Power Sharing in Democracy: Belgium and Sri Lanka Case Studies

Posted on Sep 7, 2024 in Social sciences

Power Sharing

Power sharing is the very spirit of democracy. A democratic rule involves sharing power with those affected by its exercise and who have to live with its effects. All communities and social groups get their say in the governance. People have a right to be consulted on how they are to be governed. A legitimate government is one where citizens acquire a stake in the system through participation.

Power Sharing in India

India is a democratic country. People of India elect their representatives through direct franchise. After that, people’s representatives elect the government to make or amend rules & regulations and to carry out the day-to-day functioning of governance. One basic principle of democracy is that people are the source of all political power. 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. Everyone has a voice in the shaping of public policies. Therefore, it follows that in a democracy, political forms of power sharing should be distributed among as many citizens as possible.

Need for Power Sharing

  1. Power sharing helps reduce conflict between various social groups. Hence, power sharing is necessary for maintaining social harmony and peace.
  2. Power sharing helps avoid the tyranny of the majority. The tyranny of the majority not only destroys the minority social groups but also the majority social group.
  3. People’s voice forms the basis of a democratic government. Hence, power sharing is essential to respect the spirit of democracy.
  4. Avoiding conflict in society and preventing majority tyranny are considered prudential reasons for power sharing. Maintaining the spirit of democracy is considered the moral reason for power sharing.

Forms of Power Sharing

Power Sharing in Different Organs of Government

Power is shared among different organs of government, such as the legislature, executive, and judiciary. This type of distribution can be called the horizontal distribution of power. This type of power sharing allows different organs of government placed at the same level to exercise different powers. Such a separation ensures that unlimited power is not vested in any organ of the government. This ensures a balance of power among various institutions. The executive enjoys official power but is answerable to the legislature. The legislature has the right to make or amend laws, but it is answerable to the people. The judiciary is independent and ensures that the law of the land is obeyed by the legislature and executive.

Power Sharing at Different Levels

Power can be shared among governments at different levels. Usually, a central government is responsible for the entire nation, and state governments are responsible for different units of the federation. There is a clear-cut demarcation of subjects that come under the union government and those that come under the state government. However, some subjects come under the concurrent list, i.e., both state and central governments exercise power on such subjects.

Power Sharing Among Social Groups

Power may also be shared among different social groups. In a diverse country like India, there are various social, linguistic, and caste groups, and power is shared among each group. For example, people from minority communities, OBCs, and SC & ST are given reservations so that there could be adequate representation for them in the government machinery.

Power Sharing Among Various Pressure Groups

Power sharing among various political parties is more apparent for most people. Usually, the largest political party or the largest political coalition becomes the ruling party. The other parties form the opposition. While the opposition is not in power, it is responsible for seeing to it that the ruling party functions as per the wishes of the people. Heads of various committees come from various political parties, which is another way of sharing power among different political parties.

The Ethnic Composition of Belgium

  1. 59 percent live in the Flemish region and speak Dutch.
  2. 40 percent of people live in the Wallonia region and speak French.
  3. 1% of Belgians speak German.
  4. In the capital city, Brussels, 80 percent of people speak French, while 20 percent are Dutch-speaking.
  5. The minority French-speaking community was relatively rich and powerful. But the majority Dutch-speaking community was poor and weak.

The Ethnic Composition of Sri Lanka

  1. Sri Lanka is an island nation and has about two crore people.
  2. The major social groups are the Sinhala-speakers (74 percent) and the Tamil-speakers (18 percent).
  3. Among Tamils, there are two subgroups. Tamil natives of the country are called ‘Sri Lankan Tamils’. The rest, whose forefathers came from India as plantation workers during the colonial period, are called ‘Indian Tamils’.
  4. Most Sinhala-speaking people are Buddhist, while most Tamils are Hindus or Muslims.
  5. There are about 7 percent Christians, who are both Tamil and Sinhala.

What is Majoritarianism? How Was it Practiced in Sri Lanka?

  1. Majoritarianism is 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.
  2. In 1956, an Act was passed to recognize Sinhala as the only official language.
  3. The governments followed preferential policies that favored Sinhala applicants for university positions and government jobs.
  4. A new constitution recognized Buddhism as the national religion.
  5. Sri Lankan Tamils felt that none of the major political parties led by the Buddhist Sinhala leaders were sensitive to their language and culture. They felt that the constitution and government policies denied them equal political rights and freedoms.

Accommodation Arrangements in Belgium

  1. Belgium amended its constitution four times to work out an arrangement that would enable everyone to live together within the same country.
  2. 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 a majority of members from each linguistic group.
  3. Many powers of the central government have been given to state governments of the two regions of the country. The state governments are not subordinate to the Central Government.
  4. Brussels has a separate government in which both communities have equal representation.
  5. Apart from the Central and State Governments, there is a third kind of government called community government. This ‘community government’ is elected by people belonging to one language community. This government has the power regarding cultural, educational, and language-related issues.

What Do We Learn From These Two Stories of Belgium and Sri Lanka?

  1. In Belgium, the leaders have realized that the unity of the country is possible only by respecting the feelings and interests of different communities and regions.
  2. This realization resulted in mutually acceptable arrangements for sharing power.
  3. Sri Lanka shows us a contrasting example. Its leaders have not been very successful in accommodating the diverse ethnic groups.
  4. This resulted in a long civil war and heavy loss of men and material.

Why is Power Sharing Desirable?

  1. Prudential Reason: Power sharing is good because it helps reduce the possibility of conflict between social groups.
  2. Since social conflict often leads to violence and political instability, power sharing is a good way to ensure the stability of the political order.
  3. Moral Reason: Power sharing is the very spirit of democracy. A democratic rule involves sharing power with those who live with its effects.
  4. In a democracy, people have a right to be consulted on how they are to be governed. A legitimate government is one where citizens participate in the system.