Polity Atlas
Glossary term

Consociationalism

Also: power-sharing democracyЧитать на русском

A model of power-sharing democracy for deeply divided societies, combining a grand coalition of group leaders, segmental autonomy, proportionality and a minority veto.

In more detail

Arend Lijphart conceptualised the model and contrasted it with majoritarian democracy. Supporters see it as a way to keep divided societies stable; critics argue that it can entrench group identities and make cross-group politics harder.