Civil war - conflict between opposing groups within a country 5% Indian Tamils ( fore- fathers came from India as

that appear to be a war between the citizens of the country plantation workers)
7% Christian
Coalition government - when no single party is able to get
>Sri Lanka became independent in 1948
absolute majority in the parliament or legislative assembly ,
> the democratically elected government supported Sinhala
2 or more parties join to form coalition government
supremacy through majoritarianism How?
community government - a former government which is - 1956 an act passed to recognised Sinhala as the official
elected by the people of one language community. this type language and disregarding Tamil
of government exists in Belgium where Dutch French and - govt followed preferential policy favouring Sinhala
German speaking people no matter where they live, elect applicants for jobs and university positions
their own government - new constituencies stipulated that state will protect and
foster Buddhism
Dutch- people belonging to Holland Netherlands or Dutch
speaking people are called Dutch

Ethnic - social division based on shared culture Majoritarianism - a belief that the majority community
- relating to a population subgroup should be able to rule a country in which ever way it wants
(within a larger or more dominant completely disregarding the minority community
national or cultural group ) with a
Outcome of majoritarianism measures
common national or cultural tradition
> feeling of alienation among the Sri Lankan Tamils
Belgium- > when they felt that major parties were sensitive to only
>Country in Europe Sinhala culture and Sinhala language
> smaller than Haryana > constitution denied them equal rights and discriminated
>population consists of 1 crore against them
>Bordered with Netherlands France > as a result, tension between the Sinhala and Tamil
Germany and Luxembourg communities rose.
>capital is Brussels > Sri Lankan Tamil launched parties and struggled for
> divided into Flanders and Wallonia recognition of Tamil as an official language and formed the
> Flanders - 59% population live in Flanders independent Tamil Eelam (state ).
and speak Dutch > distrust between the 2 communities led to civil war
> Brussels - 80% French 20% speak Dutch > thousands of people of both communities were killed and
>Wallonia - 40% population live in Wallonia many were forced to leave the country as refugees
, 1% German > however in June 2009 the civil war came to an end

Accommodation in Belgium
> Between 1970 and 1993 they have amended their
Why is power sharing desirable?
constitution 4 times Why ?
- number of Dutch and French speaking ministers were > prudential reasons
equal in the central government - helps to reduce conflict between social
- many powers of the central government to given the groups
state government that of the 2 regions - reduces political instability and violence
- Brussels has separate governments in which both - imposing will of the majority community
communities have equal representatives may seem good in the short run but not
- apart from central and state government there is in the long run
community government elected by the people of one - these reasons stress that power sharing
language community, so that they have power regarding brings better outcomes
cultural, educational and language related issues
>moral reasons
> in Belgium the leaders have realised that the unity of the
- power sharing is the very spirit of
country is possible only by respecting the feelings and
democracy
interests of different regions and communities
- legitimate government is one where a
citizen through participation acquires a
Sri Lanka – stake in the system
>Island nation of the coast of Tamil Nadu - moral reasons emphasize that the very
> diverse population of 2 crore act of power sharing is valuable
>74% Sinhalese Buddhist
Explain the different forms of power sharing.
13% Tamil natives/Sri Lankan Tamil
Among different organs of the government

Power is shared among different organs of the

government
legislature makes laws
executive enforces these laws
Judiciary interprets these laws
organs are placed at same level but exercise
different powers
none of them have unlimited power
organs keep watch on each other
check and balance system
horizontal form of power sharing

Among governments at different levels

>Power is sharing between the central
government and state government and
local self government
>central govt – whole nation
>state govt – state
>local-self govt – small towns and cities
>vertical form of government

Among different social groups

>Power shares among religious and
linguistic groups
>community govt in Belgium is an example
of this type of power sharing
>socially weaker section and women
represented in legislature – reserved
constituencies
>advantage – to give minority communities,
a fair share in power

Among different political parties, pressure groups

>Political parties -
- direct election contested among parties
ensure that power does not remain in one
hand
- this can be seen when an alliance is
formed to contest the elections, coalition
govt
>Pressure groups –
- indirectly elected
- interest groups like farmers, industrialists
have share in power, bringing influence in
the decision-making process.