Power Sharing

In a democracy, no single organisation of government possesses absolute power. It is important to have an intelligent division of power among the legislature, executive, and judiciary.

Why Do We Need Power Sharing

• Reduce the possibility of conflict between social groups

  • It greatly helps in maintaining political order because social conflict frequently leads to violence and political instability
  • Imposing the will of the majority community undermines national unity

• Uphold the spirit of democracy

  • A democratic rule usually involves sharing power with those who are affected by its application and must live with its consequences
  • A legitimate government is one in which citizens gain a stake in the system through participation

Forms of Power Sharing

Among the various branches of government: the legislature, executive, and judiciary

• • Horizontal Power Distribution: It allows various government organisations at the same level to exercise different powers
  • Checks and Balances of power: None of the organisations can exercise unlimited power
  • For example: Although judges are appointed by the executive, they can check the functioning of the executive or laws made by the legislatures

Among the governments at different levels

• • Vertical division of power: It involves higher and lower levels of government
    • The federal government is a general government that governs the entire country. In India, they are known as the Central or Union Government
    • Government at Provincial or Regional level: In India, they are known as State Governments
  • No specific model: There are many countries where there are no provincial or state governments. But in countries like India, the Constitution clearly lays down the powers of different levels of government

Among various social groups

• • For instance, religious and linguistic groups
  • In some countries, constitutional and legal arrangements exist to ensure that socially disadvantaged groups and women are represented in legislatures and administration
  • This method is used to ensure that minority communities have a fair share of power

• By way of political parties, pressure groups, and movements

  • These control or influence those in power
  • In a democracy, power is distributed among various political parties that represent various ideologies and social groups. Sometimes this kind of sharing can be direct when two or more parties form an alliance to contest elections and form government
  • Interest groups such as traders, businessmen, industrialists, farmers, and industrial workers have a share of governmental power in democracy through either participation in governmental committees or influencing decision-making