Power Sharing

Need for Power Sharing

Power sharing means dividing and distributing power among different organs and levels of government, and among different groups.
In a democracy, power cannot stay with one person or one group for a long time.
Power sharing reduces tensions, prevents domination and protects unity.
It makes government more stable, responsible and acceptable to people.

Reason	Why power sharing is needed	Layer link
Avoid domination	Prevents one community or group from controlling others	Political Systems & Power
Peace and trust	Reduces conflicts among communities and regions	Society & Social Structure
Stable government	Different groups feel included, so they support the system	Change, Continuity & Impact
Better decisions	More views are heard before policies are made	Political Systems & Power

Power sharing is not a weakness of democracy; it is its strength. It protects unity by respecting diversity.

In long answers, link power sharing with stability, unity and respect for all groups. Use keywords: conflict, domination, stability.

Case Study – Belgium

Belgium is a small country in Europe with Dutch-speaking and French-speaking communities, plus a small German-speaking group.
Dutch-speaking people live mainly in the northern region (Flanders); French-speaking people live mainly in the southern region (Wallonia).
Differences in language and economic development created tensions between communities.
Belgium avoided conflict by carefully designing a power sharing arrangement.

Feature of power sharing in Belgium	Explanation	Layer link
Equal ministers	Number of Dutch and French-speaking ministers in the central government is equal	Political Systems & Power
State governments	State governments are not subordinate to the central government in many areas	Political Systems & Power
Community government	Separate government for each language group with power over culture, education and language	Culture, Religion & Beliefs

These arrangements are called “accommodation” because they adjust to the needs of each community.
Belgium became a stable and peaceful country by respecting different groups.

Belgium shows that sharing power among language groups can prevent breakup of a country.

For Belgium, always mention: equal ministers, separate state governments, and community government.

Case Study – Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is an island country in South Asia with Sinhala-speaking and Tamil-speaking communities.
Sinhalese are in majority; Tamils are in minority (Sri Lankan Tamils and Indian Tamils).
The government followed policies that favoured the majority community.

Policy	Effect on minorities	Layer link
Preference to Sinhala language	Tamil language got less importance in administration and jobs	Culture, Religion & Beliefs
Special status to majority religion	Minority communities felt excluded from national identity	Culture, Religion & Beliefs
Limited share in power	Tamils had low representation in decision-making	Political Systems & Power

These policies are called majoritarianism, where majority community makes decisions in its own favour.
Result: protests, mistrust and long civil conflict, including demand for a separate state.

Sri Lanka shows that ignoring minority interests can turn diversity into conflict.

Use contrast words in answers: Belgium “accommodation” vs Sri Lanka “majoritarianism”.

Comparison – Belgium and Sri Lanka

Aspect	Belgium	Sri Lanka	Layer link
Approach	Power sharing and accommodation	Majoritarianism	Comparative Analysis
Community role	All language groups represented in government	Majority community got preference	Political Systems & Power
Result	Peace, unity and stability	Conflict, mistrust and civil war	Change, Continuity & Impact

Key idea: Respecting all communities leads to stability; ignoring them leads to conflict.

For “compare and contrast” questions, always write at least one similarity and two differences.

Forms of Power Sharing

Form of power sharing	How it works	Example	Layer link
Horizontal power sharing	Power shared among different organs of government	Legislature, Executive, Judiciary	Political Systems & Power
Vertical power sharing	Power shared between different levels of government	Union, State, local bodies	Political Systems & Power
Social group power sharing	Power shared among different social groups	Reservation for SC/ST/OBC and women	Society & Social Structure
Political parties and groups	Power shared among parties, alliances, pressure groups	Coalitions, consultations	Political Systems & Power

Remember: Horizontal = organs of government, Vertical = levels of government, Social = communities, Political = parties and groups.

Draw a small diagram in notes: centre–state–local (vertical) and three organs in one line (horizontal).

Power Sharing in India

The Constitution of India creates a federal system with clear power sharing.
It also separates functions of the three organs: Legislature, Executive, Judiciary.
Power is shared with social groups through reservation and representation.
Political parties and coalitions share power at Union and State levels.

Area	Power sharing feature	Layer link
Union–State relations	Subjects divided into Union, State and Concurrent lists	Political Systems & Power
Organs of government	Legislature makes laws, Executive implements, Judiciary interprets	Political Systems & Power
Social justice	Reservation in education, jobs and local bodies for SC/ST/OBC and women	Society & Social Structure
Party system	Coalition governments and regional parties share power at different levels	Change, Continuity & Impact

India combines territorial power sharing (Union–State–local) with social power sharing (reservation and representation).

For questions on India, always mention federal structure, three organs and reservation together.

Social Studies (2A)