Power Sharing
1. Explain ethnic composition of Belgium.
➢ The ETHNIC composition of this small country is very complex.
1. Flemish region - speaks Dutch (59%)
2. Wallonia region - speak French (40%)
3. German Speaking – (1%)
It shows that in the whole country, Dutch speaking people are in
majority and French speaking people in minority.
➢ Brussels is capital city of Belgium
1. French Speaking population (80%)
2. Dutch Speaking population (20%)
It shows that in the capital city Brussels, French speaking people are in majority and Dutch speaking in
minority.
2. Explain ethnic composition of Sri Lanka.
A. Sinhalese
➢ They are in Majority.
➢ They Speak Sinhala Language.
➢ They consist of 74% population.
➢ Most of them are Buddhist.
B. Tamil
➢ They are in Minority.
➢ They speak Tamil Language.
➢ They consist of 18% population
➢ Most of them Hindu and Muslim.
Tamils
1. Native Tamil 2. Indian Tamil
✓ Known as ‘Sri Lankan Tamils’ ✓ Their forefather came from
✓ They are 13 % India as plantation worker
✓ Concentrated in North-East ✓ They are 5%
C. Christian
➢ There are 7% who speak both Tamil and Sinhala
3. Describe any three majoritarian measures taken by the Sri Lankan Government to establish
Sinhala supremacy.
1. In 1956, an official language act was passed to declare Sinhala as only official language
disregarding Tamil.
2. The governments followed preferential politics that favoured Sinhala applicants for university
positions and government jobs.
3. A new Constitution promoted Buddhism.
4. Describe any three demands of Sri Lankan Tamil. How did they struggle for their demands?
1. The Sri Lankan Tamils launched parties and struggles for the recognition of Tamil as an official
language,
2. They asked for regional autonomy and equality of opportunity in securing education and jobs.
3. But their demand for more autonomy to provinces populated by the Tamils was repeatedly
denied.
4. By 1980s several political organisations were formed demanding an independent Tamil Eelam
(state) in northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka.
5. Explain the reasons as why power sharing is desirable? Important
Power sharing is desirable because of two reasons: prudential and moral reasons respectively.
1. Prudential Reasons
a) It helps to reduce the possibility of conflict between social groups.
b) It ensures the stability of political order.
a) It safeguards the unity of nation.
2. Moral Reasons
a) It is very spirit of democracy.
b) It ensures a legitimate government.
c) Democracy cannot be imagined without power sharing.
6. Why Belgium model is complex?
Belgium has amended their constitution four times between 1970 to 1993. this model recognised the
existence of regional differences and cultural diversities.
1. Central Government
a) Constitution prescribes that the number of Dutch and French speaking ministers shall be equal in
the central government.
b) Some special laws require the support of majority of both linguistic communities.
2. State Government
a) Many powers of central government have been given to state government.
b) The state government is not subordinate to the central government.
3. Brussels
a) Brussels has a separate government in which both the communities have equal the presentation.
b) Both the communities have accepted equality representation at Central government and in the
Brussels.
4. Community government
a) Separate community government was formed for Dutch, French and German speaking
population.
b) This government has power regarding cultural, educational and language related issues.
The Belgium model indeed is very complex; this arrangement has worked well so far. This model avoided
possible division of the country on linguistic lines. Therefore, Brussels was chosen as a headquarter for
the European Union.
What are the different forms of power sharing in modern democracy? give an example of each
of these.
1. Horizontal power-sharing
a) Power is shared between different organs of government like legislature, executive and judiciary.
b) Legislature makes law executives implement it and judiciary act as a watchdog.
c) All organs of government or place at the same level to exercise different powers.
d) This system is also known System of checks and balances.
2. Vertical power-sharing
a) Power is shared between different levels of government such as central government, state
government and local government.
b) Powers of different levels of government are clearly specified in the Constitution.
c) State governments are not subordinate to the central government, they have their own source of
power and revenue.
3. Power shared among different social groups
a) These social groups can be religious or linguistic.
b) There are constitutional and legal arrangements for the socially weaker sections and women in
the legislature.
c) Example of community government in Belgium, provision of reserve constancies in assemblies
and parliament.
d) This provision is made to give minorities a fair share in the powers and they should not feel
alienated.
4. Power-sharing between political parties, pressure groups and movements
a) In democracies there is competition among different political parties.
b) Political parties share power in the forms of alliance and coalition government.
c) Power is also shared between different interest groups like businessmen, traders, industrialists,
farmers etc.
d) These are the different forms of power sharing in modern democracies.
Definitions
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Civil war: A violent conflict between opposing groups within a country that becomes so intense
that it appears like a war.
4. Prudential: Based on prudence, or on careful calculation of gains and losses. Prudential decisions
are usually contrasted with decisions based purely on moral considerations.
