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Power Sharing
"Politics is about how thinking human beings determine and change the way they live together. This involves ideas and ideals, cooperation and coordination. This also involves conflict and competition, self and collective interest. Therefore much of democratic politics is about power sharing."
1.0Introduction
This chapter primarily deals with the concept of power sharing and its importance in a democracy. Power sharing refers to the distribution of power among different groups in a society. In a democracy, power sharing is essential to ensure that no single individual or group is able to monopolize power and that all sections of society have a say in the decision-making process. This chapter explores different forms of power sharing such as horizontal and vertical power sharing, communal power sharing and federalism. It also examines the challenges faced in implementing power sharing in different countries, including India.
2.0Belgium
(i) Belgium is a small country in Europe, smaller in area than the state of Haryana. (ii) It has borders with France, the Netherlands, Germany and Luxembourg. (iii) It has a population of a little over one crore, about half the population of Haryana. (iv) Officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal monarchy in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters as well as those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.
The Ethnic composition is very complex.
(i) Of the country's total population, 59 per cent lives in the Flemish region and speaks Dutch language. (ii) Another 40 per cent people live in the Wallonia region and speaks French. (iii) Remaining one per cent of the Belgians speak German. (iv) In the capital city Brussels, 80 per cent people speak French while 20 per cent are Dutch- speaking.
Division of Population
(a) Problems
(i) The minority French-speaking community was relatively rich and powerful. This was resented by the Dutch-speaking community who got the benefit of economic development and education much later. (ii) This led to tensions between the Dutch-speaking and French-speaking communities during the 1950s and 1960s. (iii) Brussels presented a special problem: the Dutch-speaking people constituted a majority in the country, but a minority in the capital.(b) Accommodation in Belgium
(i) The Belgian leaders recognized the existence of regional differences and cultural diversities. (ii) Between 1970 and 1993, they amended their constitution four times so as to work out an arrangement that would enable everyone to live together within the same country. (iii) Constitution prescribes that the number of Dutch and French-speaking ministers shall be equal in the central government. Some special laws require the support of majority of members from each linguistic group. Thus, no single community can make decisions unilaterally.(c) Outcomes
These arrangements have worked well so far. They helped to avoid civic strife between the two major communities and a possible division of the country on linguistic lines. When many countries of Europe came together to form the European Union, Brussels was chosen as its headquarters.3.0Sri Lanka
(i) Sri Lanka emerged as an independent country in 1948. (ii) Sri Lanka is an island nation, just a few kilometres off the southern coast of Tamil Nadu. (iii) It has about two crore people, about the same as in Haryana. (a) Ethnic Composition of Sri Lanka - (i) Sri Lanka has a diverse population. The major social groups are the Sinhala-speakers (74 percent) and the Tamil-speakers (18 percent). (ii) Among Tamils there are two subgroups. Tamil natives of the country are called 'Sri Lankan Tamils' (13 percent). The rest, whose forefathers came from India as plantation workers during colonial period, are called 'Indian Tamils'. (iii) Sri Lankan Tamils are concentrated in the north and east of the country. Most of the Sinhala speaking people are Buddhists, while most of the Tamils are Hindus or Muslims. (iv) There are about 7 percent Christians, who are both Tamil and Sinhala.
Division of Population
Division of People
(a) Majoritarian measures
The leaders of the Sinhala community sought to secure dominance over government by virtue of their majority. As a result, the democratically elected government adopted a series of Majoritarian measures to establish Sinhala supremacy. (i) In 1956, an Act was passed to recognise Sinhala as the only official language, thus disregarding Tamil. (ii) The governments followed preferential policies that favoured Sinhala applicants for university positions and government jobs. (iii) A new constitution stipulated that the state shall protect and foster Buddhism.(b) What Sri Lankan Tamils felt / Reasons for Alienation of Sri Lankan Tamils
(i) They felt that none of the major political parties led by the Buddhist Sinhala leaders were sensitive to their language and culture. (ii) They felt that the constitution and government policies denied them equal political rights, discriminated against them in getting jobs and other opportunities and ignored their interests. (iii) As a result, the relations between the Sinhala and Tamil communities strained over time.(c) Steps taken by Sri Lankan Tamils
(i) The Sri Lankan Tamils launched parties and struggles for the recognition of Tamil as an official language, for regional autonomy and equality of opportunity in securing education and jobs. (ii) By 1980s several political organisations were formed demanding an independent Tamil Eelam (state) in northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka.(d) Outcome
The distrust between the two communities turned into widespread conflict. It soon turned into a Civil war. As a result, thousands of people of both the communities have been killed. Many families were forced to leave the country as refugees and many more lost their livelihoods. The civil war has caused a terrible setback to the social, cultural and economic life of the country. It ended in 2009.What do we learn from these two stories of Belgium and Sri Lanka?
Both are democracies. Yet, they dealt with the question of power sharing differently. In Belgium, the leaders have realised that the unity of the country is possible only by respecting the feelings and interests of different communities and regions. Such a realisation resulted in mutually acceptable arrangements for sharing power. Sri Lanka shows us a contrasting example. It shows us that if a majority community wants to force its dominance over others and refuses to share power, it can undermine the unity of the country.4.0Why power sharing is desirable?
(a) Prudential reason -
(i) Power sharing is good because it helps to reduce the possibility of conflict between social groups. (ii) Power sharing is a good way to ensure the stability of political order. (iii) Imposing the will of majority community over others may look like an attractive option in the short run, but in the long run it undermines the unity of the nation. (iv) Tyranny of the majority is not just oppressive for the minority; it often brings ruin to the majority as well. (v) Prudential reasons stress that power sharing will bring out better outcomes.(b) Moral Reasons -
(i) Power sharing is the very spirit of democracy. (ii) A democratic rule involves sharing power with those affected by its exercise, and who have to live with its effects. (iii) People have a right to be consulted on how they are to be governed. (iv) A legitimate government is one where citizens, through participation, acquire a stake in the system. (v) Moral reasons emphasise the very act of power sharing as valuable.The cartoon at the left refers to the problems of running the Germany's grand coalition government that includes the two major parties of the country, namely the Christian Democratic Union and the Social Democratic Party. The two parties are historically rivals to each other. They had to form a coalition government because neither of them got dear majority of seats on their own in the 2005 elections. They take divergent position on several policy matters, but still jointly run the government.
5.0Why power sharing?
(i) For a long time, it was believed that all power of a government must reside in one person or group of persons located at one place. It was felt that if the power to decide is dispersed, it would not be possible to take quick decisions and to enforce them. (ii) But these notions have changed with the emergence of democracy. (iii) One basic principle of democracy is that people are the source of all political power. (iv) In a democracy, people rule themselves through institutions of self-governance. In a good democratic government, due respect is given to diverse groups and views that exist in a society. (v) Everyone has a voice in the shaping of public policies. (vi) Therefore, it follows that in a democracy political power should be distributed among as many citizens as possible.
6.0Forms of power sharing in modern democracies
(a) Power is shared among different organs of government-
such as the legislature, executive and judiciary. It is also termed as horizontal distribution of power as it allows different organs of government placed at the same level to exercise different powers. Such a separation ensures that none of the organs can exercise unlimited power. Each organ checks the others. This results in a balance of power among various institutions. This arrangement is called a system of checks and balances.(b) Power can be shared among governments at different levels-
a general government for the entire country and governments at the provincial or regional level. Such a general government for the entire country is usually called federal government. In India, we refer to it as the Central or Union Government. The governments at the provincial or regional level are called by different names in different countries.(c) Power may also be shared among different social groups such as the religious and linguistic groups-
In some countries, there are constitutional and legal arrangements whereby socially weaker sections and women are represented in the legislatures and administration. This type of arrangement is meant to give space in the government and administration to diverse social groups who otherwise would feel alienated from the government. This method is used to give minority communities a fair share in power.(d) Power sharing arrangements can also be seen in the way political parties, pressure groups and movements control or influence those in power.
Electoral competition among different parties ensures that power does not remain in one hand. In the long run, power is shared among different political parties that represent different ideologies and social groups. Sometimes this kind of sharing can be direct, when two or more parties form an alliance to contest elections. If their alliance is elected, they form a coalition government and thus share power. Interest groups such as those of traders, businessmen, industrialists, farmers and industrial workers also have a share in governmental power, either through participation in governmental committees or bringing influence on the decision-making process.7.0Glossary
- Studded - Containing a lot of something.
- Ethnic - A social based division based on shared culture people belonging to 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.
- Majoritarian - A concept which signifies a belief that the majority community should be able to rule a country in whichever way it wants is known as "Majoritarian". In this type of rule they disregard the wishes and needs of the minority.
- Civil war - A violent conflict between opposing groups within a country is known as civil war. Some times it becomes so intense that it appears like a war.
- Prudential - Based on prudence, or on careful calculation of gains and losses. Prudential decisions are usually contrasted with those decisions, which are based purely on moral considerations.
- Moral - It is a set of reasons which emphasise the intrinsic worth of power sharing.
- Community government - A type of government which is elected by people belonging to one language community is called community government.
- Federal government - It is a type of government in which powers are shared among the different levels.
- Power sharing - It is the distribution of powers among the organs of the government at different level.
- Checks and Balance - A system in which each organ of the government checks the others which results in a balance of power among various institutions.
- Sri Lankan Tamils - Tamil natives of Sri Lanka are called Sri Lankan Tamils.
- Indian Tamils - The Tamilians whose forefathers came from India as plantation workers during colonial period and settled in Sri Lanka are called Indian Tamils.
- Horizontal Distribution of Power - A type of distribution in which power is shared among different organs of government such as the legislature, executive and judiciary. They are placed at the same level.