POWER SHARING

ETHNIC COMPOSITION IN BELGIUM

● a small country in Europe.
● Has borders with Netherlands, France and Germany.
● 59% in the Flemish region speaks Dutch.
● Another 40% people live in the Wallonia region and speak French.
● Remaining 1% of the Belgians speak German.
● In the capital city Brussels, 80% people speak French while 20% are Dutch – speaking.
● The minority French – speaking community was relatively rich and powerful.
● Resented by the Dutch-speaking community who got the benefit of economic
development and education much later.
● The tension between two communities was acute in Brussels.
Accommodation in Belgium:
Between 1970 and 1993, the Belgians amended their constitution four times so as to work out
an arrangement that would enable everyone to live together within the same country.

● The Constitution prescribes that the number of Dutch and French-speaking ministers
shall be equal in the central government.
● Many powers of the central government have been given to the state government of the
two of the regions of the country.
● Brussels has a separate government in which both the communities have equal
representation.
● There is a Community government which is elected by the people belonging to one
language community- Dutch, French andGerman speaking. This government has the
power to record educational and language related issues.
Majoritarianism in Sri Lanka:
● Emerged as an independent country in 1948.
● The leaders of the Sinhala community sought to secure dominance over the government
by virtue of their majority.
● In 1956, an Act was passed to
a. To recognize Sinhala as the only official language, thus disregarding Tamil.
b. The state shall protect and foster Buddhism.
c. The government followed preferential policies that favoured Sinhala applicants
for university positions and government jobs.
● As a result, the relations between the Sinhala and Tamil communities strained
over time.
● The Sri Lankan Tamils launched parties and struggles.
● But their demand for more autonomy to provinces populated by the Tamils was
repeatedly denied.
● Demanded an independent state- Tamil Eelam in northern and eastern Sri Lanka
● The conflicts soon turned into CIVIL WAR.
● The civil war caused a terrible setback to the social, cultural and economic life of
the country.
● It ended in 2009.
Why is power sharing desirable?

● Prudential Reason- Power sharing is good because it helps to reduce the

possibility of conflict between social groups.
● Moral Reason-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.
Forms of Power Sharing
Horizontal Distribution of Power-When power is shared among different organs of the
government, such as the legislature, executive, and judiciary. It allows different organs of the
government placed at the same level to exercise different powers.

Vertical 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.
Power sharing among social groups-
Power may also be shared among different social groups, such as the religious and linguistic
groups. ‘Community government’ is a good example of this arrangement.
Power sharing among political parties pressure groups and movements-
a. Power sharing among the political parties can be direct when two or more political
parties form an alliance to contest election. They form a coalition government.
b. The pressure groups and the movements indirectly influence decision making in
democracy.
c. They will have a share in the governmental power either through participation in the
governmental committees or bringing influence on the decision-making process.
System of checks and balances-
● Checks and balances is the arrangement in democracy under which different organs are
empowered to prevent actions by other branches and are induced to share power.
● Although the prime minister and the Council of Ministers are the executive but they are
responsible to the Parliament or State Assemblies
● The judges are appointed by the executive that is the President but can check the
functioning of the executive or laws made by the legislature.