Power-Sharing in Europe: Past Practice, Present Cases, and Future Directions (Federalism and Internal Conflicts)

This book evaluates the performance of consociational power-sharing arrangements in Europe. Under what conditions do consociational arrangements come in and out of being? How do consociational arrangements work in practice? The volume assesses how consociationalism is adopted, how it functions, and how it reforms or ends. Chapters cover early adopters of consociationalism, including both those which moved on to other institutional designs (the Netherlands, Austria) as well as those that continue to use consociational processes to manage their differences (Belgium, Switzerland, South Tyrol). Also analysed are ‘new wave’ cases where consociationalism was adopted after violent internal conflict (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Northern Ireland) and cases of unresolved conflict where consociationalism may yet help mediate ongoing divisions (Cyprus, Spain). Soeren Keil is Reader in Politics and International Relations, Canterbury Christ Church University, United Kingdom. Allison McCulloch is Associate Professor in Political Science, Brandon University, Canada. Acknowledgments Contents Notes on Contributors List of Figures List of Maps List of Tables Chapter 1: Introduction: Power-Sharing in Europe—From Adoptability to End-Ability 1 Introduction 2 Power-Sharing from Start to Finish 3 Organization of the Book References Chapter 2: Consociationalism in the Netherlands: Polder Politics and Pillar Talk 1 Introduction 2 Pillars as Problem 3 Pillars as Promoters of Emancipation and Modernization 4 An Islamic Pillar? 5 Accommodation, Consociationalism, and Consensus 6 Conclusion References Chapter 3: Power-Sharing in Austria: Consociationalism, Corporatism, and Federalism 1 Introduction: Austria as a Role Model of Consociational Democracy and Corporatism 2 Theoretical Foundations 2.1 Consociational Democracy 2.2 Federal Power-Sharing 3 The Birth of the Federal Constitution of Austria 4 Developments During the First Republic 5 The Ständestaat between 1934–1938 6 Developments During the Second Republic 6.1 1945–1966 6.2 1966–1999 6.3 1999–2019 7 Continuities and Changes References Chapter 4: The Politics of Compromise: Institutions and Actors of Power-Sharing in Switzerland 1 Introduction 2 Cleavages 3 Design and Operation 4 Challenges 5 Prospects References Chapter 5: Power-Sharing in Belgium: The Disintegrative Model 1 Introduction 2 Salient Cleavages in Belgium: A Triple Fault Line 2.1 Language 2.2 Economy 2.3 Ideology 3 Handling the Belgian Divide Through Institutional Design: Power-Sharing and Power-Dividing 3.1 Historical Overview 3.2 A Dividing of Power 3.3 Power-Sharing 4 Major Challenges 4.1 Heterogeneity as a Factor of Instability 4.2 Dyadic Federalism 4.3 Political Asymmetry 4.4 Constitutional Asymmetry 5 Future Prospects 5.1 Dissolution 5.2 Confederalism 5.3 Reinforced Federalism with Confederal Traits 6 Conclusion References Chapter 6: Power-Sharing and Party Politics in the Western Balkans 1 Introduction 2 Power-Sharing in Bosnia, North Macedonia and Kosovo—Evolution and Function 3 Political Competition, Party Politics and Power-Sharing 4 Bosnia and Herzegovina: Parties and Coalitions 5 Kosovo: Parties and Coalitions 6 North Macedonia: Parties and Coalitions 7 Patterns in Political Competition 8 Conclusion References Chapter 7: Toward Inclusive Power-Sharing in Northern Ireland: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back 1 Introduction 2 Power-Sharing, Inclusion, and the ‘Exclusion Amid Inclusion’ Dilemma 3 Power-Sharing in Northern Ireland 4 Institutional Evolution 5 Existential Crisis? 6 Power-Sharing Part III 7 Toward Inclusive Power-Sharing? 8 Conclusion References Websites Interviews Chapter 8: South Tyrol’s Model of Conflict Resolution: Territorial Autonomy and Power-Sharing 1 Basic Facts, Actors and Dimensions of a European Success Story: Initial Remarks 2 Origins of and Negotiations Over a Disputed Territory: The Period Up to 1947 3 Constituent Moments of, Negotiations for and Basics as to the Autonomy: The Period Up to 1972 4 The Second ASt: Contents, Effects and Scope 5 Vertical Power-Sharing: Implementing and Widening the Scope of Autonomy 5.1 Enactment Decrees 5.2 Composition of the Commission of Six 5.3 Working Method 6 Horizontal Power-Sharing: Political Parties and the Joint Exercise of Power 6.1 Political Logic of Ethnic Divisions 6.2 Joint Exercise of Power, Guarantees and Veto System 6.3 The Role of the SVP and the Party Spectrum 6.4 Political System of Maximum Involvement of Language Groups 7 Horizontal Power-Sharing: Linguistic Rights and the Rules of Co-habitation 7.1 Linguistic Rights 7.2 Ethnic Quota System 7.3 Linguistic Declaration 7.4 Bi(tri)lingualism Exams 8 Assessment of South Tyrol’s Autonomy in the Context of Italian Regionalism 9 Factors of Success and the Way Forward: Closing Remarks References Chapter 9: A Consociational Compromise? Constitutional Evolution in Spain and Catalonia 1 Introduction 2 The Consensual Transition 3 The Evolution of the Territorial Model 4 The Catalan Crisis 5 Consociational Compromise at the Center 6 Consociational Compromise at the Periphery 7 Conclusion References Chapter 10: Why Has Cyprus Been a Consociational Cemetery? 1 Introduction 2 The 1960–63 Consociation 3 Post-1974: From Partition to the Annan Plan 4 After 2004: From the Annan Plan to Crans-Montana and After 5 Conclusion References Chapter 11: Conclusion: The Past, Present and Future of Power-Sharing in Europe 1 Introduction 2 Adoptability 3 Functionality 4 End-ability 5 Where to Next? References Index This book evaluates the performance of consociational power-sharing arrangements in Europe by addressing two key questions: First, under what conditions do consociational arrangements come in and out of being? And second, how do consociational arrangements work in practice and how do they mediate potential deadlock between power-sharing partners? The volume assesses core aspects of power-sharing theory and practice through a collection of case studies drawn from across the European continent. Chapters cover those countries which were early adopters of consociationalism but which have since moved on to other institutional designs (the Netherlands, Austria), early adopters which continue to use consociational processes to manage their differences (Belgium, Switzerland, South Tyrol), and 'new wave' cases where consociationalism was adopted after violent internal conflict (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Northern Ireland). The book also examines cases of unresolved conflict and consider to what extent consociationalism can help mediate their ongoing divisions (Cyprus, Spain). Soeren Keil is Reader in Politics and International Relations at Canterbury Christ Church University, UK. He is also Visiting Professor and Module Director at Centre International de Formation Europeene (CIFE) in Nice, France. His research focuses on the use of territorial autonomy as a tool of conflict resolution, the political systems of the Western Balkan states and the process of EU enlargement. Allison McCulloch is Associate Professor of Political Science at Brandon University, Manitoba, Canada. Her research considers the politics of deeply divided societies, with a specific emphasis on the design of political power-sharing (consociational) institutions