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Class 10 Power-sharing: cheat sheet
CBSE Social Science. Why power sharing matters, how Belgium shared power among its language groups, what majoritarianism means, and the four forms of power sharing.
Key ideas
- Belgium changed its constitution four times between 1970 and 1993 to share power among its language groups.
- It gave equal numbers of Dutch- and French-speaking ministers at the Centre, powers to the regions, a Brussels government with equal representation, and community governments for culture, education and language.
- Majoritarianism is the belief that the majority community may rule as it likes, ignoring minorities; the book’s example is Sri Lanka’s 1956 Act making Sinhala the only official language.
- The prudential reason for power sharing: it reduces conflict and brings stability. The moral reason: it is the spirit of democracy, since people have a right to be consulted.
- Horizontal sharing is among the legislature, executive and judiciary, with checks and balances.
- Vertical sharing is among the levels of government: Centre, States and local bodies.
- Power is also shared among social groups (community governments, reserved constituencies) and among parties and pressure groups (coalitions).
Remember
| Belgium | Dutch 59%, French 40%, German 1%; Brussels: 80% French |
| Sri Lanka | independent 1948; Sinhala made the only official language in 1956 |
| Horizontal | among organs: legislature, executive, judiciary |
| Vertical | among levels: Centre, States, local bodies |
| Coalition government | two or more parties share power |
Watch out
- Swapping horizontal sharing (organs) and vertical sharing (levels).
- Thinking democracy is simply majority rule.
- Mixing the prudential reason (less conflict) with the moral reason (the spirit of democracy).
Worked example
Sri Lanka is about 74% Sinhala-speaking and 18% Tamil-speaking. For a population of 20,100,000, how many speak each, and what share speak neither?
Working: 74% and 18% of 20,100,000; 100 − 74 − 18
Answer: Sinhala 14,874,000, Tamil 3,618,000; 8% speak neither
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