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	Consociationalism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
		Consociationalism is the method of conflict resolution built on the idea that a democracy fractured by opposing political parties can stabilize itself by appointing a small group of intellectuals to govern the people.
		Consociationalism was first formulated by Arend Lijphart to explain the democratic development in the Netherlands.
		Consociationalism focuses on diverging identities such as ethnicity instead of integrating identities such as class, institutionalizing and entrenching the former.
	en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Consociationalism (1197 words)

	Bloomsbury.com - Research centre (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-05)
		The term consociationalism was invented by the Dutch political scientist Arend Lijphart to distinguish the optimum form of democracy in a segmented society from the majoritarian model of democracy.
		Consociationalism has been practised in Belgium and Switzerland since 1945 and 1943 respectively, and to a lesser extent in Canada and Malaysia, despite the existence of salient ethnic cleavages.
		Critics of consociationalism focus on three alleged shortcomings: first, that it is 'undemocratic' because the majority must abdicate the right to govern on its own; second, that power-sharing is ineffective because of the inherent difficulties of government-by-committee; and finally, that it maintains or even deepens cleavages by institutionalizing them.
	www.bloomsbury.com /ARC/detail.asp?EntryID=103179&bid=2 (297 words)

	Consociationalism: Facts and details from Encyclopedia Topic (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-05)
		Consociationalism is a theoretical approach to conflict resolution which explains that through a non majority government of a cartel of elites a democracy with a fragmented political system is stabilized.
		This theory is the opposite to scission which attempts to solve conflict by splitting hostile groups apart rather than bring them together.
		Consociationalism is a theoretical approach to conflict resolution which explains that through a non majority government of a cartel of elites a democracy with a fragmented...
	www.absoluteastronomy.com /encyclopedia/c/co/consociationalism.htm (1160 words)

	nipolitics.com -> Northern Ireland Politics - the politics of war and peace
		Consociationalism, it is argued, is distinctive for its elitist approach to resolving conflict and its segregationist orientation.
		Consociationalism is probably best thought of as a distinctively elitist form of power-sharing which argues that the management of conflict is best achieved through the actions of political elites rather than societal variables.
		Consociationalism ‘had a decisive influence in the shaping of South Africa’s 1994 power-sharing constitution.’ Since ‘the newly founded democracy is clearly a consociational democracy’ we should be optimistic for the prospects of democracy in South Africa.
	www.nipolitics.com /consociationalismnep.html (4776 words)

	Nat' Academies Press, Electoral Systems and Conflict in Divided Societies (1999)
		Consociationalism entails a power-sharing agreement within government, brokered between clearly defined segments of society which may be joined by citizenship but divided by ethnicity, religion, and language.
		Consociationalism rests on the premise that in bitterly divided societies the stakes are too high for politics to be conducted as a zero-sum game.
		Consociationalism is particularly reliant on a PR electoral system to provide a broadly representative legislature upon which the other tenets of minority security can be based.
	www.nap.edu /openbook/0309064465/html/28.html (521 words)

	consociationalism
		Consociationalism and Ethnic Diversity in Sub-Sahara Africa Robert Dibie, pp.
		Arend Lijphart coined the term \"consociationalism\" to describe the sharing of power between segments of society joined together by a common...
		The Breakup of Czechoslovakia and the Calculus of Consociationalism Thomas Ambrosio.
	www.jointctr.org /?Category=consociationalism (337 words)

	[Marxism] Irish Republicanism and Postmodern Pluralism Article (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-05)
		Postmodern conflict resolution theory, and its political practise as consociationalism, is by now heavily institutionalised in most of the pertinent areas of Irish academia and political life and, partly through the discursive mechanisms thereof, in much popular political consciousness.
		Consociationalism is premised upon the idea that conflict resolution can be achieved by the management of differences that are seen, at best, as transitional and must, in any case, be recognised and given institutional form within a framework of pluralist governance.
		Consociationalism, it has been argued, is framed by a modernist liberal consciousness.
	lists.econ.utah.edu /pipermail/marxism/2005-May/025660.html (9883 words)

	Consociational basis of Swiss liberty (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-05)
		The specifically Swiss variety of consociationalism, which emerged on the federal level with the integration of the catholic party, was the result of a set of constraints constituted by the institutions of federalism and direct democracy.
		As I argued in earlier writings, consociationalism, as an institutional response to the challenges of segmented pluralism, was not so much the product of deliberate "social engineering" but of a process of social learning in which earlier institutional experiences were probably helpful.
		In the short run, consociationalism may even sometimes have been an instrument of the segmental elites to keep the cleavages alive that were the basis of their political domination: Defense of minority interests in the consociational coalition was presented as the raison d'être of their continuing exercice of political leadership based on an elite cartel.
	www.uni-tuebingen.de /pol/kd93l.htm (6363 words)

	Switzerland and the European Union - A Puzzle (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-05)
		Conceptually, consociationalism is at one extreme of a continu um that has at its other extreme competitiveness.(5) One important consociational element in the relationship among the Swiss language groups is that the three major groups are all represented in the federal cabinet.
		Consociationalism has helped harmony, which, in turn, has helped consociationalism; economic wealth contributed to both of these factors and was helped by the interplay of the two factors; and so on.
		Therefore, the absence of consociationalism may not only be due to a lack of will on the part of the Bernese authorities but also to structural reasons.
	www.ies.ubc.ca /events/swiss/steiner.html (7366 words)

	The Breakup of Czechoslovakia and the Calculus of Consociationalism
		The Breakup of Czechoslovakia and the Calculus of Consociationalism
		Some of consociationalism's supporters have argued that their model can and should be 'exported' to ethnically divided states.
		The concept of consociationalism was put forth as a third alternative to the standard dichotomy between centripetal (homogeneous and stable; e.g., Anglo-Saxon) and centrifugal (fragmented and unstable; e.g., Continental European) democracies during the 1960s.
	www.ndsu.nodak.edu /ndsu/ambrosio/consociational.html (7479 words)

	Nat' Academies Press, International Conflict Resolution After the Cold War (2000)
		The underlying ethos of consociationalism stresses that while there is joint decision making over common interests, regarding a cultural minority’s area of exclusive domain the minority should be autonomous.
		Consociationalism is probably best seen as a stop-gap measure, the lesser of two evils which keeps the lid on the pressure cooker of a divided society that is about to blow and perhaps manages to turn down the heat just a little.
		Consociationalism provides few incentives for political entrepreneurs to appeal for support beyond their own ethnic bases.
	www.nap.edu /openbook/0309070279/html/450.html (808 words)

	Oslo Summer School in Comparative Social Science Studies
		In Belgium consociationalism gained prominence in 1958 when the "school pact" could diffuse a severe crisis about the role of the Catholic church in educational matters.
		Erik Jones 2002, "Consociationalism, Corporatism, and the Fate of Belgium", Acta Politica 17: 86-103.
		A good argument can be made that it is thanks to consociationalism that relations between the two religious groups became increasingly harmonious and that today the religious cleavage has lost most of its importance.
	www.sv.uio.no /oss/Museum/2003/Steiner.html (2215 words)

	A Review of the Good Friday Agreement
		The disadvantages of this consociationalism, as it is called, are at least two-fold.
		This consociationalism part of the Agreement thus perpetuates the very sectarianism the accord was designed to overcome.
		Consociationalism was 'invented' by one Jozef Djugashvili, known affectionately as Stalin, in 1946.
	www.deborda.org /oldcontent/reviewgoodfriday.htm (3101 words)

	Toolbox: 15. Power-Sharing Arrangements
		Consociationalism helps manage conflict by encouraging ethnic group leaders to solve problems cooperatively by participating in post-election coalitions.
		International community promotion of power-sharing in situations of deep conflict runs the risk of potentially rewarding aggression or appeasement of extremists, or may induce parties to share power insincerely when they are still deeply suspicious and remain intent on violence to the other.
		Critics claim that power-sharing arrangements such as consociationalism allow the leadership to continue ruling contrary to mass preferences as the power-sharing system’s structural characteristics lock in a previously agreed-upon arrangement.
	www.caii.com /CAIIStaff/Dashboard_GIROAdminCAIIStaff/Dashboard_CAIIAdminDatabase/resources/ghai/toolbox15.htm (2137 words)

	The Head Heeb: Lebanese politics for beginners, part 5
		Consociationalism is the default in countries, like Lebanon, where the primary focuses of identity and loyalty are subgroups within the nation-state rather than the nation itself.
		Consociationalism is often regarded as flawed because it runs counter to the Enlightenment ideals of rule by the majority and the individual as the fundamental bearer of rights within the nation, but in countries with strong group identities, simple majority rule can be an oppressive rather than a democratic concept.
		In the international arena, consociationalism is the norm, with the focus on maintaining balances of power, encouraging broad consensus and preventing any single actor from becoming dominant rather than ensuring equal representation on an individual scale.
	headheeb.blogmosis.com /archives/028022.html (8947 words)

	[No title]
		Consociationalism focuses on bringing political elites together by structuring government to promote cooperation and prevent any group from becoming a permanent minority.[12] Federal or confederal arrangements that are based on internal borders corresponding to group divisions are favored, which grant some measure of autonomy for each group.
		However, whereas consociationalism seeks to limit extremist politics, integrative approaches seek to create incentives for integration across communal divides.[13] As a result, federal structures are designed which cut across group lines, resulting in mixed constituencies.
		Some have delineated four different approaches: consociationalism, centripetalism, integrative consensualism, and explicit recognition of communal groups.[14] Sisk goes further to argue that consociationalism and integrative approaches should not be seen as either/or propositions.
	www.beyondintractability.org /m/self_determination.jsp (4084 words)

	balkanalysis.com - Problems of Consociationalism from the Netherlands to Macedonia
		Thus, the dilemma of the Netherlands’ success in the utilization of consociationalism may be tied to the very fact that it was in a society not divided on profoundly deep, ethnic lines and that it was not a society (also) burdened by social cleavages lining up to the religious division.
		It was precisely when consociationalism became part of the political mentality and culture that it also became unnecessary to continue rigidly and instrumentally enforcing it.
		Unlike the Dutch experience where consociationalism eventually produced a much greater societal cohesion, in Belgium it brought an increased alienation of the two entities vis-а-vis the common state, and a lessened identification of the two communities with Belgian nationhood.
	www.balkanalysis.com /modules.php?name=News&file=print&sid=256 (2231 words)

	Theses from Uppsala University : 1472 - Changing the Game
		By a reconstruction of Arend Lijphart?s theory on consociationalism, two causal mechanisms are identified.
		The second mechanism reduces the number of conflict issues to be agreed on jointly, by decentralization of decision-making to the respective ethnic groups.
		According to the logic of consociationalism, ethnic quotas in parliament are expected to prevent violence by levelling the power balance in parliament.
	publications.uu.se /theses/abstract.xsql?dbid=1472 (334 words)

	consociationalism (Arend Lijphart)
		Arend Lijphart coined the term "consociationalism" to describe the sharing of power between segments of society joined together by a common citizenship but divided by ethnicity, language, religion, or other factors.
		A number of countries are openly and deliberately governed by the principles of "consociationalism." These include Belgium, South Africa, Zimbabwe, India, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Cyprus, Lebanon, and Northern Ireland (after Good Friday agreements of 1998).
		Different groups, whether on the basis of class, race, religion, or ethnicity, may be guaranteed access to institutions or not judged "equally" with others, on the grounds that such differences in treatment help to maintain balance and equity in society.
	www.geocities.com /Athens/Olympus/5357/ihr6a.html (1012 words)

	Notes on Lijphart, Lakatos and Consociationalism by Lustick, Ian, World Politics Vol. 50, No. 1 1997 (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-05)
		The success of Lijphart’s consociationalism is not explicable on the basis of its explanatory power or heuristic value, but rather on the political and rhetorical skills of its leading practitioners and political interests outside the scientific arena.
		Third he argued that the Netherlands was ‘stable’ in the sense that it had few protests or riots, but was so before consociationalism, and that it was not stable in the sense of government turnover.
		One critic said that “if conditions are favourable for consociationalism, Lijphart’s theory leads him to propose a consociational system; if conditions are unfavourable, he proposes the same”.
	users.ox.ac.uk /~sann2300/041030-ceg-representation-consociationalism-lustick.shtml (1075 words)

	Abstract: "Pluralism, Consociationalism, Group Differentiated Citizenship and the Problem of Social Cohesion" (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-05)
		This paper compares the approach adopted to social cohesion by theories of post-war political pluralism, consociationalism, and group-differentiated citizenship.
		The main difference found is that group-differentiated citizenship aims at modifying the behaviour and attitudes of individual citizens whereas consociationalism emphasizes elite collaboration accommodation and measures to impede mass interaction.
		This paper considers some explanations for why the theories differ along this and other dimensions and how this difference is significant to contemporary attempts to integrate national minorities into larger political units.
	www2.arts.ubc.ca /cresp/plurabs.htm (93 words)

	The Head Heeb: Comment on Halfway there
		In the fifth and last part of my series on Lebanese politics, I compared federalism to consociationalism in that both systems create intermediate layers of power between the individual and the state.
		On the other hand, there are differences between the two: consociationalism presupposes a parceling out of power at the national level, while that isn't necessarily the case in a federal system.
		Yes, it is no doubt a stretch to subsume federalism under consociationalism, but it has been done in the literature, at least for certain types of federalism.
	www.blogmosis.com /cgi-bin/mt/mt-comments.cgi?entry_id=31360 (556 words)

	McGarry Article, Part III (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-05)
		Malaysian politicians experimented with consociationalism between 1955 and 1969, Fijians on and off between 1970 and 1987, and Northern Irish politicans for a brief spell in 1974.
		Consociational democracies usually have four features[16] a grand coalition government which incorporates the political parties representing the main segments of the divided society; proportionality rules which apply throughout the public sector; community autonomy which enables self-government in those domains of most profound concern to ethnic communities; and minority veto rights on constitutional change.
		This conclusion is not appetising for enthusiasts of consociationalism in Burundi, Fiji, Northern Ireland, Malaysia, Lebanon and South Africa.
	www.wpunj.edu /irt/courses/soc399/mcgarry3.htm (2099 words)

	County Issue Archive (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-05)
		Consociationalism -- a term practically unpronounceable -- at least by me. There is, however, a more simplified version -- "consociate".
		The term is generally defined by Webster to mean, "to bring together in association".
		The main characteristics of "consociationalism" include: the division of administrative power, representation from sections of a plural (more than one member) society, sharing of bureaucratic positions, allocation of public funds, community self-government and a high degree of independence for each official to run his/her own official affairs.
	www.county.org /resources/library/cissue/LN/vol9no17/Record86483.html (415 words)

	Governance Resource Centre (GRC) Exchange - Information Database (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-05)
		It is rare for electoral systems to be deliberately chosen or designed for the conditions of a country, and the choice made is often bad for its long-term political health.
		Consociationalism assumes that leaders will be moderate and are willing to compromise (this is not always the case), and that there is a clear definition of groups.
		Consociationalism can be effective for democracies in transition, but not as effective for consolidating democracies.
	www.grc-exchange.org /info_data/record.cfm?Id=345 (490 words)

	Swans Commentary: What's Consociational Patriotism?, by Mohammed Ben Jelloun - jelloun2
		The reconciliation is comparable to the historical compromise in 1943 Lebanon, which united Christians and Muslims against their own drifting, Francophile and pan-Arab, respectively.
		Lebanon's is a typically colonial, anti-colonial and postcolonial consociationalism and therefore particularly telling in the case of Iraq.
		It is not enough to ask for a timetable for troop evacuation, as did the Sadrists, the AMS and the nationalists in their statement of February 15, 2005 (Paragraph I); it is not enough when the rest of the document is either silent or rejecting any talk of power-sharing.
	www.swans.com /library/art11/jelloun2.html (2349 words)

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