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    1 Power Sharing Notes

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    Abhay
    1. Belgium adopted a power sharing model to accommodate its Dutch and French-speaking communities by amending its constitution four times between 1970-1993. This included equal representation of both communities in government. 2. In contrast, Sri Lanka adopted majoritarian policies that undermined the political rights and opportunities of its Tamil minority, straining relations over time and ultimately leading to civil war demands for an independent Tamil state. 3. Power sharing is desirable to reduce conflict, uphold democratic principles of inclusion, and ensure political stability, as demonstrated by Belgium's model. It also helps avoid domination of minority groups, as seen in Sri Lanka.

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    1 Power Sharing Notes

    Uploaded by

    Abhay
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    1. Belgium adopted a power sharing model to accommodate its Dutch and French-speaking communities by amending its constitution four times between 1970-1993. This included equal representation of both communities in government. 2. In contrast, Sri Lanka adopted majoritarian policies that undermined the political rights and opportunities of its Tamil minority, straining relations over time and ultimately leading to civil war demands for an independent Tamil state. 3. Power sharing is desirable to reduce conflict, uphold democratic principles of inclusion, and ensure political stability, as demonstrated by Belgium's model. It also helps avoid domination of minority groups, as seen in Sri Lanka.

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    1. Belgium adopted a power sharing model to accommodate its Dutch and French-speaking communities by amending its constitution four times between 1970-1993. This included equal representation of both communities in government. 2. In contrast, Sri Lanka adopted majoritarian policies that undermined the political rights and opportunities of its Tamil minority, straining relations over time and ultimately leading to civil war demands for an independent Tamil state. 3. Power sharing is desirable to reduce conflict, uphold democratic principles of inclusion, and ensure political stability, as demonstrated by Belgium's model. It also helps avoid domination of minority groups, as seen in Sri Lanka.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    87 views8 pages

    1 Power Sharing Notes

    Uploaded by

    Abhay
    1. Belgium adopted a power sharing model to accommodate its Dutch and French-speaking communities by amending its constitution four times between 1970-1993. This included equal representation of both communities in government. 2. In contrast, Sri Lanka adopted majoritarian policies that undermined the political rights and opportunities of its Tamil minority, straining relations over time and ultimately leading to civil war demands for an independent Tamil state. 3. Power sharing is desirable to reduce conflict, uphold democratic principles of inclusion, and ensure political stability, as demonstrated by Belgium's model. It also helps avoid domination of minority groups, as seen in Sri Lanka.

    Copyright:

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    of 8

    POWER SHARING

    BELGIUM:
    • Belgium is a small country in Europe, smaller than Haryana with population of a little over
    1crore
    • Borders with Netherlands, France and Germany

    Ethinic Composition
    The ethinic composition of Belgium is very complex.
    • Of the country’s total population,
    • 59% - in Flemish region and speaks Dutch
    • 40% - in Wallonia region and speak French
    • 1% - speak German.
    • In the capital city Brussels,
    • 80% speak French
    • 20% speak Dutch.
    Ethnic: It is a social division based on shared culture. People belonging to the same ethnic group
    have common descent or similar culture or both. They need not be same religion or nationality.

    What was the tension between French n Dutch speaking community? Why was the tension
    more acute in Brussels?
    • The minority French-speaking community was relatively rich and powerful but the Dutch-
    speaking community got the benefit of economic development and education much later.
    • This led to the tensions between the Dutch and French communities during 1950s & 1960s.
    • The tension was more acute in Brussels bcoz Dutch people are majority in the country, but
    minority in the capital.
    Accommodation in Belgium
    • The Belgian leaders recognized the regional differences and cultural diversities.
    • Between 1970 and 1993, they amended their constitution four times to enable everyone to
    live together within the same country
    • Here are some of the elements of the Belgian model
    Central Government
    i. Constitution prescribes that the number of Dutch and French-speaking ministers shall be
    equal in the central government.
    ii. Some special laws require the majority support from each linguistic group.
    iii. Thus, no single community can make decisions unilaterally.
    State Government
    i. Many powers of the central government have been given to state governments of the two
    regions of the country.
    ii. The state governments are not subordinate to the Central Government
    Capital Government
    i. Brussels has a separate government with both the communities have equal representation.
    ii. The French people accepted equal representation in Brussels, in return the Dutch-speaking
    people has accepted equal representation in the Central Government
    Community Government
    i. Apart from the Central an the State Government, there is third kind of government called as
    ‘community government’
    ii. This is elected by people belonging to one language community – Dutch, French and German-
    speaking – no matter where they live.
    iii. This govt has the power regarding cultural, educational and language-related issues.
    SRILANKA:
    • Sri Lanka is an island nation, just a few km from the southern coast of Tamil Nadu.
    • Population : 2 crore people, about the same as in Haryana.
    • Sri Lanka emerged as an independent country in 1948.
    Majoritarianism: When the majority community rule a country in
    whichever way they wants, disregarding the wishes and needs of the
    minority.

    Ethinic Composition
    • Sinhala speakers – 74%
    • Tamil speakers – 18% living in the north and east of the country
    • Among Tamils there are two subgroups.
    • Tamil natives called as ‘Sri Lankan Tamils’ – 13%
    • The rest, whose forefathers came from India as plantation
    workers during colonial period called as ‘Indian Tamils’.
    • Most of the Sinhala - Buddhist, while most of the Tamils - Hindus or Muslims.
    • There were about 7% Christians, who are both Tamil and Sinhala.

    Majoritarianism in Sri Lanka


    Democratically elected government adopted a series of Majoritarian measures to establish Sinhala
    supremacy.
    i. In 1956, an Act was passed considering Sinhala as the only official language disregarding Tamil.
    ii. The governments gave preference and favored only the Sinhala applicants for university
    positions and government jobs.
    iii. The constitution stipulated that the state shall protect and foster Buddhism.
    Why was the relations between Sinhala and Tamil communities strained over time. (OR) Why
    did Tamil people feel alienated?
    Tamil people felt alienated for following reasons
    • They felt that none of the political parties was sensitive to their language and culture.
    • They felt that the constitution government policies denied them equal political rights
    • They were discriminated against in getting jobs and other opportunities
    So, the relations between Sinhala and Tamil communities strained over time.

    What were the demands of Sri Lankan Tamils?


    Tamil people demanded for the Civil war:
    A violent conflict between
    • recognition of Tamil as an official language
    opposing groups within a
    • for regional autonomy
    country is called Civil War
    • equality of opportunity in securing education and jobs.
    But their demand were repeatedly denied.

    By 1980s they started demanding for an independent Tamil Eelam (state) in northern and eastern
    parts of Sri Lanka. This let to the Civil war. It ended in 2009.

    Why was Brussels chosen as HQ when European Union was formed?


    • Belgian model very complicated. It is very complicated, even for people living in Belgium.
    • But they follow it to avoid civic strife(Conflict) between the two major communities and a
    possible division of the country on linguistic basis.
    • This is why, when many countries of Europe came together to form the European Union,
    Brussels was chosen as its headquarters.
    What could happen in Belgium, if the Dutch community take advantage of its numeric majority
    and dominate the French and German-speaking population?
    • If the Dutch community take advantage of its numeric majority and dominate the French and
    German-speaking population, then it turn the tension more complicate further.
    • Both the sides would claim control over Brussels.
    • This could lead to a messy partition of the country

    What did you understand from the stories of Belgium and Sri Lanka?
    • Both are democracies. Yet, they handled the problem of power sharing differently.
    • In Belgium, the leaders have realized that the unity of the country is possible only by respecting
    the feelings and interests of other communities
    • In Sri Lanka, the majority community forced their dominance over the Tamil group and refused
    to share power. This undermined the unity of the country.

    Why power sharing is desirable?


    1. Prudential Reason
    • Power sharing helps to reduce the possibility of conflict between social groups.
    • Power sharing ensure the political stability.
    2. Moral Reason
    • Power sharing is the very spirit of democracy.
    • A democratic rule involves sharing power with those 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 all the citizens acquire a stake(share) in the system.
    Various Forms of Power Sharing
    1. Horizontal Power Sharing (OR) Power shared among Various organs
    • Here, power is shared among different organs of government
    • They are, Legislature, Executive and Judiciary.
    • These organs are placed at the same level to exercise different powers.
    • This arrangement ensures that none of the organs exercise unlimited power.
    • System of Check and Balance:
    i. Ministers and government officials exercise power, but they are responsible to the
    Parliament or State Assemblies.
    ii. Judges are appointed by the executive, however they can check the functioning of
    executive or legislatures.
    iii. This arrangement ensures that no one exercise unlimited power. This is called as system
    of checks and balances.

    2. Vertical Power Sharing (OR) Power shared at various Levels


    • Here, Power is shared at different levels – a general government for the entire country and
    governments at the provincial or regional level.
    • Government for the entire country - federal government. In India, it is refered as the Central
    or Union Government.
    • Governments at regional level - called by different names in different countries. In India, it is
    called as State Governments.
    • The constitution clearly lays down the powers of different levels of government. This is called
    federal division of power.
    • These principles can also be extended to the government lower than the State government,
    such as the municipality and panchayat.
    3. Power Shared among Different Social Groups
    • Power may also be shared among different social groups such as the religious and linguistic
    groups.
    • ‘Community government’ in Belgium is a good example
    • This method is used to give minority communities a fair share in power.
    • In India, there are constitutional and legal arrangements for socially weaker sections and
    women to represent in the legislatures and administration.
    • ‘Reserved Constituencies’ in assemblies and the parliament gives fair share of power to those
    groups, who otherwise would feel alienated.

    4. Power sharing with political parties, pressure groups and movements


    • In a democracy, the citizens must have freedom to choose among various contenders
    • This let to a competition among different political parties. Such competition ensures that
    power does not remain in one hand.
    • Sometimes two or more parties for alliance and If their alliance is elected, they form a coalition
    government and thus share power with other parties.
    • In a democracy, pressure groups such as traders, businessmen, industrialists, farmers and
    industrial workers influence the decision-making of the government.
    It shows the problems of running
    the Germany’s coalition
    government of two major parties -
    the Christian Democratic Union
    and the Social Democratic Party.
    These two parties are historically
    rivals to each other. They formed a
    coalition government because
    neither of them got clear majority
    of seats in the 2005 elections.
    They took different decision, but
    still jointly run the govt.

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