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Democracy in Plural Societies: A Comparative Exploration
Abstract
While it may be difficult to achieve and maintain stable democratic governments in countries with deep religious, ideological, linguistic, cultural, or ethnic cleavages, Lijphart argues that it is not at all impossible. Through the analysis of political systems in six continents, he demonstrates that what he calls consociational democracy can be successful in severely divided or plural societies. "Here, once again, Arend Lijphart is directing our attention to matters which will surely engage much of the attention of students of comparative politics in the next decade." G. Bingham Powell, Jr., American Political Science Review "A study which can speak to such a wide audience in political science deserves a warm welcome from the profession." Government and Opposition "A copybook example of the comparative method of political analysis, as well as indispensable reading for all who have an interest in the nature and prospects of representative democracy, whether in Europe or beyond."-The Times Higher Education Supplement "This well-written work, containing a wealth of information on politics of many diverse nations, is highly recommended."-Library Journal
... To analyze and evolve the theoretic approaches and empirical studies to review the powersharing models in the hastily evolving world, different scholars have produced a vast body of literature about the governability of multi-ethnic and plural states (Kuszewska-Bohnert, 2023). Lijphart (1977) suggested a consociational model of democracy and government to manage segmental differences in plural societies better. This theory indicates that the issues in multiethnic and plural states can be addressed and resolved in a better way through a consensual approach that involves the formation of a "grand coalition government" having representation of all social segments (Lijphart, 1977(Lijphart, , 1996(Lijphart, , 2002(Lijphart, , 2012. ...
... Lijphart (1977) suggested a consociational model of democracy and government to manage segmental differences in plural societies better. This theory indicates that the issues in multiethnic and plural states can be addressed and resolved in a better way through a consensual approach that involves the formation of a "grand coalition government" having representation of all social segments (Lijphart, 1977(Lijphart, , 1996(Lijphart, , 2002(Lijphart, , 2012. The other features are segmental autonomy, minority veto, and representation of different social segments in state services according to their population (Lijphart, 1977(Lijphart, , 1996(Lijphart, , 2002(Lijphart, , 2012. ...
... This theory indicates that the issues in multiethnic and plural states can be addressed and resolved in a better way through a consensual approach that involves the formation of a "grand coalition government" having representation of all social segments (Lijphart, 1977(Lijphart, , 1996(Lijphart, , 2002(Lijphart, , 2012. The other features are segmental autonomy, minority veto, and representation of different social segments in state services according to their population (Lijphart, 1977(Lijphart, , 1996(Lijphart, , 2002(Lijphart, , 2012. The consensual model of Lijphart was recognized later. ...
This study aims to investigate the application of consociational political strategies during the tenure of the Pakistan People’s Party’s Regime from 2008 to 2013. We question the conventional wisdom claimed by different political analysts that, being a heterogeneous society divided into different social segments, consociational theory cannot solve segmental issues in Pakistan. We argue consociational strategy is not irrelevant to Pakistan. The political system of Pakistan experienced a drastic transformation in attitude, style of politics, and even preferences of political elites in the post-Charter of Democracy’s political environment. The leadership of the PPP successfully materialised different aspects of consensual democracy, such as the grand coalition, the supremacy of parliament, segmental autonomy, and proportionality, during its five-year tenure. We also argue that the regime strengthens the parliament and political parties, which are the fundamentals of consociational strategy. The research is qualitative by nature, and a descriptive approach and interpretive methods have been adopted to answer the research puzzles.
... Additionally, Lijphart has presented four consociational principles that distinguish a consociationalism system: Grand Coalition, Mutual Veto, Proportionality & Segmental Autonomy. (Lijphart, 1977) All four are intertwined and will be elaborated upon in Chapter Three. ...
... Besides the four pillars, Lijphart specifies some conditions conducive and favorable but not wholly sufficient for successful consociational democracies: a balance of power among the segments; a multi-party system with segmental parties; the small size of the country; some cross-cutting cleavages; overarching loyalties; a representative party-system; isolation of the segments from each other; and traditions of elite accommodation; balance of power; few segments, small size, external threats, overarching values, socio-economic equality, isolation, and traditions (Lijphart, 1977). ...
... Lijphart does not restrict grand coalitions into any strict form, rather he expresses that ''the essential characteristic of the grand coalition is not any institutional arrangement as the participation by the leaders of all significant segments in governing a plural society'' (ibid) Moreover, the Mutual Veto is another trait. Lijphart (1977) explains that grand coalitions alone aren't sufficient protection for minority groups. If majority-approved decisions ''affect the vital interests of a minority segment'' (Lijphart, 1977:36) then elite cooperation would be endangered. ...
This paper examines whether social cohesion in Iraq is fostered or undermined by the power-sharing arrangements of Iraq's governing structure, which are practiced through the Muhasasa system, that allocates resources and power on ethno-sectarian lines. The Muhasasa system was instilled to prevent the rise of another Ba'athist regime wherein one group dominates the resources and other societal segments. The 2005 constitution of Iraq is federal and recognizes minority rights and lays out power-sharing arrangements. Similarly, the president being Kurdish, the Prime Minister being Shiite and the speaker of parliament being Sunni have become conventional practices. These practices and arrangements are supposed to enable stability and equal representation, but the cycles of protest, the Sunni-Shiite civil war of 2006, the rise of ISIS and hybridized security apparatus, and divisive identity politics during elections, all call for a re-examination of Iraqi governance structure. Thus, this paper asks: How effective has the consociationalism of Iraq been in fostering Social Cohesion? To answer, this paper, through thematic qualitative analysis, examines the constitution-writing process of 2005, the constitutional and conventional power-sharing arrangements of Iraq, the Tishreen protests, the rates of voter turnout in six national elections, and the elite corruption which pervades Iraq. The theoretical framework is underpinned by the concept of Social Cohesion the indicators of which are: Belonging vs Isolation, Recognition vs Rejection, Inclusion vs Exclusion, and Participation vs Non-involvement. The second theoretical framework is Lijphart's four traits of consociationalism which are: Proportional Representation, grand coalition, mutual veto, and segmental autonomy. The correlation between all indicators is tested to see whether they correlate positively or negatively. The findings show the correlation is negative and that the power-sharing arrangements have undermined, not fostered social cohesion. Instead of promoting Belonging, Muhasasa has rather isolated groups from one another and fragmented Iraqi national identity. Instead of promoting participation, the system has rather decreased political participation and increased non-involvement in elections, likewise, instead of recognizing minorities, the system had rejected them at some points, and in place of inclusion has been corruption which excludes citizens from enjoying the country's wealth.
... Studies have shown that horizontal inequalities along a society's ethnic or geographical borders are generally likely to increase the risk of violent conflict and may even lead to civil war (Lijphart, 1977;Stewart, 2016). Under these conditions, decentralization can make a real contribution to the prevention of ethnic conflict, as has been suggested since the pioneering work of Lijphart (1977). ...
... Studies have shown that horizontal inequalities along a society's ethnic or geographical borders are generally likely to increase the risk of violent conflict and may even lead to civil war (Lijphart, 1977;Stewart, 2016). Under these conditions, decentralization can make a real contribution to the prevention of ethnic conflict, as has been suggested since the pioneering work of Lijphart (1977). This question was addressed by Brancati (2006), who used quantitative methods to examine whether political decentralization reduces or encourages violent conflict between groups. ...
This paper analyses whether and how decentralization decrease state fragility in developing countries. Fiscal autonomy index that reflects local’s autonomy decision-making is considered to measure decentralization. The empirical analysis uses the generalized method of moments (GMM) on a sample of 64 developing countries from 1995 to 2018. Our study finds that increased local government’ autonomy in decision-making positively affects the decreasing of state fragility in developing countries and substantially increase state legitimacy. The result is robust to a battery of robustness checks. Furthermore, the result of nonlinear analysis shows a U-inverted and U-shaped connection between decentralization and state fragility. The result also indicates that the fiscal “share-rule” system between central and local governments increases the likelihood of state fragility. From a policy implication, we suggest to give more political and financial autonomy to the local government in order to provide better quality of public goods and services to the citizens.
... A unitary system has the potential to erode power-sharing frameworks that are essential for addressing the diverse needs and aspirations of different ethnic, linguistic, or regional communities. In his seminal work, Arend Lijphart (1977) contends that unitary states, despite their streamlined governance, often face challenges in addressing the needs of pluralistic societies, particularly those characterized by political or social divisions. Lijphart's analysis elucidates the intricate balance between efficiency and inclusivity within unitary systems. ...
... The JVP's commitment to a unitary state structure is fundamental to its political identity; however, this stance poses a significant barrier to effectively addressing the Tamil question and the aspirations for autonomy and rights expressed by Sri Lanka's minority communities. According to conflict resolution theory (Lijphart, 1977), incorporating Tamil and Muslim representatives into power-sharing arrangements within the political framework may offer a viable route to achieving peace. Nonetheless, this outcome is contingent upon the provision of adequate political space and autonomy for these groups to safeguard their interests. ...
A sizable portion of Sinhala-Buddhists, including monks, supported the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led National People's Power (NPP) in the recent September 2024 presidential election. The results indicate that the JVP captured a significant share of votes from Mahinda Rajapaksa's traditional Sinhala-Buddhist base. A key political symbol of the Sinhala-Buddhist nationalist ideology is the preservation of the unitary state structure introduced during British colonial rule. Emerging in the late 1960s as a radical leftist political entity, the JVP initially advocated for social justice and anti-imperialism. However, over time, the socio-political dynamics among Sinhala-Buddhists have shaped the party's ideology and its relationship with the Buddhist clergy. This commentary examines the interactions between the JVP, Buddhist monks, and Sinhala-Buddhist hegemony, highlighting their mutual influence on Sri Lanka's political landscape.
... The institutional fabric crafted under the DPA melds elements of consociationalism and integration, embodying a hybrid model reminiscent of Lijphart's (1977) consociational democracy and Horowitz's (1985) integrative approach. Caspersen's (2004) analysis underscores the dynamic balance between these two theoretical paradigms within BiH's evolving context, noting shifts over time and the complex interplay of consociational and integrative features. ...
... Caspersen's (2004) analysis underscores the dynamic balance between these two theoretical paradigms within BiH's evolving context, noting shifts over time and the complex interplay of consociational and integrative features. Lijphart's (1977) consociational model emphasises elite cooperation within institutions that explicitly recognise societal cleavages to safeguard group rights and foster self -determination. BiH's implementation of consociationalism is evident in features like the rotating presidency, ethnic proportionality in governance and entity -based autonomy. ...
This article delves into the intricate relationship between contested state‑ hood and European Union (EU) integration, explicitly focusing on Bosnia and Her‑ zegovina (BiH). Since the early 1990s, amidst the dissolution of Yugoslavia and the EU’s enlargement efforts, BiH has grappled with challenges to its statehood, which have impeded its alignment with EU requirements. Despite being universally recognised as an independent state, BiH faces internal contestation, evident in its consociational constitutional framework and the divergent nationalist narratives among constituent groups. Moreover, while BiH maintains external sovereignty, it coexists with significant international oversight, complicating its path toward EU integration. The EU’s expansion into internally contested states like BiH necessitates a nuanced approach considering the entanglement of Europeanisation and de‑Daytonisation processes. This article em‑ phasises the complexity of BiH’s governance landscape, where internal dynamics and external influences converge, creating formidable obstacles to sovereignty assertion and governance efficacy. To surmount these challenges, BiH must address internal divisions, foster inclusive governance mechanisms and balance external supervision and internal autonomy. In shedding light on how contested statehood influences the EU’s role and policies, the article discusses the concept of ‘complex sovereignty’, particularly relevant to BiH’s context
... Nordlinger (1972: 20) suggested six constitutional and institutional measures to regulate ethnic conflict, namely: a stable governing coalition, proportional representation, mutual veto, purposive depoliticization, compromise and concessions. Likewise, Lijphart (1977) suggested "consociational democracy", where different groups of the society participate in a grand coalition government. Accordingly, each group has a proportional representation in the government and the parliament with the right of mutual veto and ethnic autonomy. ...
... However, he asserts that when violence is intense, separation will be the only option. Kaufmann (1996) It appears from the above discussion that, in deeply divided societies where violent conflicts have polarized the communities, the model that favours integration is unlikely and rather partition and/or separation seem more plausible, through federal arrangements (Lijphart, 1977, 2004, Reynal-Querol, 2002. To this end, Lijphart (2007) reasserted that the federal system is undoubtedly an excellent model to attain autonomy for geographically concentrated communal groups. ...
The regulation of ethnic and sectarian conflicts has been one of the primary challenges faced by the Iraqi state since its creation in 1921. The 2005 constitution adopted federalism as a model to tackle the question of identity as well as ethnic and sectarian conflicts; nevertheless, federalism has not yet been able to resolve these skirmishes. This article looks at the reasons behind the ineffectiveness of Iraqi federalism. It also attempts to investigate the people's perceptions toward this model. Scholars have discussed proposals for federal configuration in its various forms. However, the views and perceptions of various Iraqi communities involved in the conflicts have hardly been taken into consideration. This article aims to fill this gap in the literature by presenting, discussing and analyzing the Iraqi perspectives. It finds out that based on the cultural background, Iraqis have different perspectives toward suitable models for Iraq but federalism can be still considered as a compromise model between them.
... Three principles lie at the heart of consociational theories of democracy: first, groups and group identities, not individuals, are the foundational unit of political representation; second, inter-group consensus must be a prerequisite for central state action; and finally, groups should exercise political autonomy on all matters of intra-group concern. The supposed practical and normative appeal of this approach to institutional design lies in its capacity to enable elite inter-group cooperation on key issues of collective concern while de-escalating "identitarian" conflict by removing wide swathes of public life from the domain of legitimate national political contestation (Lijphart 1977a). Coined by the US comparative political scientist David Apter (1961), consociational democracy is most closely associated with Lijphart, who elaborated it as a generalizable model of democratic institutional design across a series of studies in the 1970s. ...
... In proposing institutional pluralism as a response to social pluralism, consociational theorists gave a specifically identitarian formulation to democratic theories with far wider currency (Apter 1961;Lijphart 1977a). Despite the absence of cross-cutting cleavages that democratic theorists had identified as a favorable sociological condition for democratic pluralism (Lipset 1981, 32), Lijphart argued that political stability could be secured in contexts of social pluralism through explicit strategies of institutional design. ...
This article reframes understandings of pluralism in democratic theory by showing that the management of late and post-colonial identitarian conflict was integral to its incorporation into twentieth-century political science. It does so by reconstructing the central but underexamined place of theories of consociational democracy in efforts to reform South Africa’s apartheid constitution in the 1970s and 80s. Consociational democratic theory offered such promising resources for apartheid reform, it contends, because it entwined (a) a conception of social pluralism that redescribed apartheid’s racial hierarchy as identitarian difference with (b) a conception of institutional pluralism that curtailed the most transformative possibilities of decolonization through universal suffrage. Recovering pluralism’s colonial genealogies clarifies the conditions under which the recognition of identitarian diversity can function as a disavowal of racial domination, positioning democratic theory as an adjunct to projects of neo-colonial order.
... Since its establishment as an independent state and separate entity from Greater Syria, Lebanon is considered a special and distinct system from the rest of the Arab regimes in the region. Political scientist Arned Lijphart (1977) considered that Lebanon falls within the group of consensual democratic countries, which depend on a system of balances and participation among elites with di erent backgrounds that are compatible with power-sharing in a manner that preserves the rights of di erent elites of the sectarian/national/ ethnic groups that constitute the common entity. e Lebanese 'national pact' and constitution, based on the 1926 mandatory constitution, have provided the main framework for the Lebanese political life throughout the whole period preceding the Civil War. ...
The social mobilization (Hirak in Arabic) started in Lebanon on 17.10.2019 has been an unprecedented event in the modern history of Lebanon, for it has lasted for more than half a year, but most importantly, for being a cross-sectarian and cross-regional mobilization in state based primarily on sectarian structure and on a sectarian-based sharing of power. The present mobilization has put the foundations of the Lebanese regime at stake. This article attempts to trace Hezbollah’s reaction by following the trail of the speeches held by the organization’s secretary-general about the mobilization in the first two months, as Hezbollah is the main force largely dominating the Lebanese regime, and how the present mobilization has rendered Hezbollah the main advocate for a regime which Hezbollah (at its outset) sought to uproot. The article demonstrates that Hezbollah is somewhat ‘embarrassed’ at the grassroot level, for its muqawama (Resistance) project would seem deficient unless it provides all the Lebanese with a clear-cut answer regarding the socioeconomic situation, something that the party has not done yet.
... Sin embargo, el método comparado puede solventar algunos de los problemas que ha presentado la estadística en su aplicación en ciencia política. La 59 disposición generalmente de pocos casos y muchas variables (Lijphart, 1977, Bartolini, 1994), la imposibilidad de cuantificar de forma precisa fenómenos de carácter político considerados relevantes o la dificultad para establecer generalizaciones en el marco de contextos únicos para cada caso (Ragin, 1987), son razones que dificultan enormemente la utilización de las técnicas estadísticas. ...
Este libro ofrece una visión integral y crítica sobre la evolución, teorías y enfoques de la ciencia política, especialmente desde una perspectiva latinoamericana. Está estructurado en tres grandes partes:
Teorías y enfoques de la ciencia política: Se analizan los orígenes, el desarrollo histórico y los debates metodológicos de la disciplina. Se destacan autores como Almond, Sartori, Easton, Weber y Maquiavelo, explorando conceptos como poder, legitimidad, Estado, democracia y biopolítica. También se hace una revisión de las escuelas teóricas y del desarrollo de la ciencia política en América Latina y México, donde se observa una creciente institucionalización de la disciplina, aunque aún con retos en su autonomía frente a otras ciencias sociales.
Sistemas políticos: Se exploran los elementos que componen los sistemas políticos —sistemas de partidos, gobiernos y elecciones— y sus interrelaciones. Se explica cómo estos configuran estructuras de poder y representación, y cómo afectan la gobernanza democrática en la región.
Estado moderno, biopolítica y tecnología: Se examinan los desafíos contemporáneos que enfrentan los Estados modernos ante el auge de las tecnologías de la información, el gobierno electrónico y los cambios inducidos por la pandemia. Se plantea la necesidad de actualizar el rol del Estado en entornos digitales, garantizando derechos humanos y cerrando brechas de desigualdad.
En conjunto, la obra proporciona herramientas conceptuales, históricas y analíticas para entender los fenómenos políticos contemporáneos desde una ciencia política crítica, empírica y con compromiso democrático.
... This theory aimed to find more space in liberal society for diverse and disadvantaged cultural groups, although the boundary between culture and politics has always been the subject of fierce political and academic debates. One of the efficient attempt to reconcile universal rights and collective diversities is made in the theory of consociational democracy of Aren Lijphart (Lijphart 1977). It was a model to introduce political mechanisms to resolve burning issues related to the identity of cultural groups and their participation in the political model of the state. ...
... In democratic contexts, identity-based elements such as religion, ethnicity, and social class significantly impact voter behavior (Saputra et al., 2022). This influence is well-documented in the works of Lijphart (1977), Leege and Kellsstedt (1993), and Mujani et al., (2012), who have all explored how these factors shape electoral outcomes. Despite these insights, a comprehensive understanding of how state institutions, especially police intelligence, effectively mitigate the negative repercussions of identity politics during elections remains largely unexplored. ...
This study investigated the influence of identity politics on Indonesia’s electoral dynamics during the 2014 and 2019 elections and evaluates the role of the National Police Security Intelligence Agency in addressing these challenges. Amidst the backdrop of low political literacy and the pervasive influence of social media, religious and ethnic tensions were notably manipulated for electoral gain. The research employed qualitative methods, including interviews, observations, and document analysis, primarily conducted in Jakarta. It revealed that the National Police adopted a "cooling system" intelligence strategy to effectively mitigate conflicts arising from identity politics while also considering the impact of global political trends on local scenarios. This study contributes to the development of an operational intelligence policing model, offering strategic insights for managing identity-based conflicts in democratic elections. This research not only enriches the academic discourse on electoral security and democracy but also provides actionable insights for policymakers and law enforcement agencies aiming to uphold democratic integrity amidst challenging political climates.
... In multi-ethnic countries, a majority-led electoral system lowers democratic standards and further divides ethnic groups. Therefore, it can be concluded that these problems should be taken seriously [4]. If a federal system is to be implemented in a multi-ethnic country like Myanmar, not only ethnic diversity but also territorial diversity must be considered. ...
According to the ethnic armed problems and public demands in My- anmar, the emergence of a federal system can clearly be consid- ered as a political solution. Numerous studies have demonstrated that the consequences of Sino-American rivalry effects on political and sociological affairs in Southeast Asian countries. Democracy, ethnicity, and religion are the three new dominant factors to influ- ence the federal system in multi-ethnic countries in Southeast Asia countries. This research explains that Sino-American rivalry is linked to considering federalism in Myanmar by analyzing the influence of Sino-American Rivalry on these three factors. This research then also argues that Myanmar political dilemma has emerged from po- litical ideology competition between China and America. While the US-led western countries support promoting a political culture of de- veloping democratic systems and decentralizing processes, China wants Myanmar to focus on political stability and economic interests in its own way. This research also indicates that China’s links to the ethnic armed forces will be a challenge in Myanmar’s federalism as China’s influence on the ethnic armed forces to impede the US-My- anmar relationship and a risk of the secession of their territory and the disintegration of the state.
... Ethnic or racial identity is also a persistent avenue of political exclusion. The challenges of democracy in ethnically heterogeneous societies are a matter of longstanding scholarly debate (Fish and Brooks 2004;Horowitz 1993;Lijphart 1977). Political exclusion through enduring ethnic or racial hierarchies in turn "enervate democratic citizenship for all" (Morgan andKelly 2021, 2023) not just through directly excluding marginalized groups but through undermining faith in democracy across the population. ...
When do political transitions lead to greater inclusion for groups historically excluded from power? Scholars and policymakers often assume the answer is simple: a transition will result in more inclusion when it ends in democracy. Yet this answer is incomplete at best, since many democracies systematically exclude women, particular ethnic groups, or lower economic classes from power. Using data on political transitions around the world from 1945 to 2014, this study shows that a political transition’s initiating force critically shapes post-transition political inclusion. When transitions are initiated through unarmed civil resistance campaigns they achieve greater advances in inclusion relative to other types of transition. We propose three mechanisms to explain this effect: civil resistance leads to greater continued mobilization and civic activism among the historically excluded, provides greater opportunities for elites from historically excluded groups to rise to positions of leadership in new regimes, and forges more pluralistic norms of political behavior.
... The Good Friday Agreement (1998) enshrines the principle of 'parity of esteem' for unionism and nationalism. The Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive at Stormont feature Lijphart's (1977) four conditions of consociation to greater or lesser degrees: grand coalition government representing all 'significant' segments of society, proportional representation of those groups, mutual veto for each and group autonomy in certain policy areas. On entering the Assembly, members are required to designate as Unionist, Nationalist or Other, to ensure protections for the unionist and nationalist blocs. ...
... Documenting variations in political attitudes across ethnic groups is a vibrant area of analysis and considerable scholarly research concerning this issue has been released (Abramson 1983;Avery 2006;Citrin et al. 1975;Hetherington 1998;Lijphart 1977; Thorp and Paredes 2010;Silver and Dowley 2000), however, due in part to the challenges involved in measuring ethnic inequalities, many of its potential effects on political trust still await systematic cross-national exploration. In this sense, this article aims at contributing to these debates by offering new evidence on the relevance of the interplay between socioeconomic and ethno-racial inequalities as key factors in explaining attitudes towards institutions across Latin America. ...
During the last decades, political distrust has seemingly become a common trend across Latin American democracies, however, differences in the levels of confidence among groups have also been identified. This article considers the potential effects of ethno-racial structures and their interactions with other forms of socioeconomic inequalities on political trust. Building on data from four waves of the Latinobarometer project and contextual measures from different sources, we analyze these relations and find that both socioeconomic and ethno-racial inequalities affect political trust and impact on the formation of different relations with the political system across Latin America. Furthermore, in particular it is found that at the individual-level interactions between inequalities shape political trust differently depending on the particular ethno-racial identification. These findings contribute to the understanding of ethnicity and race and its associations with other structural inequalities in shaping mass political culture.
... Les fédérations démocratiques et les démocraties consociatives forment des piliers fondamentaux sur lesquels il est possible de construire une société en harmonie avec plusieurs cultures, ainsi qu'avec diverses traditions politiques et juridiques. Pour être efficace et légitime, une démocratie consociative doit défendre quatre principes : une grande coalition entre les partis politiques, une autonomie territoriale et un fédéralisme segmentaire, la proportionnalité et un veto mutuel (Lijphart, 1977). En d'autres termes, la règle de la majorité est considérée comme une façon dissonante et déraisonnable de gouverner. ...
La dècada 2020-2030 podria ser favorable a l’arribada del federalisme multinacional a escala internacional. Davant el malestar creixent de les grans potències i les organitzacions internacionals per la creació de nous estats, el federalisme multinacional és un camí que cal explorar. A canvi de la lleialtat de les nacions minoritàries a l’Estat sobirà, aquesta estructura política els permet reprendre, si no restaurar, la seua sobirania original, tot considerant les necessitats de coordinació, consulta i convivència amb els socis polítics dins dels grups federals o en procés de federalització.
En aquesta tercera part d’un projecte assagístic iniciat l’any 2007 amb ‘Més enllà de la nació unificadora: al·legat en favor del federalisme multinacional’ (Premi Josep Maria Vilaseca i Marcet) i aprofundit, l’any 2012, amb ‘Temps d’incertituds. Assajos sobre el federalisme i la diversitat nacional’ (finalista del premi Donald Smiley), tots dos traduïts a diverses llengües, s’aborden les relacions entre majories i minories, alhora que s’exploren els avenços teòrics en la recerca sobre el federalisme i els nacionalismes contemporanis, tot fonamentant l’anàlisi en l’estudi dels primers pobles i les nacions minoritàries en un context democràtic. Avui dia és crucial avaluar les reivindicacions conflictives tenint en compte la noció de legitimitat més que no pas la noció massa estreta de legalitat
... Selain itu, representasi proporsional bermanfaat sebagai resolusi damai untuk mengatasi ketegangan sosial dalam masyarakat majemuk (Lijphart, 1977). Lembaga pemilu yang proporsional tidak menyebabkan munculnya kelompok antisistem, yaitu kelompok yang tidak puas, yang bertujuan untuk merombak sistem politik atau pemerintahan yang ada di suatu negara (Aksoy dan Carter 2014). ...
p> In October 2020 and January 2021, the Anti-Radicalism Movement (GAR) alumni of the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) reported the former Chairman of Muhammadiyah, Din Syamsuddin, to the State Civil Apparatus Commission (KASN). GAR believes that Din has violated the law which prohibits the State Civil Apparatus (ASN) from engaging in politics. The accusations against Din sparked a public reaction because they were linked to radicalism. This report with nuances of stigmatization and character assassination also provoked a strong reaction from Muslims, especially the Muhammadiyah extended family, because it was considered to be cornering them. Azyumardi Azra called the report absurd, baseless and unreasonable. Din Syamsudin's reporting because he was considered radical was considered to be part of the phenomenon of the emergence of fake radicalism. This research aims to answer two main problems, namely; why can fake radicalism emerge in democratic countries and, what are the implications of fake radicalism for the sustainability and future of Indonesian democracy? This research uses a descriptive qualitative method with a case study approach. The case study raised is the phenomenon of fake radicalism in Indonesia related to the GAR Alumni ITB report against Din Syamsuddin. Analysis was carried out using a descriptive analysis approach. The data collection techniques are carried out through observation, literature study and documentation related to the research object. As for the results of the research carried out, several findings were obtained, namely that in this case, radicalism was used as a negative stigma for anyone who was considered to be against the state or politically at odds with power. Fake radicalism refers to efforts to radicalize groups that are considered to be opposed to the state (power) even though the movement, criticism or protest carried out does not in any way lead to an attempt to completely overhaul the existing social and political order using violence - religious radicalism which leads to terrorist movement. Reports about Din Syamsudin being considered radical are not only a form of academic harassment, but are also part of the phenomenon of the emergence of fake radicalism. Fake radicalism which is the basis of this stigmatization actually has the potential to threaten democracy, diversity and national political life.
Pada Oktober 2020 dan Januari 2021, Gerakan Anti Radikalisme (GAR) alumni Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB) melaporkan mantan Ketua Umum Muhammadiyah, Din Syamsuddin ke Komisi Aparatur Sipil Negara (KASN). GAR menilai Din telah melanggar Undang-Undang yang melarang Aparatur Sipil Negara (ASN) berpolitik. Tuduhan terhadap Din memicu reaksi publik karena dihubungkan dengan radikalisme. Laporan bernuansa stigmatisasi dan pembunuhan karakter ini juga memancing reaksi keras umat Islam terutama keluarga besar Muhammadiyah karena dianggap menyudutkan. Azyumardi Azra menyebut laporan itu absurd, tidak berdasar, dan tidak masuk akal. Pelaporan Din Syamsudin karena dianggap radikal, dinilai menjadi bagian dari fenomena munculnya fake radicalism atau radikalisme palsu. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menjawab dua permasalahan pokok yaitu; mengapa fake radicalism bisa muncul di negara demokrasi dan bagaimana implikasi fake radicalism terhadap keberlangsungan dan masa depan demokrasi Indonesia? Penelitian ini menggunakan metode kualitatif deskriptif dengan pendekatan studi kasus. Studi kasus yang diangkat adalah fenomena fake radicalism di Indonesia terkait laporan GAR Alumni ITB terhadap Din Syamsuddin. Analisis dilakukan dengan pendekatan analisis deskriptif. Adapun teknik pengumpulan data dilakukan melalui observasi, studi pustaka serta dokumentasi yang berkaitan dengan objek penelitian. Adapun hasil penelitian yang dilakukan didapatkan beberapa temuan, yakni di kasus ini, radikalisme digunakan sebagai stigma negatif bagi siapapun yang dianggap melawan negara atau berseberangan secara politik dengan kekuasaan. Fake radicalism merujuk pada upaya meradikalkan kelompok-kelompok yang dianggap menentang negara (kekuasaan) meskipun gerakan, kritik atau protes yang dilakukan sama sekali tidak mengarah pada usaha untuk merombak secara total tatanan sosial dan politik yang ada dengan menggunakan jalan kekerasan radikalisme agama yang mengarah kepada gerakan terorisme. Laporan terhadap Din Syamsudin yang dianggap radikal, bukan saja suatu bentuk pelecehan akademik, tetapi juga menjadi bagian dari fenomena munculnya fake radicalism . Fake radicalism yang menjadi dasar stigmatisasi tersebut justru berpotensi mengancam demokrasi, keberagaman dan kehidupan politik nasional.
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... Los otros tres elementos serían: el gobierno de gran coalición a nivel ejecutivo, la autonomía de los segmentos ya sea de forma territorial o no territorial, y la proporcionalidad como sistema electoral, y como proceso para los nombramientos de funcionarios y la asignación de recursos para los distintos segmentos. Véase:Lijphart, A. 1977. Democracy in plural societies: A comparative exploration. ...
El artículo pretende explicar cómo el factor religioso dentro de la comunidad musulmana ha tomado un matiz claramente populista. Este tema no solo ha aumentado la polarización religioso-política del país, sino que ha posicionado a dicho país entre dos proyectos geopolíticos claramente antagónicos. De hecho, el incremento de la influencia iraní, a través de la posición hegemónica de Hezbolá, ha traído consigo un incremento en cuanto al nivel de tensión se refiere con relación a las comunidades sunita y drusa. Dicho aumento de la influencia de Irán ha puesto al Líbano ante un claro dilema entre el proyecto Chiita del ‘Oriente Medio Islámico’ y el proyecto Sunita de la ‘Nación Islámica’ (Yihadismo, Sharía y Califato) del que hasta ahora no ha sido capaz de encontrar una solución.
Veto rights are a prominent institutional feature in ethnically divided societies, especially power-sharing democracies. Yet while vetoes are intended to protect the vital interests of each ethnic community, they can give rise to serious concerns about political deadlock and instability. In response, we argue that vetoes should be subject to a justificatory test grounded in public reason. On the face of it, one troubling consequence of this approach is that a community’s assessment of its own vital interests cannot be decisive. Yet as we explain, the critical issue is not who should be the arbiter of an interest but the need to be fair to the interests of all concerned. To illustrate how a public reason approach of this sort might be rendered sufficiently specific to be of practical use, we take human rights law as our example. Having considered a number of potential difficulties that this example throws up, we conclude by noting how a justificatory test can help to deliver not just greater political stability but a more democratically progressive form of politics.
This chapter focuses on the concepts of federalism and federation that the book is structured around, as well as the book’s analytical framework of historical institutionalism. In defining federalism, Watts (Comparing Federal Systems (3rd ed.). McGill-Queen’s University Press, Montreal and Kingston, 2008, p. 8) has distinguished between ‘federalism,’ ‘federal political systems,’ and ‘federations.’ Federalism is a principle of shared rule and regional self-rule of multi-tiered government, while a federal political system is ‘a broad category of political systems in which … there are two (or more) levels of government thus combining elements of shared-rule…and regional self-rule’ (Watts 2008, p. 8).
This chapter seeks to explore, from the study of the Brazilian case, the theme of the growing political action of evangelicals through the prism of their positions and their strategy based on the tension of moral agendas and the defense of the reversal of social conquests and the curtailment of political minorities. The analysis is based on the discursive logic of the conflict between good and evil. To this end, we contend that the debate follows a logic of battles, according to which political disputes are articulated as a clash of morally distinct worldviews in which evangelicals represent the rescue and defense of historical values against an alleged agenda of destruction of traditional sociability. The analysis undertaken here employs descriptive statistics from national opinion polls to illustrate the socioeconomic profile, ideology, and voting intentions of evangelicals. Additionally, it examines a collection of legislation that demonstrates the activism of evangelicals in institutional spaces, particularly in relation to moral categories.
The article describes the model of joint political leadership, understood as a process of interaction between several top officials between whom power is dispersed at the national or party level. It is noted that this is a relatively new object of political science research, which requires theoretical conceptualization to determine the possibilities and limitations of the implementation of this model as an alternative to individual leadership. The aim is to characterize the model of joint political leadership, to identify its strengths and weaknesses compared to individual political leadership, to determine the factors that influence its formation and sustainability. For its realization the reasons for the emergence of joint political leadership are determined, the criteria for its identification are highlighted, the institutional conditions at the national and party levels in which its realization is possible/difficult are defined, and the problem of its sustainability in the medium term is posed. Based on the generalization of modern theoretical approaches, the conclusion is made that joint political leadership, on the one hand, successfully solves the problems of personification and representativeness of power, and curbs populist incentives in the behavior of politicians. On the other hand, the functioning of this model requires not only a specific configuration of institutions in the state, but also a special personal motivation of politicians themselves, who understand the importance of distributed power for their career and are able to exercise leadership functions in tandem or team. It is emphasized that the basis of shared leadership on a national scale is the party system, which in case of its ineffectiveness in reflecting public demands, creates a social demand for individual leadership of populist nature.
National resilience faces multiple challenges from mutable worldwide and multidimensional crises, including economic ones, pandemics, war, terrorist attacks and environmental disasters, as well as in relation to more structural political international or domestic tensions, such as government politics, regime transformation, party politics and so forth.
This article provides a comparative analysis of local governance structures in India and Switzerland, both of which face extensive ethnic and linguistic diversity. As the world's largest democracy, India utilizes its federal system, characterized by state and local divisions, to manage this diversity. Through mechanisms such as reservation systems and local institutions like the Panchayati Raj, India has ensured broad participation of various ethnic and linguistic groups in the governance process. In contrast, Switzerland relies on its unique model of cantonal federalism and direct democracy to manage its linguistic and ethnic diversity. Swiss cantons, with their significant autonomy, effectively respond to local and ethnic needs. The comparative analysis reveals that both countries have achieved success in managing ethnic and linguistic diversity, albeit through different approaches. This article examines the cultural, historical, and social impacts on local governance in both countries, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of each system and offering recommendations for improving local governance in multi-ethnic societies.
This is the Chinese translation of Ellen Lust, Everyday Choices: The Role of Competing Authorities and Social Institutions in Politics and Development.
This is the Arabic translation of Ellen Lust, Everyday Choices
The Role of Competing Authorities and Social Institutions in Politics and Development (Cambridge University Press, December 2022)
In geographical terms, Iraq is a West Asian country with state boundaries that were created by the British government between 1914 and 1932 (Dodge, Inventing Iraq: The failure of nation building and a history denied. Columbia University Press, p. 1, 2003). Its capital is Baghdad. The Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) lies in the northern part of the country. Iraq’s main ethnic groups are Arabs and Kurds, along with sectarian groups of Shi’ites and Sunnis.
This chapter examines the characteristics of Nigerian parties in the Fourth Republic based on the behaviours they exhibit. Some of these identified behaviours are ethnicity, regionalism and power tussle, internal conflicts and electoral politics. Interestingly, the chapter shows that almost all the parties registered in the Nigerian Fourth Republic from 1999 to date exhibit similar characteristics, albeit to varying degrees, with the ruling parties of the APC and PDP showing more audacity to the identified habits than the opposition and the smaller parties.
This chapter analyses the party system and classification in the Fourth Republic of Nigeria, taking into account the uniqueness of the Nigerian setting and a divergence from the global context and previous parties. In this regard, the chapter distinguishes the following categories: multi-party systems, two-party systems, ethnic parties, regional parties, national parties and populist parties. To substantiate the classification, each segment is accompanied by some case studies and statistical analyses to determine the norm that qualifies a particular party to belong to a particular group.
Ethiopia has tried to transit to democracy, in 1991 and 2018. In both attempts, it was not that successful. This paper tries to explain why democratic transition in Ethiopia has not been successful and what lessons can be drawn from these experiences. Democratic transition and consolidation require certain social, economic, cultural and external preconditions. An attempt at democratic transition may not succeed if these preconditions do not exist in the society that attempts it. Ethiopia does not have any of these preconditions. Contrarily, its ethnic diversity, poverty, absence of strong political institutions, polarisation, and culture of solving political differences with conflict and violence make democratic transition and consolidation almost impossible. The Ethiopian experience provides that for states like Ethiopia, democratic transition is hard and sustaining it is even harder. For states like Ethiopia, the best way to transit to democracy is to first develop the democratic preconditions, such as political compromise and fidelity to peaceful resolution of political conflict, before an attempt at democratic transition can be made.
This Element investigates the process of executive aggrandizement to identify factors associated with democratic resilience. We focus on five democracies that showed resilience in the face of incumbent-led autocratization. To understand how these cases survived, we pair them with similar cases where incumbents successfully dismantled democracy from within. Through structured focused comparisons, our inductive exercise provides insights into how the process of executive aggrandizement unfolds. The case narratives reveal similar patterns, with incumbents often targeting the media, civil society, and judiciary and using shared tactics to weaken democratic institutions. Where democracies survived, anti-democratic incumbents made critical errors, including major policy blunders and miscalculations, which ultimately cost them their positions and allowed democracy to rebound. Where democracy broke down, incumbents were largely able to avoid or mitigate such errors, often through ethnopopulist appeals.
History of federalism in Pakistan experienced many ups and downs. It travelled a journey from political centralization to deep tendency of regionalism and towards the emancipation of institutional design of federalism during 2008-2013. The present study deals with the trend and development of federalism in an institutional way. The formative touchstone of the study reveals the tendency of institutionalism in the structure of federalism in Pakistan during previous five years. The structure of governance resolves the issues between the centre and the provinces and provided a political platform for political parties and leadership in dealing with the challenges of governance in Pakistan. The study finds that the institutional principles of federalism in Pakistan are required to resolve the problems of governance.
Democracy and Media in Europe: A Discursive-Material Approach is a theoretical reflection on the intersection of democracy and media through a constructionist lens.
This focus allows us to understand current political struggles over democracy, and over media’s democratic roles, with the latter ranging from the traditional support for an informed citizenry and the watchdog role, to the organization of agonistic debate and generating fair and dignified representations of society and its many (sub)groups, to the facilitation of maximalist participation in institutionalized politics and media. Moreover, the book’s reconciliation of democratic theory and media theory brings out a detailed theoretical analysis of the core characteristics of the assemblages of democracy and media, their conditions of possibility and the threats to both democracy and media’s democratic roles.
This short book provides in-depth reflections on the different positions that can be taken when it comes to the performance of democracy as it intersects with the multitude of media in the 21st century. As such, the volume will be of interest to scholars of media and communication and related fields in the social sciences.
Legislative gridlocks, driven by social partisan sorting, pose a significant threat to contemporary democracies. In this paper, I argue that this problem can be addressed by replacing geographic electoral constituencies, which group voters by area of residence, with heterogeneous electoral constituencies, which are based on random assignment and thus reflect the diversity of the entire electorate. I show that geographic electoral constituencies are likely to crystallise cleavages that reinforce geographic divisions, whereas heterogeneous electoral constituencies are likely to dilute deep social divisions. I argue that heterogeneous constituencies have this effect not because they suppress intergroup difference, as is commonly held, but rather because they encourage political parties to express cross-cutting social identities. The politicisation of cross-cutting social cleavages prevents social partisan sorting and moderates political conflict. Heterogeneous electoral constituencies should therefore be considered as part of an expressive institutional response to the democratic threat of legislative gridlock.
Did the sharp increase of Syrian refugees bring on Lebanese attitudinal changes toward Hezbollah, the strongest militia against Israel? Hezbollah is not only a military force but also a political party supported by Iran, an ally of the Asad administration. The answer to the question makes it clear a part of the correlation between domestic and international politics in a battlefield. We want to investigate a more general question, the mechanism to work foreign support escalates the outbreak of a conflict. The study regards the huge influx of Syrian immigrants as a natural experiment to measure the attitudinal changes to Hezbollah among the citizens by the difference in differences estimation. The empirical results indicate that the huge influx of refugees brought on increasing supporters toward Hezbollah because of the demand for the restoration of social order. The citizens are forced to expect power of the strongest militia under the perils of regional disorder.
The article advocates updating the research concerning divided societies and complexly organized states. It addresses the genesis and advancement of complex identities of social actors and political agency. The discussion focuses on the correlation between the structuration and content saturation of identities. The use of operational interfaces from fundamental distinctions to various kinds of divides, demarcations and polarizations leaves still unresolved the problem of qualitative parameters of identities, and ways to represent and analyze them. Innovative approaches developed by Russian political scientists take into account the relationship between the processes of world development and the identity of its development drivers and agency from individual political actors to complex social movements. The article shows that the effective deployment of the respective research program requires not only external accounting of the temporal parameters, but full integration of modern evolutionary approaches into their methodology. It is necessary to overcome the usual interpretations of identity in the singular as an abstract universal idea. Equally it is necessary to move to the study of the complex interaction of the acting forces of development and the formation of a dynamic flow of individual and mutual identifications in the plural. To this end, it is suggested not only to update the Rokkanian paradigm of demarcations by expanding the set of distinctions and making the whole structure more dynamic, but also to use the possibilities of extended evolutionary synthesis.
Asia’s history of democracy is relatively short. Modern democracies, namely, polities in which representatives are elected through universal suffrage, emerged in Europe and the United States starting in the early nineteenth century.
This study aims to analyze the gap in election quality between legislative, and
presidential elections using global data. The core argument of this study is that
this difference is particularly pronounced in competitive authoritarian regimes,
which lie between democracies and fully authoritarian regimes. In competitive
authoritarianism, legislative elections are likely to be freer and fairer than
presidential elections due to the inherent characteristics of the competitive
authoritarian regimes. Leaders in competitive authoritarian regimes, like leaders in
full authoritarian regimes, can use all illiberal means to win presidential elections
and remain in power. However, due to international and domestic pressures, they
also need to show some willingness to implement reforms and conduct at least
partly free and fair elections. Since leaders of competitive authoritarian regimes do
not need to secure all the parliamentary seats, and legislative elections are
relatively less important than presidential ones, they are motivated to conduct
partly free and fair legislative elections to legitimize their regimes and benefit
from the appearance of electoral fairness. Such different approaches to legislative
and presidential elections create a qualitative gap between the two.
To test the arguments of this study, I use the "Perceptions of Electoral
Integrity" dataset (PEI-9.0) and the “Free and Fair Election” dataset. Through
regression analysis, this study finds the existence of the gap in the quality of
legislative and presidential elections in competitive authoritarian regimes. This
research is important as it provides a theoretical framework and empirical analysis
explaining why the quality of presidential and legislative elections varies
depending on the regime type in which these elections are conducted.
This article presents, understands, analyzes and classifies the main theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of the phenomenon of social consensus in the history of philosophical, social and political thought. Using a comparative approach, extrapolation and content analysis, the authors reveal the conceptual principles of social consent, consider it through the categories of inequality and hierarchy, identify the grounds for an optimistic view of social consensus, establish the key factors of lability (instability) of social consent from the point of view of the psychology of mass behavior, comprehend a skeptical approach to the perception of social consensus, study public consent through the prism of formal and informal norms, dissect public consent in terms of political culture and the legitimacy of power. The definition of public consensus is formulated as a situation in which individuals, institutions and subjects of public authority have certain common points of contact, which become the basis of political integration and cooperation. At the end of the material, a conclusion is made about the relative importance of public consensus, depending on the specific type of political culture and the ideological and theoretical direction of political, social and philosophical science.
he future of democratic institutions in India has Tbeen a subject of apprehensive discussion
among political scientists interested in India for
at least as many years as India has been a
representative democracy. India has been a democracy
for over seven decades. Etymologically, democracy
means the power of the people. Government of the
people, by the people, for the people, is the sovereign
definition of democracy. Even if democracy cannot be
precisely and comprehensively defined we can
recognize it by some of its essential features in action.
In India high inequality, massive poverty and a vast
informal sector make the challenge of implementing democracy extremely daunting as much as it is highly imperative.
Few countries receive as much attention as Israel and are at the same time as misunderstood. The Oxford Handbook of Israeli Politics and Society brings together leading Israeli and international figures to offer the most wide-ranging treatment available of an intriguing country. It serves as a comprehensive reference for the growing field of Israel studies and is also a significant resource for students and scholars of comparative politics, recognizing that in many ways Israel is not unique, but rather a test case of democracy in deeply divided societies and states engaged in intense conflict. The handbook presents an overview of the historical development of Israeli democracy through chapters examining the country’s history, contemporary society, political institutions, international relations, and most pressing political issues. It outlines the most relevant developments over time while not shying away from the strife both in and around Israel. It presents opposed narratives in full force, enabling readers to make their own judgments.
New institutionalism resurrected political institutions, arguing that they constrain behavior of political actors. Consequently, the consociational model was founded on the assumption that the institutions and practices associated with it create a structure of incentives for leaders of ethnic groups that should encourage them to moderate and cooperate. However, in post-conflict, deeply divided countries where institutions are weak and often externally imposed, political actors can interpret and exploit them, stretching their boundaries and adapting them to new conditions, or simply avoiding them. As Robert D. Putnam notes, “two centuries of constitution-writing around the world warn us that the designers of new institutions often write on water – institutional reform does not always change fundamental patterns of politics” (1993: 17). Following this statement, the main aim of the article is an analysis, rooted in the new institutionalism, of the relationship and the inevitable tension between political institutions and actors in post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina. By proposing the term “rebound effect”, the paper tries to explain the dysfunctionality of the Bosnian model of consociationalism. Using congruence theory (Almond & Verba 1965), I also hypothesize that coherence between political actors (their political culture) and political institutions (the patterns of behavior they imply) is crucial for the so-called “behavioral realisation” of any constructed structure – institution, and, as a result, for the entire political system and its functionality
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