Power-sharing · Class 10 Political Science: 100 flashcards
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1. What percentage of Belgium's population lives in the Flemish region, and what language do they speak?
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59 per cent, and they speak Dutch.
2. What percentage of Belgians live in Wallonia and which language do they speak?
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40 per cent, and they speak French.
3. What share of Belgians speak German?
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One per cent.
4. What is the language breakdown of Brussels?
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80 per cent speak French and 20 per cent speak Dutch.
5. Why did Brussels present a special problem in Belgium?
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Because the Dutch-speaking people were a majority in the country but a minority in the capital.
6. Which community in Belgium was relatively rich and powerful?
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The minority French-speaking community.
7. Why did the Dutch-speaking community of Belgium resent the French-speaking community?
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Because the Dutch-speakers got the benefit of economic development and education much later than the French-speakers.
8. During which decades did tensions arise between Belgium's two main language communities?
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During the 1950s and 1960s.
9. Which four countries does Belgium border?
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France, the Netherlands, Germany and Luxembourg.
10. How does Belgium compare in area and population to Haryana?
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It is smaller in area than Haryana, and its population of a little over one crore is about half of Haryana's.
11. Where is Sri Lanka located relative to India?
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An island country lying only a few kilometres south of the Tamil Nadu coast.
12. What percentage of Sri Lanka's population are Sinhala-speakers?
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74 per cent.
13. What percentage of Sri Lanka's population are Tamil-speakers?
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18 per cent.
14. Who are the Sri Lankan Tamils and what share of the population do they form?
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Tamil natives of the country, forming 13 per cent of the population.
15. Who are the Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka?
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Those whose forefathers came from India as plantation workers during the colonial period.
16. In which parts of Sri Lanka are the Sri Lankan Tamils concentrated?
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In the north and east of the country.
17. Which religion do most Sinhala-speakers follow?
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Buddhism.
18. Which religions do most Tamils in Sri Lanka follow?
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Most are Hindus or Muslims.
19. What proportion of Sri Lankans are Christians, and from which communities do they come?
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About 7 per cent, and they are drawn from both the Tamil and the Sinhala communities.
20. Define an ethnic division.
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A social division based on shared culture, in which people see themselves as having common ancestors, because they look alike, share a culture, or both. Their religion or nationality may still differ.
21. In which year did Sri Lanka emerge as an independent country?
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1948.
22. On what basis did the leaders of the Sinhala community seek dominance over government?
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By virtue of their majority.
23. Define majoritarianism.
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The view that whichever community is bigger is entitled to rule on its own terms, with the minority's wishes and needs left out of account.
24. What did the Act of 1956 do?
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It recognised Sinhala as the only official language, thus disregarding Tamil.
25. What did the preferential policies of the Sri Lankan governments favour?
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Sinhala applicants for university positions and government jobs.
26. What did the new constitution of Sri Lanka stipulate about religion?
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That the state shall protect and foster Buddhism.
27. Why is it significant that Sri Lanka's majoritarian measures were adopted by an elected government?
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Because it shows that majoritarianism can arrive through the ballot box, so holding elections is by itself no protection for a minority.
28. What was the cumulative effect of the majoritarian measures on the Sri Lankan Tamils?
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Coming one after the other, they gradually increased the feeling of alienation among the Sri Lankan Tamils.
29. What did the Sri Lankan Tamils feel about the major political parties of the country?
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That none of them, led by Buddhist Sinhala leaders, was sensitive to their language and culture.
30. State the three demands for which the Sri Lankan Tamils launched parties and struggles.
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Recognition of Tamil as an official language, regional autonomy, and equality of opportunity in securing education and jobs.
31. What happened to the Tamil demand for more autonomy to the provinces they populated?
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It was repeatedly denied.
32. What was being demanded by the political organisations formed by the 1980s?
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An independent Tamil Eelam, a separate state in the northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka.
33. Define a civil war.
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Fighting between opposing groups within a single country, at a pitch that makes it indistinguishable from war.
34. Who was killed in the Sri Lankan civil war?
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Thousands of people of both communities.
35. Besides the dead, what other costs did the civil war impose on Sri Lankans?
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Families fled the country as refugees in large numbers, and far more were left without a living.
36. What overall damage did the civil war do to the country?
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It dealt a shattering blow to the country’s social, cultural and economic life.
37. In which year did the Sri Lankan civil war end?
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2009.
38. In which parts of Sri Lanka was the proposed Tamil Eelam to be located?
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In the northern and eastern parts of the country.
39. What is the difference between majority rule and majoritarianism?
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Every democracy decides by majorities, which is majority rule. Majoritarianism is the further belief that the majority may rule in whichever way it wants, disregarding the wishes and needs of the minority.
40. What did the Sri Lankan Tamils believe the constitution and government policies had done to them?
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Withheld equal political rights from them, shut them out of jobs and other opportunities, and left their interests out of account.
41. What did the Belgian leaders recognise?
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The existence of regional differences and cultural diversities.
42. Over what period and how many times did Belgium amend its constitution?
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Four times, between 1970 and 1993.
43. What does the Belgian constitution prescribe about ministers in the central government?
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That the central government must hold the same number of Dutch-speaking and French-speaking ministers.
44. What do some special laws in Belgium require?
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The support of a majority of members from each linguistic group.
45. What is the effect of requiring majorities from each linguistic group?
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No single community can make decisions unilaterally.
46. What was done with many of the powers of Belgium's central government?
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They were given to the state governments of the two regions of the country.
47. What is the relationship between Belgium's state governments and its central government?
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The state governments are not subordinate to the central government.
48. What arrangement governs Brussels?
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Brussels has a separate government in which both communities have equal representation.
49. Why did the French-speaking people accept equal representation in Brussels?
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Because the Dutch-speaking community accepted equal representation in the central government.
50. What is a community government in Belgium?
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A third kind of government elected by people belonging to one language community — Dutch, French or German-speaking — no matter where they live.
51. Over which matters does the community government have power?
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Cultural, educational and language-related issues.
52. Which three language communities elect community governments in Belgium?
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The Dutch, French and German-speaking communities.
53. What does the textbook admit about the Belgian model?
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That it is very complicated, even for people living in Belgium.
54. What did the Belgian arrangements help to avoid?
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Open conflict between the two big communities, and the country splitting along language lines.
55. What happened to Brussels when many countries of Europe formed the European Union?
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Brussels was chosen as the headquarters of the European Union.
56. What did the Belgian leaders realise about the unity of their country?
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That a country stays whole only when the feelings and interests of its various communities and regions are respected.
57. What does the Sri Lankan example show, according to the chapter's conclusion?
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That a majority which insists on dominating and will not share power can pull its own country apart.
58. How is the Belgian model described in terms of originality?
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As different from any other country's and very innovative.
59. Name the four elements of the Belgian model in order.
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Equal Dutch and French-speaking ministers at the centre with special laws needing majorities from each group; powers devolved to state governments that are not subordinate to the centre; a separate government for Brussels with equal representation; and a community government elected by language group regardless of resi…
60. In what sense is the community government unlike every other government in the chapter?
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Every other government governs a territory, whereas the community government is elected by members of a language community no matter where they live.
61. How many sets of reasons does the chapter give in favour of power sharing, and what are they called?
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Two sets — prudential reasons and moral reasons.
62. Define prudential.
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Resting on prudence: a careful weighing of gains against losses, as opposed to a decision made purely on moral grounds.
63. State the prudential argument for power sharing in full.
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Because it lowers the chance of social groups coming into conflict. Conflict of that kind tends to end in violence and political instability, so sharing power is a way of keeping the political order steady.
64. What does the chapter say about imposing the will of the majority community over others?
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That it can look tempting while it lasts, and over time eats away at the unity of the nation.
65. The chapter says the tyranny of the majority is not just oppressive for the minority. What does it add?
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That it often affects the majority adversely as well.
66. Why does it matter that majority tyranny harms the majority as well?
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Because it turns power sharing from a favour granted to the minority into something that is in everybody's interest, giving the majority a reason of its own to want it.
67. State the moral reason for power sharing.
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That sharing power is what democracy is, not a device it uses. To rule democratically is to share power with the people it is exercised over.
68. What right do people have, according to the moral argument?
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An entitlement to a say in the terms on which they are governed.
69. What is a legitimate government?
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One where citizens, through participation, acquire a stake in the system.
70. What do prudential reasons stress, and what do moral reasons emphasise?
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The prudential argument is about results: sharing power works better. The moral argument is that the sharing is valuable in itself.
71. What is the quick test for telling a prudential reason from a moral one?
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If the reason appeals to what will happen, it is prudential. If it appeals to what democracy is, or to a right people already have, it is moral.
72. Which of the two reasons does the textbook describe as deeper?
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The moral reason.
73. Why can the moral argument not be defeated by evidence?
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Because it never claims that power sharing produces good results. It claims that ruling people without consulting them is not democratic rule, whatever the results.
74. Which two parties formed Germany's grand coalition after the 2005 elections?
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The Christian Democratic Union and the Social Democratic Party.
75. Why did Germany's two major parties form a coalition in 2005?
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Because neither of them got a clear majority of seats on its own.
76. What does social conflict often lead to, according to the prudential argument?
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Violence and political instability.
77. With whom does a democratic rule involve sharing power?
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With the people that power is exercised over, who have to live with what it does.
78. Give one prudential and one moral reason for power sharing, in one line each.
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Prudential: it reduces the possibility of conflict between social groups and so ensures the stability of political order. Moral: citizens are entitled to a say in how they are governed, because power sharing is the very spirit of democracy.
79. Which common answer fails a question asking for one reason of each kind?
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Offering two reasons that are both about consequences, such as that power sharing reduces conflict and that it keeps the country stable.
80. Is power sharing valuable only because of what it achieves?
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No. Prudential reasons say it brings better outcomes, but moral reasons hold the very act of power sharing to be valuable in itself, independently of what it achieves.
81. In opposition to what did the idea of power-sharing emerge?
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The notions of undivided political power.
82. What was the older belief about where a government's power must reside?
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That a government’s power belongs whole, in one pair of hands, in one place.
83. What reason was given for keeping political power undivided?
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That spreading the power to decide would leave a government unable to decide quickly, or to make its decisions stick.
84. State the basic principle of democracy from which power sharing follows.
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That political power comes from the people in the first place, and that in a democracy they govern themselves through institutions built for it.
85. What conclusion does the chapter draw about how political power should be distributed?
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That in a democracy, political power should be distributed among as many citizens as possible.
86. Name the four forms of power sharing in modern democracies.
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Among different organs of government; among governments at different levels; among different social groups; and among political parties, pressure groups and movements.
87. Why is the sharing of power among the legislature, executive and judiciary called horizontal?
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Because organs of government sitting at the same level as one another each exercise different powers.
88. What does the horizontal separation of powers ensure?
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That none of the organs can exercise unlimited power, since each organ checks the others, resulting in a balance of power among various institutions.
89. What is the arrangement in which each organ of government checks the others called?
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A system of checks and balances.
90. To whom are ministers and government officials responsible?
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To the Parliament or State Assemblies.
91. Who appoints judges, and what can judges nonetheless do?
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Judges are appointed by the executive, yet they can check the functioning of the executive or laws made by the legislatures.
92. What is the general government for an entire country usually called, and what is it called in India?
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It is usually called the federal government; in India it is referred to as the Central or Union Government.
93. Is a division of power across levels of government found in every country?
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No — plenty of countries have no provincial or state tier at all.
94. Where the different levels of government exist, what does the constitution do?
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It clearly lays down the powers of the different levels of government.
95. To which levels below the state can the vertical division of power be extended?
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To the municipality and the panchayat.
96. Give two devices by which power is shared among social groups.
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Community government, as in Belgium, and the system of reserved constituencies in assemblies and parliament. Constitutional and legal arrangements may also represent socially weaker sections and women in legislatures and administration.
97. What is the purpose of sharing power among social groups?
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To give space in government and administration to diverse social groups who would otherwise feel alienated, and to give minority communities a fair share in power.
98. How does competition among political parties share power?
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It keeps power from settling in one pair of hands: over time it passes between parties standing for different ideas and different social groups.
99. What is a coalition government?
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By allying to fight an election and, on winning, governing together as a coalition.
100. Name some interest groups and state how they share in governmental power.
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Groups of traders, businessmen, industrialists, farmers and industrial workers. They share power either through participation in governmental committees or by bringing influence on the decision-making process.
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