Book contents
- Collective Equality
- Collective Equality
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Maps
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Introduction
- Part I Human Rights and Democracy in Deeply Divided Places
- Part II Revisiting Assumptions
- 5 Rethinking Democracy
- 6 Human Rights versus Power-Sharing
- Part III Collective Equality
- Bibliography
- Index
5 - Rethinking Democracy
from Part II - Revisiting Assumptions
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 April 2023
- Collective Equality
- Collective Equality
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Maps
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Introduction
- Part I Human Rights and Democracy in Deeply Divided Places
- Part II Revisiting Assumptions
- 5 Rethinking Democracy
- 6 Human Rights versus Power-Sharing
- Part III Collective Equality
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Peacemaking practice shows that national minorities are aware of the shortcomings of liberal democracy and human rights to secure their fundamental interests, and when they come to the negotiating table their focal points are not bills of rights, but rather inclusive political institutions. This political inclusivity often involves the use of power-sharing democracy, a political framework that intentionally accommodates competing ethno-national groups within the state’s governing structures. Many experts, nongovernmental organizations, scholars, and policymakers have also recommended power-sharing as the more adequate institutional design for such places. This chapter evaluates democratic power-sharing vis-è-vis the more common model of majoritarian democracy to support the argument that a revision of our taken-for-granted assumptions about what “proper” democracy looks like is needed. To illustrate the general observations, the chapter reviews the use of power-sharing systems in Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Northern Ireland.
Keywords
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Collective EqualityHuman Rights and Democracy in Ethno-National Conflicts, pp. 133 - 166Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023