CHAPTER 1-CIVICS-POWER SHARING

BELGIUM:
 BORDERS WITH- Netherlands,France,Germany,Luxembourg
 ETHNICITY (A division based on social culture):
REGION LANGUAGE PERCENTAGE

Flemish Dutch 59%

Wallonia French 40%
Eastern part of Belgium German 1%

 CAPITAL CITY-Brussels (also headquarters of EUROPEAN UNION)

BRUSSELS:
French Speaking=80%
Dutch Speaking=20%

 PROBLEM IN BRUSSELS- The Dutch speaking had a majority in the

country but had a minority in capital
city.

HOW BELGIUM ACCOMODATED ITS DIVERSITIES:

 In a span of 23 years(1970-1993) Belgium amended its constitution 4
times.
 Some key elements of their model:

1. EQUAL REPRESENTATION: The constituion prescribes -In the central

govt the number of french speaking and dutch speaking ministers
should be equal.Some laws and major policies require the majority
from each linguistic group hence no single community can make a
decision unilaterally.
2.DECENTRALIZATION OF POWER: Many powers of the central govt have
been given to the state govt.The state govt is not subordinate to the central
govt.

3. SEPARATE GOVT AT CAPITAL: Brussels has a separate govt in which

French and Dutch representation is equal. French accepted because-Dutch
accepted equal representation in central level.

4.COMMUNITY GOVT: There is a separate community govt to deal with

issues regarding-Language,Social&cultural issues, educational related
issues. This govt is elected by people belonging to each language
community-FRENCH,GERMAN, DUTCH.

5.ACCOMODATING SOCIAL DIVERSITY: By adopting a consociational( denoting a

political system formed by the cooperation of different social groups on the basis of shared power.) model of
democracy ,Belgium accommodated diversities and prevented a civil war.

OUTCOMES- In Belgium the leaders have realized that unity of the country is
possible only by respecting the feelings & interests of different
communities and regions.

SRI LANKA(Became independent in 1948):

 7%christians=tamil+sinhala
 SRI LANKAN TAMILS-Tamil natives of the country
Sri Lankan Tamils=North and eastern region of Sri Lanka.

 INDIAN TAMILS- Whose forefathers come from India as plantation

workers during colonial period.
 ETHNICITY

SINHALESE(74%) TAMIL(18%)

BUDDHIST HINDUS&MUSLIMS

SRI LANKAN INDIAN

TAMILS(13%)
TAMILS

(5%)

MAJORITARIANISM= A belief that majority community should be able to rule

the country in the way it wants by disregarding the minority community.

REASONS FOR FALIURE OF SRI LANKAN GOVT:

1. SINHALA SUPREMACY: The leaders of Sinhala community tried to

secure dominance over the govt by means of their majority and the
democratically elected govt adopted a series of majoritarian measures
that favored Sinhala community.

2.SINHALA ONLY ACT: In 1956 an act was passed that recognized sinhala
as the official language which disregarded Tamil.

3.PREFERENTIAL POLICIES-The newly elected govt followed policies that

favored Sinhala applicants for university positions and govt jobs.

4.FOSTERING BUDDHISM- The new constitution stipulated that the state

shall protect and foster Buddhism which was the religion practiced by
Sinhala community.
5.ALIENATION AMONG TAMILS: These govt measures created a feeling of
alienation among Tamils.
 They felt that none of the major parties led by Buddhist Sinhala
leaader were sensitive to their language & culture.
 They felt that constitution and govt:
(i) Denied them equal political and social right
(ii) Discriminated against them in field of jobs and opportunities
(iii) Ignored their interests
6.EFFORTS BY TAMILS:
 Launched parties and struggles for
(i) recognition of Tamil as an official language
(ii) Regional autonomy
(iii) Equality of opportunity in securing jobs & education
 Demanded for a separate TAMIL EELAM by setting up several political
organizations.

7.RESPONSE BY THE SO CALLED DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED GOVT:

 The demand of the Tamils for more autonomy to provinces was denied

Result of clashes b/w two communities:

8.CIVIL WAR: Thousand of people of both communities were killed. Many

families were forced to leave the country as refugees. Many lost their
livelihoods.
OUTCOMES:
1. The civil war caused a major social and economic setback in the
development of the country.
2. If majority community wants to force its dominance over the minority
communities and refuses to share power it can undermine the unity of
the country.

WHY IS POWER SHARING DESIRABLE?

 1. PRUDENTIAL REASONS(Based on gains & losses):

(i) REDUCES CONFLICTS- Power sharing prevents/ helps to reduce the

possibility of conflicts among social groups. (eg-case of Belgium)
(ii) ENSURES POLITICAL STABILITY-Power sharing helps to ensure political
stability among as it reduces the possibility of social conflicts which
can lead to violence.(eg-horizontal power sharing)
(iii) IMPROVED DECISION MAKING-(Eg-system of checks and balances in
horizontal power sharing)
FOR EXAMPLE-Reservations of constituencies for women and minorities

2.MORAL REASONS (Based on logic):

(i) UPHOLDS DEMOCRACY-Power sharing is the very spirit of democracy
where citizens acquire a stake in the government.
(ii) CITIZENS ARE ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN POLITICS-Power sharing ensures
citizens are involved in politics by debating and critisizing govt policies.
(iii) People have a right to be consulted on how they are to be governed.
FOR EXAMPLE-Decentralization of power in India
HOW DID THE IDEA OF POWER SHARING EMERGE?
 The idea of power sharing emerged in opposition to the notion of
undivided political power.
 It was believed for a long time-all the power should reside in one
person/group located at one place.(eg of princely states prior to
independence in India)
 With emergence of democracy-->these notions have changed.
 Features of democracy:
(i) People are the source of political power
(ii) People rule themselves through institutions of self govt
(iii) Due respect is given to diverse groups and views that exist in the
societies
(iv) Everyone has a voice in shaping of public policies
 To satisfy all these features of a democratic govt the idea of power
sharing emerged.
 FORMS OF POWER SHARING

1.HORIZONTAL DISTRIBUTION OF POWER:

 EQUAL DISTRIBUTION OF POWER: Power is equally shared among the
three organs-legislative,executive,judiciary.
 INDEPENDENT ROLES: Each organ works independently in its area of
responsibility(Legislature-law making etc.)
 CHECKS AND BALANCES: No other organ can misuse its power as each
organ checks the others. This results in a balance of power among
institutions.
 EG-Judges are appointed by exective, but they can check the
functioning of executive and laws made by legislatures.
Government officials exercise power but are responsible to
Parliament or state assemblies.
2.VERTICAL DISTRIBUTION OF POWER:
 The division of power involving higher and lower levels of govt is called
vertical division of power.
 LEVELS OF GOVT: There are different levels of govt:
(i) Central/Union Govt:
 A general govt for the entire nation and oversees the entire nation.
 The union govt alone can make laws related to subjects mentioned
in Union list (defence,foreign affairs,banking,currency etc.)
(ii) State govt:
 These govts rule at the regional/state level.
 They can alone make laws regarding the subjects mentioned in the
state list.(police,trade,agriculture,commerce)
(iii) Local govt:
 They rule at the local level including ruraal and urban areas.
 Rural area-Panchayats, Urban Area-Municipalities

 ENSURES DECENTRALIZATION OF POWER-Vertical power sharing is the

Distribution of power and decision-making authority between different
 levels of the govt. It ensures that power is not concentrated in one
central govt and the local communities are taken into account.

3.DISTRIBUTION OF POWER AMONG SOCIAL GROUPS:

 The distribution of power among social groups is representation of

different social groups in decision making process of the govt and
makes sure that everyone has a voice in decision making process.
 EG-Community govt of Belgium
 There are constitutional and legal arrangements whereby socially
weaker groups and women are represented in the legislatures.
 ADVANTAGES:
 This type of arrangement is meant to give space in the govt
 Administers diverse social groups who would otherwise feel alienated
from govt.
 Used to give minority communities a fair share in power.

4.POWER SHARING AMONG POLITICAL PARTIES,PRESSURE

GROUPS,MOVEMENTS:
(i) POLITICAL PARTIES:
 In the long run, power is shared among different political parties that represent
different ideologies and social groups. Sometimes this kind of sharing can be
direct, 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.
(ii) PRESSURE GROUPS:
 In a democracy we find interest groups of
traders,bussinessmen,industrialists and farmers.
 They will also have a share in governmental power either through
participation in movements ,protests, governmental committees.