Types of Power Sharing

A. Horizontal / System of Checks and Balance

1. Power is shared among different organs of government, such as the legislature, executive and judiciary.

2. This is called horizontal distribution of power because it allows different organs of government placed at the same level to exercise different powers.

3. Such a separation ensures that none of the organs can exercise unlimited power. Each organ checks the others. This results in a balance of power among various institutions.

4. In a democracy, even though ministers and government officials exercise power, they are responsible to the Parliament or State Assemblies.

5. Although judges are appointed by the executive, they can check the functioning of executive or laws made by the legislatures.

6. This arrangement is called a system of checks and balances.

B. Vertical Sharing of Power / Federal System

1. A general government for the entire country and governments at the provincial or regional level.

2. A general government for the entire country is usually called federal government. In India, we refer to it as the Central or Union Government. The governments at the provincial or regional level are called by different names in different countries. In India, we call them State Governments.

3. Where there are different levels of government, the constitution clearly lays down the powers of different levels of government. This is what they did in Belgium, but was refused in Sri Lanka. In India we have three lists defining the powers of state and central government clearly.

4. This is called federal division of power. The same principle can be extended to levels of government lower than the State government, such as the municipality and panchayat. Let us call division of powers involving higher and lower levels of government vertical division of power.

C. Power is shared among cultural groups or religious groups

1. Power may also be shared among different social groups, such as the religious and linguistic groups. ‘Community government’ in Belgium is a good example of this arrangement.

2. In some countries, there are constitutional and legal arrangements, whereby socially weaker sections and women are represented in the legislatures and administration.

3. One such example of this type of sharing is the system of ‘reserved constituencies’ in assemblies and the parliament of our country. This type of arrangement is meant to give space in the government and administration to diverse social groups, who otherwise, would feel alienated from the government. This method is used to give minority communities a fair share in power.

D. Power sharing through Political parties or the participatory form of power sharing: 1. Power sharing arrangements can also be seen in the way political parties,pressure groups and movements control or influence those in power.

2. Political Parties: In a democracy, the citizens must have freedom to choose among various candidates for power. In contemporary democracies, this takes the form of competition among different parties. Such competition ensures that power does not remain in one hand. In the long run, power is shared among different political parties that represent different ideologies and social groups. Sometimes this kind of sharing can be direct, when two or more parties form an alliance to contest elections. If their alliance is elected, they form a coalition government and thus share power.

3. Interests Groups: In a democracy, we find interest groups, such as those of traders, businessmen, industrialists, farmers and industrial workers. They also will have a share in governmental power, either through participation in governmental committees or bringing influence on the decision-making process.