Power-Sharing in Europe: Past Practice, Present Cases, and Future Directions

by Soeren Keil (Editor), Allison McCulloch (Editor)

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783030535902
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan
Publication date:	12/15/2020
Series:	Federalism and Internal Conflicts
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	6 MB

About the Author

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. His recent publications include The Europeanisation of the Western Balkans – A Failure of EU Conditionality? (co-edited with Jelena Dzankic and Marko Kmezic, 2019) and Federalism and Conflict Resolution (co-authored with Paul Anderson, forthcoming).

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. This includes how power-sharing governments handle political crises, the incentive structures for ethnopolitical moderation and extremism that power-sharing offers, and how power-sharing arrangements can be made more inclusive of identities beyond the ethnonational divide. She is the author of Power-Sharing and Political Stability in Deeply Divided Societies (2014) and co-editor of Power Sharing: Empirical and Normative Challenges (with John McGarry, 2017).

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Power-Sharing in Europe: From Adoptability to End-ability (Allison McCulloch ).- Chapter 2. Consociationalism in the Netherlands: Pillar Talk and Polder Politics (Matthijs Bogaards).- Chapter 3. Power-Sharing in Austria: Consociationalism, Corporatism, and Federalism (Peter Bussjaeger and Mirella M. Johler).- Chapter 4. The Politics of Compromise: Institutions and Actors of Power-Sharing in Switzerland (Sean Mueller).- Chapter 5. Power-Sharing in Belgium: The Disintegrative Model (Patricia Popelier).- Chapter 6. Power-Sharing and Party Politics in the Balkans (John Hulsey and Soeren Keil).- Chapter 7. Towards Inclusive Power-Sharing in Northern Ireland: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back (Cera Murtagh).- Chapter 8. South Tyrol’s Model of Conflict Resolution: Territorial Autonomy and Power-Sharing (Elisabeth Alber.)- Chapter 9. A Consociational Compromise? Constitutional Evolution in Spain and Catalonia (Paul Anderson).- Chapter 10. Why Has Cyprus Been a Consociational Cemetery? (John McGarry).- Chapter 11. Conclusion (Soeren Keil and Allison McCulloch).

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Power-sharing in Europe moves beyond debates between advocates and detractors of power sharing to engage with critical issues regarding the origins, performance, and future of arrangements for managing intrastate conflict. Particularly noteworthy is the focus on the functionality of power-sharing arrangements, which is explored through a series of rich and detailed case studies. Anyone interested in power sharing and democracy will benefit from this engaging book, which develops a well-defined roadmap for future research.”

- Caroline A. Hartzell, Professor of Political Science, Gettysburg College, USA

‘This fresh collection of up-to date research marks the definitive arrival of a new cohort of scholars in command of their fields. Severally they re-examine with vim and vigor Europe’s classical power-sharing cases, positive and negative—salted and peppered with contributions from the veterans Matthijs Bogaards and John McGarry. Highly recommended.’

- Brendan O’Leary, Lauder Professor of Political Science, University of Pennsylvania, USA.

Editorial Reviews

The accurate collection of chapters edited by Soeren Keil and Allison McCulloch provides more and less versed students with fresh theoretical framing and new case-based evidence. It re-evaluates critiques and expands the frontiers of research on power sharing … . The book offers compelling insights on power-sharing democracies in Europe. Its theoretical framework and empirical analyses constitute an informative source for those interested in democracy and divided societies.” (Guido Panzano, Acta Politica, Vol. 57, 2022)

“This is a valuable edited book … . The editors side-step theoretical complications, and in the process come up with an incisive set of questions, interesting descriptive mapping and make good progress towards a meaningful typology of cases, while presenting us with a fascinating set of substantive chapters.” (Jennifer Todd, Zeitschrift für Vergleichende Politikwissenschaft,Vol. 15 (3), October, 2021)

“Power-Sharing in Europe: Past Practice, Present Cases and Future Directions marks the beginning of a new way of understanding and evaluating institutional designs in plural societies. … the volume stands as a comprehensive and very-much-needed contribution to the literature. This volume is a highly recommended resource to anybody interested in the devices and arrangements suitable for managing plural societies, their performance, and ‘life cycles’.” (Arianna Piacentini, Journal of Federalism, April 30, 2021)

From the Publisher