Consociational Arrangements Research Articles

Beyond Consociational Theory: Identity in Northern Ireland and Brussels

This article analyzes the potential for consociational power sharing to pave the way for the formation of a shared identity in divided societies. It compares consociational arrangements in Northern Ireland and Brussels and argues that if this is achievable it will be demonstrated in the more liberal case of the former, rather than the corporate case of the latter. In concluding that greater intergroup engagement is occurring in Brussels than in Northern Ireland, this article challenges the ability of consociationalism to mitigate identities and looks to other factors to explain this finding.

Constructing a Shared Public Identity in Violently Divided Societies

In order to bolster sustainable peacebuilding in violently divided societies, a normative suggestion is that efforts should be made to construct a shared public identity that overarches ethnic divisions. A number of different centripetal/transformationist processes are identified as engendering a shared identity in comparison to consociational arrangements, which are accused of institutionalizing ethnic differences and perpetuating conflict. These transformationist approaches essentially rest on the premise that since ethnicity is constructed it can be reconstructed into new shared forms. Looking at Northern Ireland, we argue there are limits to the extent that ethnicity can be reconstructed into shared identities. By analysing consociational and centripetalist/transformationist approaches to division, we conclude that although consociational arrangements will not deliver a common identity, they do provide the most robust form of conflict regulation.

Historical Institutionalism and Economic Diversification: The Case of Malaysia

This paper argues that Malaysia’s ability to diversify its economy and not be overly reliant on natural resource is due to the state’s institutional character and its historical process. Malaysia’s ability to avoid the resource curse rests on two factors. First, the path dependent nature of Malaysia’s economic arrangement - the prior existence of a thriving private sector and the late entry of commercial oil production and – provides the state with increasing returns to economic diversification. Second, Malaysia’s consociational arrangement imposes limits on policy options, giving the state little choice but to continue to adopt economic diversification strategies to keep to consociationalism’s distributive qualities.

Citizenship, Federalism and Powersharing: Nigeria's Federal Character and the Challenges of Institutional Design

If, as a number of recent proponents have argued, ‘pluri-national’ federalism holds great promise as a means of democratization and conflict resolution in deeply divided societies, why has it so rarely been tried in sub-Saharan Africa, home to arguably the world's most ethnically diverse nations? Using Nigeria—Africa's largest and oldest federal system—as a case study, it is argued that the legacy of late colonial, indirect rule institutions on citizenship and the politics of belonging pose a serious challenge for designing successful consociational powersharing arrangements. In particular, Nigeria's dependence on a primordial notion of ethnic citizenship undermines the ability of its federal institutions to mediate and cross-cut ethnic conflicts, a problem most clearly reflected in the functioning of the nation's most important official powersharing institution, the Federal Character Commission (FCC). Although the quota systems for governmental employment operated by the FCC are officially tied to Nigeria's 36 states, in both administrative law and practice they enforce a highly discriminatory ‘indigeneity’ system that privileges ethnic origins over federal citizenship.

Relieving Bosnia from the Orbit of Dysfunctional Consociationalism: Reasoning Under the Light of Local Committees Experience in Kosovo and Ethnocomitology

Although power-sharing arrangements are seen as favorable political formulas for the societies divided along ethnic lines, they are problematic in some aspects. Particularly, once put into operation they generate a kind of gravity pull avoiding the self-transformation of polity despite consociational arrangements’ visible malfunction because of some reasons. This study essentially tries to point out that power-sharing arrangements are relied upon the consent among the ethnic elite which firmly control their own mono-ethnic patronage networks, thereby sustaining and cementing ethnic segregation. It claims thats that ethnic committees of UNMIK in pre-independence Kosovo may offer a model to solve the problem of mono-ethnic patronage networks in Bosnia in an unconventional way.

Courts and Consociations, or How Human Rights Courts May De-stabilize Power-sharing Settlements

We consider the use of consociational arrangements to manage ethno-nationalist, ethno-linguistic, and ethno-religious conflicts, and their compatibility with non-discrimination and equality norms. Key questions include to what extent, if any, consociations conflict with the dictates of global justice and the liberal individualist preferences of international human rights institutions, and to what extent consociational power-sharing may be justified to preserve peace and the integrity of political settlements. In three critical cases, the European Court of Human Rights has considered equality challenges to important consociational practices, twice in Belgium and, most recently, in Sejdi cacute; and Finci, concerning the constitutional arrangements established for Bosnia Herzegovina under the Dayton Agreement. The Court's recent decision in Sejdicacute; and Finci has significantly altered the approach it previously took to judicial review of consociational arrangements in the Belgian cases. We seek to account for this change and assess its implications. We identify problematic aspects of the judgment and conclude that, although the Court's decision indicates one possible trajectory of human rights courts' reactions to consociations, this would be an unfortunate development because it leaves future negotiators in places riven by potential or manifest bloody ethnic conflicts with considerably less flexibility in reaching a settlement. That in turn may unintentionally contribute to sustaining such conflicts and make it more likely that advisors to negotiators will advise them to exclude regional and international courts from having standing in the management of political settlements.

A Contribution to Rupert Taylor’s Critique of Consociationalism in Northern Ireland

Political scientists John McGarry and Brendan O’Leary’s liberal consociational model argues that a power-sharing political settlement can be effective in resolving ethnic conflict. Political scientist Rupert Taylor, by contrast, argues against McGarry and O’Leary’s model, claiming that the liberal consociational arrangement does not address the underlying sectarianism which binds ethnic communities into two reified groups, reinforcing the subordination both between and within them. Specifically in terms of Northern Ireland, Taylor cites socio-economic deprivation as an instance of sectarianism; Irish Catholics are consistently found in subaltern, disadvantaged positions relative to their Protestant peers in terms of “rights, opportunities, and resources.” By integrating economy-centred analytical approaches, this essay demonstrates that the economic dimension (particularly capital and its resulting class inequalities) has been structurally implicated in the Northern Ireland conflict, continually reinventing itself throughout history.

To share or divide power? Minorities in autonomous regions, the case of the autonomous region in Muslim Mindanao

Autonomy granted to minority groups as a form of power-sharing may not necessarily address the representation and welfare needs of the smaller minorities within the autonomous government. Although numerically insignificant, the smaller minorities' disempowerment and discrimination can lead to these groups' further marginalization and weaken the democratic viability and legitimacy of the autonomy project. What institutional mechanisms would work best for minorities-within-minorities in an autonomous region? Should similar power-sharing or consociational arrangements be replicated within the region? Or, are power-dividing measures and the integrative approach more appropriate for regional stability and democratic governance? Analyzing the institutional design of and practices in the Philippines' Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, this paper concludes that a combination of power-sharing and power-dividing measures are needed to address the gaps in representation and protection of welfare of all ethnic groups for both the short- and long-term viability of regional autonomy.

Ending Consociational Power-Sharing. The Sejdić and Finci Case and the Prospects for Constitutional Reform in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract Consociationalism is frequently adopted as a tool to resolve conflicts in deeply divided societies. It is increasingly considered only a transitional arrangement, because it is an impediment to democracy and social peace in the long-term. It is therefore relevant to explore the possibilities to end consociational arrangements. Bosnia and Herzegovina has by all accounts a dysfunctional and discriminatory political system based on ethnic representation. Corporate consociational provisions of the constitution were found to be in violation of the European Convention of Human Rights in the Sejdić and Finci case. This thesis seeks to understand the legal and political effects of that judgment and the prospects of ending the corporate consociational arrangements in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in order to allow for politics that are not solely based on ethnicity. The prospect for constitutional reform are discussed based on previous attempts at constitutional reform in Bosnia and Herzegovina; the Dutch, Austrian and South African experiences; and insights from theory of democratic transitions.

Living with Heterogeneity

Abstract Short of partition, many scholars hold that consociational arrangements are the most effective democratic institutional mechanisms to manage ethnic differences and maintain peace in nations and groups recently engaged in violent ethnic conflict. Many countries have implemented consociational arrangements to redress identity-based conflicts over recognition and resources, but the empirical record is mixed at best. Restoring moderate politics and democratic order in ethnically divided societies after war is difficult. Consociationalism, however, is usually not the best or the only option. Consociationalism fails as a viable post-conflict political system, we argue, because it tends to reinforce centrifugal politics and to reify identity-based cleavages. The implementation of centripetal social and institutional reforms, which foster political and economic incentives for communities to reintegrate refugees, diversify existing populations, and engage in coalition politics, is more likely to restore moderation and minimize the risk of renewed ethnic violence. We explore these arguments using the critical case of Bosnia, drawing on examples from other parts of the world that have faced similar challenges. We argue that efforts to balance majority rule and the rights of the constituent peoples in Bosnia have created an unwieldy power-sharing architecture that satisfies none of the parties and is unable to govern. Post-war and deeply divided democracies, such as Bosnia, require reforms that move towards a centripetal, incentives-based approach to institutional design.

Consociationalism, regional integration and vote choice: Northern Ireland and the 2009 European Parliament election – A research note

Consociational institutional arrangements in deeply divided societies are often criticised for cementing the underlying conflict cleavage, encouraging the continued dominance of conflict-based party competition and voter behaviour and prohibiting the emergence of ‘normal’ (that is, non-conflict-based) dimensions of political competition. However, drawing on evidence from a post-election survey at the 2009 Northern Ireland election to the European Parliament, I find that EU issues determined intra-bloc vote choice (at least in the nationalist community). This suggests that there is potential for regional integration projects, such as the EU, to contribute to the ‘normalisation’ of politics in a consociational system by acting as the source of an externally generated dimension of political competition.

Non-consociational Federalism and Ethnic Strife in Pakistan

Consociational federalism has been regarded a viable solution for such plural societies where the segments of a society are geographically concentrated. But contrary to conventional wisdom, the consociational arrangements seem irrelevant to the Pakistani case. The absence of consociational features in the Pakistani federation does not contribute in the rise and fall of ethnic conflict. Equally, the evidence shows that it is the centralisation of political power that limits the capacity of Pakistani federation to manage ethnic diversity.

Constructing a shared public identity in ethno nationally divided societies: comparing consociational and transformationist perspectives

ABSTRACT. In order to bolster sustainable peace building in violently divided societies, a normative suggestion is that efforts should be made to construct a shared public identity that overarches ethnic divisions. A number of different centripetal/transformationist processes are identified as engineering a shared identity in comparison to consociational arrangements, which are accused of institutionalising ethnic differences and perpetuating conflict. These transformationist approaches essentially rest on the premise that because ethnicity is constructed it can be reconstructed into new, shared forms. Looking at Northern Ireland, we argue that there are limits to the extent that ethnicity can be reconstructed into shared identities. By analysing consociational and centripetalist/transformationist approaches to division, we conclude that although consociationalism will probably not deliver a common identity, it does provide a robust form of conflict regulation.

Framing Religious Conflict: Popular Israeli Discourse on Religion and State

The role of religion in Israeli public life is hotly contested in the political and legal arenas, and conflicts over religious issues receive a great deal of media coverage. Recurrent news reports and commentary refer to the growing number of Israelis marrying abroad or choosing to live out of wedlock to avoid the state religious establishment, new immigrants, and others attempting to convert to Judaism but unable to satisfy strict rabbinic requirements, and legal clashes over official recognition of lifecycle rituals conducted by non-Orthodox rabbis. The media also cover conflicts over public observance of Sabbath and holidays (mandatory store closings and curtailment of public transportation), military exemptions for ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students, and public funding for religious institutions. Many scholars of Israeli politics and society have portrayed conflicts over the role of religion in public life as increasingly strident, characterized by extreme positions, and uncompromising. Baruch Kimmerling has argued that declining Ashkenazi secular hegemony has spurred a kulturkampf between religious, traditional, and secular sectors of Israeli Jewish society.1 Asher Cohen and Bernard Susser claimed that consociational arrangements that once mediated religious conflict have weakened and they predicted an “unprecedented collision” over the role of religion in the Israeli state.2 Eva Etzioni-Halevy described increasing cultural and social segregation between religious and secular Israelis and warned of the potential “break up” of the country.3 Seemingly supporting these assessments, the United States Department of State's 2009 report on religious freedom around the world noted that “animosity between secular and religious Jews continued during the reporting period. In particular, members of Orthodox Jewish groups treated non-Orthodox Jews with manifestations of discrimination and intolerance.”4

Deliberating the Irish language in Northern Ireland: from conflict to multiculturalism?

The Belfast Agreement (1998) contains a clause on respect and tolerance for linguistic diversity in Northern Ireland (NI). It is unsurprising that this clause was included given the role of Irish – and Ulster Scots – in identity politics in the region. The call for respect for NI's languages can therefore be seen as a type of conflict management. Renewed powersharing through consociational arrangements points to a relatively successful peace process, while inward migration has greatly increased in recent years. NI's sociocultural landscape has diversified to such a degree that respect for linguistic diversity should no longer be viewed solely as a means of reconciliation between just two communities; it can be treated as a move towards overall multiculturalism in the region. Yet language issues remain divisive, recently highlighted by the rejection of legislative protection for the Irish language. This article examines current attitudes towards linguistic diversity in NI, with reference to the comprehensive Northern Ireland Languages Strategy and the ongoing dispute over Irish. Viewed through the prism of linguistic diversity, it suggests that the basic consociational arrangements be re-thought to include a deliberative democratic model for language planning, in the long-term path from conflict management to multiculturalism.

Consociationalism and its critics: Evidence from the historic Northern Ireland Assembly election 2007

Critics of consociational power-sharing institutional arrangements in deeply divided societies argue that such arrangements solidify the underlying conflict cleavage and render it all-important for party competition and voter behaviour. I find evidence to the contrary in the case of voter behaviour at the historic 2007 Assembly election in Northern Ireland. At least in the unionist bloc, I find the effective disappearance of the ethno-national conflict cleavage as a determinant of voter choice. This suggests that consociational arrangements have led to both inclusion and moderation, rather than polarisation and ‘ethnic outbidding’.

Rabbis and Rulings: Insubordination in the Military and Israeli Democracy

Since the establishment of the state of Israel, consociational ar rangements have been relatively successful in moderating tension be tween the secular majority and the religious Zionist and ultra-orthodox minorities.1 In the pre-state period, when the Jewish community had to contend with a war on five fronts, the absorption of immigrants from a multitude of countries and cultures, and a weak economic base, group leaders entered into a status quo compromise agreement on issues of religion and state. This arrangement has endured for over six decades with modifications, despite the eruption of periodic tension between the two groups.2 concept of consociational democracy, first developed by Arend Lijphardt in 1969, emphasizes the critical role of political elites who keep the political system stable through cooperation and compromise. Lijphardt wrote, The essential characteristic of consociational democ racy is not so much any particular institutional arrangement as the de liberate joint effort by the elites to stabilize the system.3 It is impor tant that political elites recognize the danger of discord and disunity and seek ways to compromise and accommodate each other, in order to

Ethnic Inequalities in the Public Sector: A Comparative Analysis

This article uses empirical data to discuss the links between ethnicity, inequality and governance in a framework that divides countries according to their levels of ethnic polarization. It makes three main arguments. First, types of diversity, not the existence of diversity per se, explain potentials for conflict or cohesion in multiethnic societies. Ethnic cleavages are configured differently in different social structures and are less conflictual in some countries than in others. Second, relative balance has been achieved in the public sectors of countries that are highly fragmented or those with ethnicity-sensitive policies, but not in those with ethnicity-blind policies. Third, the article is critical of institutional approaches to conflict management that underplay background conditions in shaping choices. Consociational arrangements may not be relevant in unipolar ethnic settings or fragmented multiethnic societies, where governments may be ethnically inclusive under democratic conditions. They seem unavoidable in ethnic settings with two or three main groups or in settings with strong ethnic/regional clusters.

From Belfast to Bosnia: Piecemeal Peacemaking and the Role of Institutional Learning

Implementing power-sharing arrangements can be cumbersome. This article examines the institutional processes and changing nature of power-sharing mechanisms instituted in Northern Ireland and Bosnia-Herzegovina. It scrutinises the problems of legitimacy and elite predominance, endorsing power-sharing arrangements and their institutional processes. The institutional capacity of consociational arrangements and the strengths and weaknesses of consociational theory are addressed. Finally, the power-sharing panacea is then applied to the Bosnian case, in the guise of the Dayton Peace Accords of 1995, and the Northern Irish Good Friday Agreement of 1998. These cases illustrate the degree to which piecemeal or incremental consociational arrangements exhibit degrees of institutional learning over time.

Religion, State, and the International System in the Israeli–Palestinian Conflict

Why do conflicts between states and national movements continue to be “nationalist”, concerned almost exclusively with self-determination and control over territory, rather than crusades on behalf of faith? Our basic claim is that the nature of the present international system bolsters the dominant position of nationalists in a given conflict with an opposing political entity, as well as within their own constituency. For this reason, the Palestinian leadership has never entered a power-sharing arrangement with the Islamists, and in Israel, the consociational arrangement with the national religious camp floundered when this internal arrangement threatened Israel’s relationship with its key ally, the USA, and jeopardized its standing in the international community. Religion expresses, however, important primordial values, particularly in Palestinian society, and is often a crucial dimension of collective identity. It is only natural, then, that nationalists use religious groups and their symbols as a means in the struggle to achieve their national or state-centered goals.