected by the exercise of power have a right to be consulted on how they are governed, and a government is legitimate when citizens, through participation, gain a stake in the system.

QWhat is the horizontal distribution of power, and why is it called a system of checks and balances?

APower is shared among organs of government at the same level: legislature, executive and judiciary. Each organ checks the others, so none can use unlimited power. For example, ministers answer to the legislature, and judges, though appointed by the executive, can check it.

QWhat is the vertical (federal) division of power?

APower is shared among governments at different levels: a general government for the whole country and governments at the provincial or regional level. The constitution clearly lays down each level's powers, and the principle can extend down to municipalities and panchayats.

QHow is power shared among social groups, and why is this needed?

AThrough arrangements such as Belgium's community government or reserved constituencies for weaker sections and women. These give diverse groups space in government and administration, and a fair share of power to minorities who would otherwise feel alienated.

QHow do political parties and pressure groups take part in power-sharing?

ACompetition among parties keeps power from staying in one hand, and parties sometimes share power directly in coalition governments. Interest groups of traders, industrialists, farmers and workers share power by joining government committees or influencing decisions.

QCoalition government

AA government formed when two or more parties that contested elections as an alliance share power, often because no single party wins a clear majority, as in Germany's 2005 grand coalition of historical rivals.