Power-Sharing Notes

Power-Sharing Overview

  • In a democracy, power is shared among the legislature, executive, and judiciary.
  • The chapter discusses how democracies handle demands for power-sharing using examples from Belgium and Sri Lanka.
  • It explores the need for power-sharing and its various forms.

Belgium and Sri Lanka

  • Ethnic division is based on shared culture, common descent achieved through physical or cultural similarities
  • Belgium: A small European country bordering France, the Netherlands, Germany, and Luxembourg.
    • Population: Slightly over one crore (half the population of Haryana).
    • Ethnic Composition:
      • 59% Flemish region, speaks Dutch.
      • 40% Wallonia region, speaks French.
      • 1% speaks German.
    • Brussels (capital): 80% French-speaking, 20% Dutch-speaking.
    • The French-speaking community was relatively rich and powerful, leading to tensions in the 1950s and 1960s as the Dutch-speaking community benefited later from economic development and education.
    • Tension was more acute in Brussels, where Dutch-speakers were a majority in the country but a minority in the capital.
  • Sri Lanka: An island nation off the southern coast of Tamil Nadu.
    • Population: About two crore (same as Haryana).
    • Diverse population:
      • 74% Sinhala-speakers
      • 18% Tamil-speakers (divided into Sri Lankan Tamils and Indian Tamils)
      • Sri Lankan Tamils: 13%, native to the country.
      • Indian Tamils: Forefathers came from India as plantation workers during the colonial period.
    • Sri Lankan Tamils concentrated in the north and east of the country.
    • Sinhala-speakers are mostly Buddhists, while Tamils are mostly Hindus or Muslims.
    • About 7% Christians, both Tamil and Sinhala.

Majoritarianism in Sri Lanka

  • 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.
  • Sri Lanka became independent in 1948.
  • Sinhala community leaders sought dominance over the government due to their majority.
  • In 1956, an Act recognized Sinhala as the only official language, disregarding Tamil.
  • The government implemented preferential policies favoring Sinhala applicants for university positions and government jobs.
  • The new constitution stipulated that the state should protect and foster Buddhism.
  • These measures increased the feeling of alienation among Sri Lankan Tamils.
  • Tamils felt excluded from major political parties led by Buddhist Sinhala leaders and believed they were denied equal political rights and faced discrimination in jobs and opportunities.
  • Relations between Sinhala and Tamil communities strained over time.
  • Sri Lankan Tamils launched parties and struggles for recognition of Tamil as an official language, regional autonomy, and equality of opportunity.
  • Demands for autonomy in Tamil-populated provinces were repeatedly denied.
  • By the 1980s, political organizations demanded an independent Tamil Eelam (state) in northern and eastern Sri Lanka.
  • Distrust led to widespread conflict, turning into a civil war.
  • Thousands killed, families became refugees, and livelihoods were lost.
  • The civil war caused a terrible setback to social, cultural, and economic life, ending in 2009.

Accommodation in Belgium

  • Belgian leaders recognized regional differences and cultural diversities.
  • Between 1970 and 1993, the constitution was amended four times to enable everyone to live together.
  • The Belgian model includes:
    • Constitution prescribes equal numbers of Dutch and French-speaking ministers in the central government.
      • Special laws require a majority of members from each linguistic group, preventing unilateral decisions.
    • Many powers of the Central Government given to State Governments of the two regions.
      • State Governments are not subordinate to the Central Government.
    • Brussels has a separate government with equal representation for both communities.
      • French-speaking people accepted equal representation in Brussels because the Dutch-speaking community accepted equal representation in the Central Government.
    • A third kind of government, the ‘community government,’ is elected by people belonging to one language community (Dutch, French, and German-speaking), regardless of where they live.
      • This government handles cultural, educational, and language-related issues.

Lessons from Belgium and Sri Lanka

  • Belgium and Sri Lanka, both democracies, dealt with power-sharing differently.
  • Belgium realized that the country's unity is possible only by respecting different communities and regions' feelings and interests, resulting in mutually acceptable power-sharing arrangements.
  • Sri Lanka demonstrates that forcing dominance and refusing to share power undermines the country's unity.

Why Power Sharing Is Desirable

  • Two sets of reasons:
    • Prudential: Power sharing helps reduce conflict between social groups, ensuring political stability. Imposing the will of the majority undermines the unity of the nation in the long run. Tyranny of the majority is oppressive and affects the majority adversely.
    • Moral: Power sharing is the spirit of democracy. Democratic rule shares power with those affected, consulting people on how they are governed. A legitimate government involves citizen participation, giving them a stake in the system.
  • Prudential reasons stress better outcomes, while moral reasons emphasize the value of power sharing itself.

Forms of Power-Sharing

  • Power is shared among different organs of government (legislature, executive, and judiciary) - Horizontal distribution of power.
    • Ensures no organ exercises unlimited power.
    • Each organ checks the others, creating a balance of power.
    • System of checks and balances.
  • Power can be shared among governments at different levels (general government for the entire country and governments at the provincial or regional level).
    • General government is usually called the federal government.
    • In India, it is the Central or Union Government, and provincial/regional levels are State Governments.
    • The constitution clearly defines the powers of different levels of government.
    • Federal division of power.
    • Division of powers involving higher and lower levels of government is vertical division of power.
  • Power may also be shared among different social groups, such as religious and linguistic groups.
    • ‘Community government’ in Belgium.
    • Constitutional and legal arrangements for socially weaker sections and women in legislatures and administration.
    • ‘Reserved constituencies’ give space to diverse social groups.
  • Power sharing arrangements can be seen in how political parties, pressure groups, and movements control or influence those in power.
    • Citizens have the freedom to choose among contenders for power.
    • Competition among different parties ensures power does not remain in one hand.
    • Power is shared among different political parties representing different ideologies and social groups.
    • Alliances can create coalition governments and share power.
    • Interest groups (traders, businessmen, industrialists, farmers, and industrial workers) participate in governmental committees or influence decision-making.