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Power sharing
Belgium practices power sharing to accommodate its two main linguistic communities - the Dutch-speaking Flemish and French-speaking Walloons. Power is shared in several ways: equal representation in the central government, special laws requiring majority support from both communities, devolved powers to regional governments, and separate community governments for cultural issues. Brussels also has a power sharing arrangement. Though complex, this model has avoided conflict between the communities and helped ensure stability in Belgium.
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Power sharing
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- 3. • What ispower sharing
- 5. • Smaller thanHaryana • Borders with France, Netherlands, Germany and Luxembourg
- 6. • 59% speakDutch and live in the Flemish region. Walloon Region Flemish Region • 40% speak French and live in the Walloon Region • 1% speak German and live in the Walloon Region
- 7. • 80% inthe capital speak French but they are minority in the country • 20% in the capital speak Dutch but they are majority in the country
- 8. • The minorityFrench were rich and powerful • The majority Dutch got the benefit of economic development much later.
- 9. • Between 1970and 1993 the constitution was amended four times to accommodate social and cultural diversities. • This was done by sharing power as follows. There shall be equal representation from both communities in the central council of ministers The majority Dutch accepted this arrangement because they were minority in the nation
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- 11. Some special lawsrequire the support of majority from both the communities Many powers of the Central Government have been transferred to State Governments and the State Governments are not subordinate to the Central Govt. There is third form of Govt. called ‘Community Govt.’ It is elected by people belonging to one language community – the Dutch, the French and the German speaking no matter where they live. The community governments have power regarding cultural, educational and language related issues.
- 12. Brussels has aseparate Govt. with equal representation from both the communities. The majority French in Brussels accepted equal representation in Brussels because the majority Dutch accepted equal representation in eh central government.
- 13. Though complex, the modelhas worked well so far. It has avoided civic strife between the two communities. The European Union chose to have its parliament at Brussels as Power Sharing was practiced
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- 15. • About thesame as Haryana • Just a few kms away off the southern coast of Tamil Nadu
- 16. • Sinhala Speakers: 74%.They are mostly Buddhists • Tamils Speakers: 18%. They are Hindus and Muslims 13% 5%
- 17. Indian Tamils • They migrated to SriLanka as Plantation workers during the British Rule Sri Lankan Tamils • Tamil Natives 7% of the Population • Consists Christians who speak both Sinhala and Tamil
- 18. • After independencein 1948, Sri Lanka adopted a series of majoritarian measures to establish Sinhalese supremacy over the Tamils • In 1956, an Act was passed to recognise Sinhala as the only official language
- 19. • In 1956an Act was passed which recognised Sinhala as the only official language. • Sinhala speakers were preferred both for university positions and Govt. jobs. Sinhala Lank a
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- 21. • Constitution was amendedto protect and strengthen Sinhala Language.
- 22. • The Tamilsfelt isolated • They thought that even the constitution was against them. • None of the Political parties ever considered their needs. • The Tamils formed groups, organisations and parties to fight for rights
- 23. • Their demandsfor recognition to their language and separate state with autonomous status were repeatedly neglected. • This made some groups like the LTTE to take violent actions.
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- 25. • Civil warthus broke out between the Tamils and the Sinhalas Thousands of people on both the sides were killed. Thousands of Tamil families went out of the country as refugees
- 26. • Prudential Reasons 1.It avoids conflicts between different social groups. The absence of power sharing can result in division of the country. 2. Imposing will of the majority on the minority might appear to be an attractive option but it can be counter productive and can come in way of national integration as it happened in Sri Lanka 3. The tyranny of the majority brings ruins both to the minority and the majority (as in Sri Lanka)
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- 28. • Moral Reasons 1.Power sharing is the very essence of democracy. In an ideal democracy as many people as possible should get a chance to enjoy power. 2. People are affected by all the policies of democratic politics and they have to live with the effects. Hence citizens need share in power. 3. A legitimate govt. is one where citizens, through participation, acquire stake in power.
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- 30. • Horizontal ORCheck and Balance System • Each of these organs is placed at the same level to exercise different powers • None of them has unlimited power thus maintains balance. • Each one of them keeps watch on the functioning of the other two. • Hence it is called Check and Balance System
- 31. • The CentralGovt. is set up for the whole nation. • The state/provincial govt. is set up for each provinces/states. • The central govt. transfers/shares some of the powers to/with the state govt. (as in Belgium) • In a big country like India, this type of two tier system is not sufficient. • So we have the third tier – the Local Self Govt. • Both the Central and State govt. have transferred power and resources to the Local bodies. Central Govt. State Govt. Local Bodies Vertical Power Sharing
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- 33. • Socially weakersections also have to have share in power. • Community govt. in Belgium is one example for this type of power sharing. • In India, it is done by way of reservation. • Constituencies and seats are reserved for women, SCs and STs. • Thus power is shared among different social groups. Power Sharing among different social groups SCs STs Women
- 34. Power Sharing among Politicalparties, pressure groups and movements • No political party enjoys power for ever. • It is for the people to decide who should be in power. • With the emergence of coalition govt. many parties share power at the same time. • Pressure groups and movements have share in power by exerting pressure on the govt. • They exert pressure by various means and get policies framed in their favour.