Cracks in the Mosaic: A Comparative Case Study of the State of Consociationalism in Belgium and Switzerland
(2024) STVK04 20241Department of Political Science
- Abstract
- Fifty-five years have passed since Lijphart’s introduction of the consociational model of democracy, which uses elite cooperation to manage conflict in divided societies. Through a comparative case study of the application of consociationalism in the classic cases of Belgium and Switzerland with a focus on the key characteristics of grand coalition, segmental autonomy, and public passivity, the model’s continued relevance is examined. The analysis indicates that the two cases still exhibit consociational features, but identifies challenges to the application of the model with regard to government composition, secessionist parties, and the use of direct-democratic referendums. The findings raise questions about Lijphart’s universal... (More)
- Fifty-five years have passed since Lijphart’s introduction of the consociational model of democracy, which uses elite cooperation to manage conflict in divided societies. Through a comparative case study of the application of consociationalism in the classic cases of Belgium and Switzerland with a focus on the key characteristics of grand coalition, segmental autonomy, and public passivity, the model’s continued relevance is examined. The analysis indicates that the two cases still exhibit consociational features, but identifies challenges to the application of the model with regard to government composition, secessionist parties, and the use of direct-democratic referendums. The findings raise questions about Lijphart’s universal recommendations of the model and the future of consociationalism in relation to the upsurge in populism and democratic backsliding. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9153017
- author
- Holm, Adrian LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- STVK04 20241
- year
- 2024
- type
- M2 - Bachelor Degree
- subject
- keywords
- consociationalism, Belgium, Switzerland, comparative case study
- language
- English
- id
- 9153017
- date added to LUP
- 2024-07-18 11:09:52
- date last changed
- 2024-07-18 11:09:52
@misc{9153017, abstract = {{Fifty-five years have passed since Lijphart’s introduction of the consociational model of democracy, which uses elite cooperation to manage conflict in divided societies. Through a comparative case study of the application of consociationalism in the classic cases of Belgium and Switzerland with a focus on the key characteristics of grand coalition, segmental autonomy, and public passivity, the model’s continued relevance is examined. The analysis indicates that the two cases still exhibit consociational features, but identifies challenges to the application of the model with regard to government composition, secessionist parties, and the use of direct-democratic referendums. The findings raise questions about Lijphart’s universal recommendations of the model and the future of consociationalism in relation to the upsurge in populism and democratic backsliding.}}, author = {{Holm, Adrian}}, language = {{eng}}, note = {{Student Paper}}, title = {{Cracks in the Mosaic: A Comparative Case Study of the State of Consociationalism in Belgium and Switzerland}}, year = {{2024}}, }