10TH GRADE
SOCIAL STUDIES
POWER-SHARING
By Shubham Pathak
Notes
An intelligent sharing of power among a legislature, executive and judiciary are very
important to the design of democracy.
In this chapter, we will understand the concept of power-sharing with the help of
cases of Belgium and Sri Lanka.
Belgium’s Case
● Belgium is a small European country, which shares borders with France, the
Netherlands, Germany and Luxembourg.
● The Country has a complex Ethnic Population.
● Out of the country’s total population- 59% live Flemish region & speak
Dutch; 40% live in Wallonia & speak French; 1% speak German.
● In Brussels (Capital of Belgium) 80 % of people speak French while 20 % are
Dutch-speaking.
● Minority French-speaking community- rich & powerful, which was resented by
Dutch-speaking community
● 1950s & 1960s- Tension between these two community were severe in
Brussels.
Accommodation in Belgium
● The Belgian leaders recognized the existence of regional & cultural differences.
● Between 1970 & 1993- 4 Constitutional amendments. To facilitate peaceful
living for all in the country.
● Following arrangements were made to enable peaceful living in the country:
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1. Constitution prescribes- Number of Dutch & French-speaking ministers shall be
equal in the central government.
2. Subordination of the State Govt- Many powers of the central government have
been given to state governments of the two regions of the country.
3. Separate Govt. in Brussels-Where both the communities have equal
representation.
4. Community Government- elected by belonging to one language community –
Dutch, French and German-speaking – no matter where they live.
● The Belgian model worked well and helped in avoiding civic strife between two
major communities, and division of the country on linguistic basis.
Sri Lanka’s Case
● An island nation on the southern coast of Tamil Nadu, and has a diverse
population.
● In Sri Lanka- 74% population speak Sinhala Language; 18% population
speak Tamil language.
● Religious composition
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Buddhist: Sinhala Speakers (74%)
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Hindus & Muslims: Tamil Speakers (18%)
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Christians: 7% who are both Tamil & Sinhala
● Sub-groups of Tamil
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‘Sri Lankan Tamils’ (13%)- Tamil natives of the country.
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Indian Tamils- whose forefathers came from India as plantation workers
during colonial period.
● In 1956 an Act recognised Sinhala as the only official language of Sri Lanka.
● Leaders of Sinhala community adopted series of majoritarian measures to
establish Sinhala supremacy, and followed majoritarianism.
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.
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● Sinhalese were given preferential treatment.
● Tamil speakers felt that the constitution & government policies denied them
equal political rights, and discriminated against them in getting jobs.
● Tamil launched parties & struggles for:
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Recognizing Tamil as an official language,
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Regional autonomy, &
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Equal opportunity.
● By 1980s several political organisations formed demanding Tamil Eelam.
● Distrust between the community grew and ultimately resulted in CIVIL WAR,
which ended in 2009.
Comparison between the two cases:
Both the countries though democratic, dealt with the situation of power sharing very
differently.
In Belgium: Leaders thought that unity of the country can only be maintained by
respecting the feelings and interests of different communities and regions. Thus, a
mutually acceptable arrangements for power sharing was adopted.
In Sri Lanka: A contrasting example was shown, 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.
WHY POWER SHARING IS DESIRABLE?
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PRUDENTIAL REASON
MORAL REASON
Power sharing will bring out better
outcomes.
Emphasise the very act of power
sharing as valuable.
Helps to reduce the possibility of
conflict between social groups.
Power sharing is the very spirit of
democracy.
Power sharing is a good way to
ensure the stability of political order
People have a right to be consulted
on how they are to be governed.
Tyranny of the majority is not just
oppressive for the minority; it often
brings ruin to the majority as well.
A legitimate government is one where
citizens, through participation,
acquire a stake in the system.
FORMS OF POWER SHARING
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One basic principle of democracy- people are the source of all political
power.
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People rule themselves through institutions of self-government.
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Good democratic government give due respect to diverse groups.
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Everyone has a voice in the shaping of public policies.
Horizontal Power Sharing
● Power is shared among different organs of government (Legislature;
Executive; Judiciary)
Why is this division needed?
● It allows different organs of government placed at the same level to exercise
different powers.
● None of the organs can exercise unlimited power. Each organ checks the
others.
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● This results in a balance of power among various institutions.
● This arrangement is called a system of checks and balances.
Vertical Power Sharing - Federal Government
● Power is shared at different level of government (central government for
entire country and government at the provincial or regional level).
● India has 3 tier federal structure instead of just two level.
● The constitution clearly lays down the powers of different levels of
government.
● This arrangement is found in Belgium, but not in Sri Lanka.
Different Social Groups
● Power shared among different social groups, such as the religious and
linguistic groups.
● Example: Community government.
● In some countries there are constitutional and legal arrangements whereby
socially weaker sections and women are represented in the legislatures and
administration.
● This gives minority fair share in power.
Political parties, Pressure groups and Movements
● In contemporary democracies, competition among parties ensures that power
does not remain in one hand.
● Sometimes power is shared in a direct way, 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 democracy various pressure groups organise popular struggles or protest
against any decision of the government which they feel is wrong, and put a
pressure on the government to influence the decision.
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