Inclusion, Dispersion, and Constraint: Powersharing in the World's States, 1975–2010. Issue 1 (1st September 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Strøm, Kaare W.; Gates, Scott; Graham, Benjamin A.T.; Strand, Håvard
• Is Part Of: British journal of political science. Volume 47:Issue 1(2017)
• Page Start: 165
• Page End: 185
• Publication Date: 2015-09-01
• Subjects: Political science -- Periodicals; 320.05
• DOI: 10.1017/S0007123415000174
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0007-1234

Abstract

Abstract : Arrangements for sharing political power serve three purposes: to give all relevant groups access to important political decisions; to partition the policy process, thereby granting groups relevant autonomy; and to constrain holders of political power from abusing authority. A new global dataset of political power sharing institutions, 1975–2010, is introduced here, disaggregated these along three institutional dimensions: inclusive, dispersive, and constraining. Existing literature associates power sharing with democracy and civil conflict resolution. Unlike the existing literature, this dataset shows inclusive institutions are common in post-conflict states, though least strongly associated with electoral democracy. Conversely, constraining institutions, though comparatively rare in states with current or recent civil conflicts, are highly correlated with electoral democracy.