Power Sharing

Power sharing means dividing the powers of a government so that no single person, group or level holds all of it. This is the opening chapter of Class 10 Civics, and it uses two real countries, Belgium and Sri Lanka, to show why sharing power keeps a democracy stable. These notes cover the whole chapter, and they link out to the rest of the Class 10 Political Science notes when you want to revise further.

Why is Power Sharing Important?

An intelligent sharing of power among the legislature, the executive and the judiciary is very important to the design of a democracy.

For a long time, it was believed that all power of a government must reside in one person or group of persons located at one place. It was felt that if the power to decide is dispersed, it would not be possible to take quick decisions and enforce them.

Prudential reasons for power sharing

• Power sharing helps to reduce the possibility of conflict between social groups.
• It is a good way to ensure the stability of the political order.

Moral reasons for power sharing

• Power sharing is the very spirit of democracy.
• A democratic rule involves sharing power with those who are affected by its exercise, and who have to live with its effects.

Power Sharing in Belgium

What problems led to power sharing issues in Belgium?

Linguistic distribution in Belgium

• 59 per cent of Belgium's population lives in the Flemish region, Flanders, and speaks Dutch.
• Another 40 per cent live in the Wallonia region and speak French.
• The remaining 1 per cent of Belgians speak German.

Linguistic distribution in Brussels, the capital

• In the capital city of Brussels, 80 per cent of the people speak French, while 20 per cent are Dutch-speaking.
• Brussels presented a special problem: the Dutch-speaking people were a majority in the country, but a minority in the capital.

Why was there a conflict between the French and the Dutch?

The minority French-speaking community was relatively rich and powerful. This was not liked by the Dutch-speaking community, who received the benefit of economic development and education much later.

This led to tensions between the Dutch-speaking and French-speaking communities during the 1950s and 1960s. The tension was most acute in Brussels.

How did the Belgian leaders solve the power sharing issue?

Belgian leaders recognised the existence of regional differences and cultural diversities. They amended their constitution four times so as to work out an arrangement that would let everyone live together within the same country.

• The number of Dutch and French-speaking ministers shall be equal in the central government. This is called equal representation.
• Some special laws need a majority from each linguistic group, so no single community can make laws on its own.
• Many powers of the central government were given to the state governments of the two regions. The state governments are not subordinate to the central government.
• The capital, Brussels, has a separate government with equal representation for the French and the Dutch. The French accepted this because the Dutch had accepted equal representation in the central government.
• A third kind of government, called the community government, is elected by people who speak the same language, with Dutch, French and German representatives. It has power over cultural, educational and language matters.

Failure of Power Sharing in Sri Lanka: A Case of Majoritarianism

What are the linguistic and religious divisions in Sri Lanka?

• The major social groups are the Sinhala-speakers (74 per cent) and the Tamil-speakers (18 per cent).
• Among the Tamils there are two sub-groups. Tamil natives of the country are called Sri Lankan Tamils (13 per cent). The rest, whose forefathers came from India as plantation workers during the colonial period, are called Indian Tamils.
• Most of the Sinhala-speaking people are Buddhists, while most of the Tamils are Hindus or Muslims.
• There are about 7 per cent Christians, who are both Tamil and Sinhala.

What majoritarian measures were taken in Sri Lanka?

The democratically elected government adopted a series of majoritarian measures to establish Sinhala supremacy.

• In 1956, an Act was passed to recognise Sinhala as the only official language, disregarding Tamil.
• The governments followed preferential policies that favoured Sinhala applicants for university places and government jobs.
• A new constitution stated that the state shall protect and foster Buddhism.

How did relations between the Sinhala and the Tamils strain over time?

The Tamils felt that the constitution and government policies denied them equal political rights, discriminated against them in jobs and other opportunities, and ignored their interests. None of the major political parties led by Buddhist Sinhala leaders was sensitive to their language and culture.

As a result, relations between the two communities strained over time. The Sri Lankan Tamils launched parties and struggles for the recognition of Tamil as an official language, for regional autonomy and for equality of opportunity in education and jobs. But their demand for more autonomy in Tamil-populated provinces was repeatedly denied.

By the 1980s, several political organisations were formed demanding an independent Tamil Eelam, a separate state, in the northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka.

The distrust between the two communities turned into a widespread conflict, and it soon became a civil war. Thousands of people from both communities were killed. Many families were forced to leave the country as refugees, and many more lost their livelihoods.

What are the forms of power sharing?

In modern democracies, power sharing arrangements can take many forms.

Horizontal distribution of power

Power is shared among the different organs of government, such as the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. This arrangement is called a system of checks and balances.

• It lets different organs of government, placed at the same level, use different powers.
• It makes sure that no organ can use unlimited power. Each organ checks the others, which keeps a balance among the institutions.
• Judges are appointed by the executive, yet they can check how the executive works and the laws made by the legislature.

Vertical distribution of power

Power can be shared among governments at different levels: a general government for the whole country and governments at the provincial or regional level. The constitution should clearly lay down the powers at each level.

• Federal government: a general government for the entire country. In India, we call it the Central or Union Government.
• State government: the governments at the provincial or regional level. In India, we call them State Governments.

This is called the federal division of power. The same idea can be extended to levels below the state, such as the municipality and the panchayat.

Sharing of power among different social groups

Power may also be shared among different social groups, such as religious and linguistic groups.

This kind of arrangement gives space in the government and the administration to diverse social groups who would otherwise feel left out, and it gives minority communities a fair share in power. The community government in Belgium is a good example.

Sharing of power among political parties, pressure groups and movements

• Political parties: in modern democracies, power is shared through competition among different parties, which makes sure that power does not stay in one hand. Sometimes the sharing is direct: two or more parties form an alliance to contest elections, and if the alliance wins, they form a coalition government.
• Interest groups: groups such as traders, businesspeople, industrialists, farmers and industrial workers get a share in power, either by taking part in government committees or by influencing the decision-making process.

Why power sharing still matters today

Power sharing is not just a chapter from an old textbook. The same tug of war between communities and parties is playing out in the news right now. Here are three live examples that build directly on what you have just read.

Belgium is still held together by a careful balance

The Belgian model in your notes is not history. After the elections of June 2024, it took Belgian parties more than seven months to agree on a government. On 3 February 2025, Bart De Wever was finally sworn in as prime minister, leading a five-party coalition of Dutch-speaking and French-speaking parties known as the Arizona coalition. He is the first Flemish nationalist to hold the post. The long wait shows how a divided society still leans on the equal-representation rules described above to stay together.

India is being run by a coalition again

The chapter says power can be shared through competition and alliances among political parties. India lived this out in 2024. The Bharatiya Janata Party won 240 seats, which was 32 short of the 272 needed for a majority in the Lok Sabha. To form a government, it had to rely on allies such as the Telugu Desam Party and the Janata Dal (United), taking the National Democratic Alliance to about 293 seats. This is a real coalition government, the exact form of party power sharing you have been studying. You can explore how India's institutions fit together on the Learnacy Hub.

Sri Lanka is still arguing about devolution

The failure in Sri Lanka is also an unfinished story. The 13th Amendment to the Sri Lankan constitution was meant to devolve power to provincial councils and give Tamil-majority areas a real say. Decades later, provincial council elections keep getting delayed, and Tamil parties say the promised autonomy still has not arrived. In late 2024 Sri Lanka elected a new president, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, and India has publicly urged the country to carry out the devolution. It is a reminder that ignoring power sharing, the very mistake this chapter warns about, can keep a wound open for almost forty years.

Once you can spot these patterns in the news, the chapter stops being something to memorise and becomes a lens on the world. For more standardised notes married to real world affairs, browse the full study notes library.

Sources

1. Euronews: Flemish nationalist Bart De Wever sworn in as Belgian prime minister
2. Al Jazeera: How have India's past coalition governments fared
3. Business Standard: Parties in the NDA and the seats they won in 2024
4. ConstitutionNet: Sri Lanka pressed to implement the devolution amendment for the Tamil minority

Key takeaways

• Power sharing means dividing government powers among different people, groups, or levels so that no single entity holds all power.
• Power sharing is important for prudential reasons (reducing conflict and ensuring political stability) and moral reasons (it is the essence of democracy).
• Belgium solved its linguistic conflicts through constitutional amendments, equal representation in central government, regional governments, and community governments.
• Sri Lanka adopted majoritarian policies making Sinhala the only official language and favoring Sinhala people in jobs and education, leading to civil war.
• In modern democracies, power sharing can take horizontal forms (sharing among legislature, executive, and judiciary) and other arrangements.

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