Presidents, Ministers and Governors: Ethnic Quotas and the Evolution of Power-Sharing at Critical Junctures in Burundi

Abstract

Building on an original dataset, this paper explores the evolution of the consociational power- sharing at critical junctures in Burundi. Covering almost two decades of power-sharing practice (2001–2020), this paper analyzes the allocation of high salience ministerial portfolios and of provincial governor positions along ethnic lines. The paper shows how quotas matter and how a changing political context affects the real life implementation of Burundi’s negotiated power-sharing arrangements. We argue that dominant political actors take advantage of loopholes in the design of power-sharing institutions in order to enhance their access to important political positions.