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Ethnic power sharing: Three big problems

Publication ,  Journal Article
Horowitz, DL
Published in: Journal of Democracy
January 1, 2014

In societies severely divided by ethnicity, race, religion, language, or any other form of ascriptive affiliation, ethnic divisions make democracy difficult, because they tend to produce ethnic parties and ethnic voting. Two commonly proposed methods of amelioration are called consociational and centripetal. Three problems derive from these proposals: The first concerns the adoptability of either of the two principal prescriptions. Under what conditions can either be adopted? The second relates to a possibility inherent in centripetal regimes: the potential degradation of the electoral arrangements that sustain the interethnic coalition. The third derives from a common consequence of the adoption of a consociational regime: Where robust guarantees, including minority vetoes, are adopted, immobilism is a strong possibility, and it may be very difficult to overcome the stasis that immobilism can produce. By examining these three problems, we can uncover some of the frailties inherent in both of the common prescriptions. © 2014 National Endowment for Democracy and Johns Hopkins University Press.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Journal of Democracy

DOI

EISSN

1086-3214

ISSN

1045-5736

Publication Date

January 1, 2014

Volume

25

Issue

2

Start / End Page

5 / 20

Related Subject Headings

  • Political Science & Public Administration
  • 4408 Political science
  • 1699 Other Studies in Human Society
  • 1606 Political Science
 

Citation

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ICMJE
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Horowitz, D. L. (2014). Ethnic power sharing: Three big problems. Journal of Democracy, 25(2), 5–20. https://doi.org/10.1353/jod.2014.0020
Horowitz, D. L. “Ethnic power sharing: Three big problems.” Journal of Democracy 25, no. 2 (January 1, 2014): 5–20. https://doi.org/10.1353/jod.2014.0020.
Horowitz DL. Ethnic power sharing: Three big problems. Journal of Democracy. 2014 Jan 1;25(2):5–20.
Horowitz, D. L. “Ethnic power sharing: Three big problems.” Journal of Democracy, vol. 25, no. 2, Jan. 2014, pp. 5–20. Scopus, doi:10.1353/jod.2014.0020.
Horowitz DL. Ethnic power sharing: Three big problems. Journal of Democracy. 2014 Jan 1;25(2):5–20.
Journal cover image

Published In

Journal of Democracy

DOI

EISSN

1086-3214

ISSN

1045-5736

Publication Date

January 1, 2014

Volume

25

Issue

2

Start / End Page

5 / 20

Related Subject Headings

  • Political Science & Public Administration
  • 4408 Political science
  • 1699 Other Studies in Human Society
  • 1606 Political Science