Accommodation in Belgium
- The Belgian leaders recognised the existence of regional differences and cultural diversities and resorted to a different path.
- They amended their constitution 4 times between 1970 and 1993.
- This was done to work out an innovative arrangement that would enable everyone to live together within the same country.
- Both Belgium and Sri Lanka are democracies and dealt with the question of power sharing in different ways:
- In Belgium, the leaders realised that only by respecting the feelings and interests of different communities and regions, they could achieve unity.
- So they made mutually acceptable arrangements for sharing power.
- On the other hand, Sri Lanka is an example of how a country’s unity can be undermined, if a majority community wants to force its dominance over others and refuses to share power.
Why power sharing is desirable?
- Power sharing helps to reduce the possibility of conflict between social groups.
- Power sharing is the spirit of democracy.
The first set of reasons may be termed as Prudential and the second as moral.