Power Sharing: Belgium and Sri Lanka

Overview

• This chapter resumes the study of democracy.
• Power-sharing among the legislature, executive, and judiciary is crucial for a democracy's structure.
• The chapter uses stories from Belgium and Sri Lanka to explore how democracies manage power-sharing demands.
• Examines the necessity of power-sharing in a democracy.
• Discusses different forms of power-sharing, which will be elaborated on in subsequent chapters.

Belgium and Sri Lanka

• Belgium, in Europe, is smaller than Haryana (India) and borders France, the Netherlands, Germany, and Luxembourg.
• Belgium's population is just over one crore, about half of Haryana's population.
• Belgium has a complex ethnic composition: 59% live in the Flemish region speaking Dutch, 40% in Wallonia speaking French, and 1% speaking German.
• In Brussels, 80% speak French, while 20% speak Dutch.
• The minority French-speaking community was affluent and powerful, causing resentment from the Dutch-speaking community.
• Tensions arose between the Dutch and French-speaking communities in the 1950s and 1960s, especially acute in Brussels.
• Brussels had a unique issue: Dutch-speakers were a majority in the country but a minority in the capital.
• Sri Lanka, an island off Tamil Nadu, has a population around two crore.
• Sri Lanka's population is diverse, with Sinhala speakers (74%) and Tamil speakers (18%) as major groups.
• Tamils are divided into 'Sri Lankan Tamils' and 'Indian Tamils'.

Majoritarianism in Sri Lanka

• Sri Lanka became independent in 1948.
• Sinhala leaders aimed to dominate the government due to their majority.
• A series of majoritarian measures were enacted to establish Sinhala supremacy
• In 1956, Sinhala was recognized as the only official language, disregarding Tamil.
• Preferential policies favored Sinhala applicants for university positions and government jobs.
• A new constitution mandated state protection and fostering of Buddhism.
• Government measures gradually increased alienation among Sri Lankan Tamils.
• Tamil political parties were not sensitive to their language and culture.
• The constitution and government policies denied them equal political rights and discriminated against them in jobs, ignoring their interests.
• This led to strained relations between Sinhala and Tamil communities.
• Sri Lankan Tamils launched parties and struggles for Tamil to be recognized as an official language and for regional autonomy.
• The demand for autonomy in Tamil-populated provinces was repeatedly denied.
• By the 1980s, several political organizations demanded an independent Tamil Eelam in northern and eastern Sri Lanka.
• Distrust between communities escalated into widespread conflict and civil war.
• Thousands from both communities were killed, and many families became refugees.
• The civil war greatly damaged the country's social, cultural, and economic life, ending in 2009.

Accommodation in Belgium

• Belgian leaders recognized regional differences and cultural diversities.
• The Belgian constitution was amended four times between 1970 and 1993 to ensure that everyone could live together.
• The key element of the Belgium model: the number of Dutch and French-speaking ministers must be equal in the central government
• Special laws require support from the majority of members from each linguistic group.
• Central Government powers were decentralized to State Governments, which are not subordinate to the Central Government.
• Brussels has a separate government with equal representation for both communities.

Forms of Power-Sharing

• Power-sharing has emerged as an alternative to undivided political power.
• The belief that all government power should reside in one entity has been challenged by democracy.
• A core democratic principle is that the people are the source of all political power and the ability to have self-government.
• Good democratic governments respect diverse groups and views in society.
• Political power should be distributed among as many citizens as possible in a democracy.
• Sharing power among different government organs, such as the legislature, executive, and judiciary known as horizontal distribution.
• This power distribution ensures no single organ has unlimited power.
• Each organ checks the others, creating a balance of power between institutions.
• Ministers and government officials are accountable to the Parliament or State Assemblies.
• Judges, though appointed by the executive, can review the executive's functioning and laws made by legislatures.
• This arrangement is called a system of checks and balances
• Power is shared among governments at different levels, such as a general government for the entire country and governments at the provincial or regional level.
• A general government for the entire country is typically called a federal government and in India is known as the Central or Union Government.
• Governments at the provincial or regional level have different names in different countries.
• Power is shared among different social groups such as religious and linguistic communities.
• 'Community government' in Belgium is an example of this
• Certain countries have constitutional and authorized arrangements that weaker social sections and women are represented in legislatures and administrations.
• Power-sharing also manifests in how political parties, pressure groups, and movements control or influence those in power.
• Citizens must have the freedom to choose among contenders for power.
• In Contemporary democracies involves competition among parties, which ensures power does not stay in one hand
• In the long run, power is shared among different political parties representing different ideologies/social groups.
• This kind of sharing can be direct when 2 or more parties form an alliance to contest elections.
• If elected, they form a coalition government to share power
• Democracies have interest groups to share governmental power through participation in committees or bringing influence.