POWER SHARING

1.Power sharing- Definition

A system of political arrangement in which powers are shared between
various organs of the government, between various of levels of the
government & also between various social groups & Pressure groups.
Story of Belgium
Belgium is a small country in Europe with a population of over 1 crore,
about half the population of Haryana. Of the country’s total population
.
Ethnic composition
59 per cent lives in the Flemish region and speaks Dutch language.
40 per cent people live in the Wallonia region and speak French.
Remaining one per cent of the Belgians speak German.
In the capital city Brussels, 80 per cent people speak
French while 20 per cent are Dutch speaking
Q-) EXPLAIN THE ETHNIC COMPOSITION OF BELGIUM
• 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.
• Q-) What led to tensions between the Dutch-
speaking and French-speaking communities
during the 1950s and 1960s.?
• The tension between the two communities was
more acute in Brussels.
• Brussels presented a special problem: the Dutch-
speaking people constituted a majority in the
country, but a minority in the capital.
• Accommodation in Belgium
• In Belgium, the government handled the community difference very well. Between
1970 and 1993, Belgian leaders amended their constitution four times and came
up with a new model to run the government.
Some important elements of the Belgian model.
• 1.The 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 the majority of members from each linguistic group. Thus, no single
community can make decisions unilaterally.
• 2.The state governments are not subordinate to the Central Government.
• Brussels has a separate government in which both communities have equal
representation.
• 3.Apart from the Central and the State Government, there is a third kind of
government. This ‘community government’ is elected by people belonging to one
language community – Dutch, French and German-speaking – no matter where
they live. This government has the power regarding cultural, educational and
language-related issues.
• The Belgium model was very complicated but it helped to avoid civic strife
between the two major communities.
• When many countries of Europe came together to form the European Union,
Brussels was chosen as its headquarters.
• Q-) How was the tension resolved by the Belgian govt?
Sri Lanka. It is an island nation having a population of 2 crores, about the same as in
Haryana. Sri Lanka has a diverse population.
Ethnic composition
The major social groups are the Sinhala-speakers (74%)
Tamil-speakers (18%). Tamils, there are two subgroups,
“Sri Lankan Tamils” and “Indian Tamils”. ‘Sri Lankan Tamils’ (13 per cent).
The rest, whose forefathers came from India as plantation workers during colonial
period, are called ‘Indian Tamils’.
• Sri Lankan Tamils are concentrated in the north and east of the country.
• Most of the Sinhala speaking people are Buddhists,
Most of the Tamils are Hindus or Muslims.
There are about 7 per cent Christians, who are both Tamil and Sinhala.
In Sri Lanka, the Sinhala community enjoyed an even
bigger majority and could impose its will on the entire country. ‘
Q-) Explain the ethnic composition of Srilanka
• MAJORITARIANISM Policy
• 1.In 1956, an Act was passed to recognise Sinhala as the only
official language, thus disregarding Tamil.
2. Governments followed preferential policies that favoured Sinhala
applicants for university positions and government jobs.
3. A new constitution stipulated that the state shall protect
and foster Buddhism.
4.All these government measures, increased the feeling of alienation
among the Sri Lankan Tamils. They felt that none of the major
political parties led by the Buddhist Sinhala leaders was sensitive to
their language and culture.
• 5.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.
• Q-) The relationship between the Sinhala and Tamil communities
become poor. Explain
 Consequences
1.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.
2.But their demand was repeatedly denied by the government.
3. By 1980s several political organisations were formed demanding an
independent Tamil Eelam (state) in northern and eastern parts of
Sri Lanka. Tamils formed their group LTTE (liberation tiger of tamil
elam) in 1976.
4.The distrust between the two communities turned into widespread
conflict and turned into a CIVIL WAR.
Q-) What led to Civil War in Srilanka ?
5.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 ended in 2009 and caused a terrible setback to the social,
cultural and economic life of the country.
• Q-) Why power sharing is desirable?
• Two different sets of reasons can be given in favour of
power sharing.
• PRUDENTIAL REASON
• Firstly, power sharing is good because it helps to
reduce the possibility of conflict between social
groups. Since social conflict often leads to violence and
political instability, power sharing is a good way to
ensure the stability of political order.
• 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.
• MORAL REASON
• There is a second, deeper reason why power sharing is
good for democracies.
• Power sharing is the spirit of democracy. A democratic
rule involves sharing power with those affected by its
exercise, and 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 citizens, through
participation, acquire a stake in the system.
• Differences-
• prudential reasons stress that powersharing will bring out
better outcomes,
• moral reasons emphasise the very act of power sharing as
valuable.
• Q-) What have you learned from the Stories of
Belgium and Sri Lanka?
• Both countries are democracies but they dealt
differently with the concept of power sharing.
• 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. This resulted in
mutually acceptable arrangements for sharing
power.
• Sri Lanka shows 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.
• 1) HORIZONTAL DIVISION OF POWER
• Power is shared among different organs of government,
such as the legislature, executive and judiciary.
• This is called horizontal distribution of power because 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. In a
democracy, even though ministers and government officials
exercise power, they are responsible to the Parliament or State
Assemblies.
• Similarly, although judges are appointed by the executive, they can
check the functioning of executive or laws made by the legislatures.
This arrangement is called a system of checks and balances.
• 2)VERTICAL DIVISION OF POWERS
• Power can be shared among governments at different levels –
• a general government for the entire country and governments at
the provincial or regional level.
• 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. In India, we call them State
Governments.
• This system where there are different levels of government, the
constitution clearly lays down the powers of different levels of
government. This is what they did in Belgium, but was refused in Sri
Lanka. This is called federal division of power.
• The same principle can be extended to levels of government lower
than the State government, such as the municipality and panchayat.
• This division of powers involving higher and lower levels of
Government is called vertical division of power
• 3) Power may also be shared among different social groups such as
the religious and linguistic groups.
• ‘Community government’ in Belgium is a good example of this
arrangement.
• In some countries there are constitutional and legal arrangements
whereby socially weaker sections and women are represented in
the legislatures and administration.
The system of ‘reserved constituencies’ in assemblies and the
parliament of our country. 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.
• 4) Power sharing arrangements can also be seen in the way political
parties, pressure groups and movements control or influence
those in power.
In a democracy, the citizens must have freedom to choose among
various contenders for power. In contemporary democracies, this
takes the form of competition among different parties.
• Such competition 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.
• In a democracy, we find interest groups such as those of traders,
businessmen, industrialists, farmers and industrial workers. They
also will have a share in governmental power, either through
participation in governmental committees or bringing influence on
the decision-making process.
• In modern democracies, power sharing can take many forms, as
mentioned below:
• Power is shared among different organs of government, such as the
legislature, executive and judiciary. This is called horizontal distribution of
power because it allows different organs of government placed at the
same level to exercise different powers. Such separation ensures that
none of the organs can exercise unlimited power. Each organ checks the
others. This arrangement is called a system of checks and balances.
• Power can be shared among governments at different levels – a general
government for the entire country and governments at the provincial or
regional level which is called federal government.
• Power may also be shared among different social groups such as the
religious and linguistic groups. ‘Community government’ in Belgium is a
good example of this arrangement. This method is used to give minority
communities a fair share in power.
• Power sharing arrangements can also be seen in the way political
parties, pressure groups and movements control or influence those in
power. When two or more parties form an alliance to contest elections
and if they get elected, they form a coalition government and thus share
power.