power sharing

Posted on Nov 25, 2017 in Social sciences

Power SharingPower 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, 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 representative through direct franchise. After that, people’s representatives elect the government to make or amend rules & regulations and to carry out 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 of Power Sharing1.Power sharing helps in reducing the conflict between various social groups. Hence, power sharing is necessary for maintaining social harmony and peace.2.Power sharing helps in avoiding the tyranny of majority. The tyranny of 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 as prudential reasons for power sharing. Maintaining the spirit of democracy is considered as 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 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 clear cut demarcation on subjects which come under the union government and those which come under the state government. However, there are some subjects which 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 the minority communities, OBCs, and SC & ST are given reservation 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 of the people. Usually the largest political party or the largest political coalition becomes the ruling party. The other parties form the opposition. While 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 comes from various political parties; which is another way of sharing power among different political parties.



The Ethnic composition of Belgium1.59 per cent lives in the Flemish region and speaks Dutch language.2.40 per cent people live in the Wallonia region and speak French.3.1% of the Belgians speak German.4.In the capital city Brussels, 80 per cent people speak French while 20 per cent 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 Lanka1.Sri Lanka is an island nation, and has about two crore people.2.The major social groups are the Sinhala-speakers (74 per cent) and the Tamil-speakers (18 per cent).
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 colonial period, are called ‘Indian Tamils’.
4.Most of the Sinhala speaking people are Buddhist, while most of the Tamils are Hindus or Muslims.
5.There are about 7 per cent Christians, who are both Tamil and Sinhala.
What is Majoritarianism? How was it practiced in Sri Lanka?
1.Majoritarianism isa belief in which 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 recognise Sinhala as the only official language.3. The governments followed preferential policies that favoured Sinhala applicants for university positions and government jobs.4. A new constitution recognised 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 so as to work out an arrangement that would enable everyone to live together within the same country.2.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 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 the communities have equal representation.
5.Apart from the Central and the State Government, 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 realisation resulted in mutually acceptable arrangements for sharing power.
4.This resulted in 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 to 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 political order.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.