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This article examines waves of citizen protest against the ethnic citizenship regime of consociational power-sharing. It seeks to contribute to research on power-sharing by bringing together the literature on "acts of citizenship" and "eventful protest" to show how protest waves in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iraq and Lebanon seek to contest, destabilize, reimagine, and enact new forms of inclusive citizenship in ethnically divided societies. While research suggests that popular mobilization has destabilizing effects on power-sharing, this paper indicates that protest forms offer important forms of democratic participation and renewal for consociational systems. Towards this, the article illuminates four interweaving citizenship frames developed in protests: Citizens (Demos) versus Elites (Ethnos); Trans-sectarian; Inclusionary; and Inclusionary. The article draws on interviews, media and policy data to explore the voice of protestors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consociational power-sharing mandates representation of politically salient groups in government and encourages their participation in decision making. This leaves identities and issues not centrally related to the primary political division technically negligible for political stability. That cross-segmental policy issues in general and those specifically of concerns to women in divided societies enjoy low priority in dominant political parties is well documented. There is no agreement on why it is so. This paper analyses the system-level incentives that segmental parties in Northern Ireland follow when crowding out concerns and interests that might be relevant for individual voters identifying primarily outside the established politically salient cleavages. We conclude that in Northern Ireland, the systematic marginalisation of 'women-specific issues' is not systemic but rather highlights system-given opportunities for major political parties to avoid engagement with socially salient issues at no electoral cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT During the Lebanese 2019 uprising, the country's second‐largest city, Tripoli, became portrayed as the “bride of the revolution.” This portrayal was seen to break with the city's former stigma as a hotbed of extremism. However, as this article shows, local protesters were not unambiguously happy with this portrayal. Based on interviews with 30 protesters and fieldwork observations, the article seeks to understand the critical views of this narrative. It shows that there was a widespread perception among Tripoli protesters that the narrative of their city as the “bride of the revolution,” as presented by the media, represented a distorted image that romanticized, depoliticized, and de‐contextualized the uprising. This narrative was believed to serve a political purpose. These findings provide two main contributions to scholarly debates concerning identity narratives and the role of media for social movements in societies like Lebanon, characterized by hybrid regimes and a complex media‐politics nexus. First, it points to the complexity of breaking stigma and changing geography‐based identities. Second, it shows how the political ownership of media fuels the understanding of media frames as being politically motivated, even when they seem sympathetic to protests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Turkomans are considered to be the integral part of a political space often reflexively labeled as “Turkic World.” Following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the Turkoman communities in Syria and Iraq have undergone a complex evolution leading to their current status as politically organized distinct ethnic groups. This transformation has been predetermined by the policies of the colonial powers and the rise of Arab nationalism that was aimed to establish the united “Arab Homeland.” It was only with the decline of Baathist regimes that Turkomans started to gain political recognition. How have the Turkomans in Syria and Iraq evolved culturally and politically over time? Do they perceive their future as being closely linked to their Arab “host” countries, or do they harbor aspirations of coming back to their historical Turkic legacy? What support do they receive from Turkey, and what is offered by Syrian and Iraqi authorities? We have analyzed the Turkoman issue through a structural and identity-based lens, examining how these communities have navigated their relationships with the Arab states they reside in and their historical ties to Turkey. The framework proposed by R. Brubaker, which examines the interactions between marginalized ethnic minorities, nationalizing states, and external homelands, provides a valuable tool for understanding the complex dynamics involving Turkoman communities in Syria and Iraq. The research findings indicate that Turkoman identity remains robust, albeit with a notable shift towards a more inclusive national-state dimension. Despite constituting a minority group, Turkomans in both countries are actively advocating for recognition within society and asserting their cultural rights. The primary Turkoman political factions in both countries have garnered backing from Turkey, although the nature of this support is complex. In Iraq, Turkomans are inclined towards seeking Turkish patronage while also demonstrating a willingness to engage with the Iraqi government. Conversely, in Syria, Turkomans residing along the border have successfully established a self-governing region with the Turkey’s assistance. Furthermore, a segment of Turkomans place emphasis on their religious affiliations, such as identifying as Shiite or Alawite.

Constitutions reflect national values and set out the foundational principles of governance. Traditionally, those values and principles have been male-defined. As such, constitutions often form the basis of the 'gendered state' with all its attendant inequities. Feminist constitutionalism challenges the wider domain of constitution-making to consider questions relating to gender inequality in constitutional debate, design and redesign. Through a case study approach, this article utilises a feminist lens to examine on-going constitutional debates in Northern Ireland that have been deepened by Brexit. Any new constitutional arrangements on the island of Ireland will drive multiple transformations in social, legal and economic life that will impact on the lives of women. Subsequently, this article explores the gender dynamics of current debates to contribute to the broader feminist literature on constitutional transitions in deeply divided societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consociationalism's uneven performance has focussed attention on the (possible) end stage of power-sharing systems. Northern Ireland, once lauded a consociational success, is now discussed among consociational failures. We use new public opinion data to assess consociationalism in Northern Ireland from a citizen's perspective, exploring support for, trust in, and knowledge of power-sharing. We show that public attachment to the principles of power-sharing is higher than might be expected, despite dissatisfaction with the practical operation of the institutions. Whilst trust in the Assembly is low, trust in some Executive ministers is higher. The results from a political knowledge test are suggestive of healthy (if critical) political engagement. Support for power-sharing is, however, lopsided vis-à-vis the region's two ethnonational communities. Citizens therefore offer a mixed verdict which, while not a ringing endorsement of the status quo, does not suggest the end of power-sharing. Assessments of power-sharing elsewhere could make similar use of public opinion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A challenge for constitutional processes is to facilitate popular participation, including among marginalised groups. Uneven inclusion is highly likely 'upstream', in the early stages when ground rules and foundational principles guiding constitutional change are fleshed out, and particularly so in deeply divided societies. This article explores the obstacles to such inclusion in constitutional discussion in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland after Brexit, asking what 'other' voices (including women's groups, ethnic minorities and youth) experience as barriers to participation and how they suggest these barriers can be overcome. We categorise barriers as situational, emotional and discursive, and show that discursive obstacles are experienced as the principal barrier to participation. We argue that an inclusive process requires not simply new institutional frameworks and agendas for deliberation, but also an overhaul of channels between policymakers and grassroots, enabling policymakers to communicate policy constraints and facilitating grassroots' critique into policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A major concern in religiously divided societies, is identity formation, as the different communities in such societies aim to pass their religion and culture on to the next generation. Research looking at the socialization function of education shows that history education plays a significant role in identity formation. For instance, [Korostelina, K. V. (2013). History Education in the Formation of Social Identity: Toward a Culture of Peace. Palgrave Macmillan] identifies three conceptions of national identity, an ethnic, a multicultural, and a civic one, and argues that these can be shaped through history education. Linking this back to divided societies, existing research shows that communities generally promote an ethnic or a civic identity through history education, but not a multicultural one. Lebanon is an example of a religiously divided society where the school system, which is mainly composed of private schools, is divided along sectarian lines. We draw on Korostelina's model to develop our own analytic framework, which we subsequently use to analyze history textbooks used in different Lebanese religious schools. We find that these textbooks generally promote sectarian identities corresponding to the three main religious communities, despite recent attempts to promote a civic identity in some Christian and Sunni private schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses Israel as a case study to investigate the contribution that schools have on their graduates’ social justice attitudes. Using (Ajzen, I. 1991. “The Theory of Planned Behavior.” Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 50 (2): 179–211. https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-T) theory of planned behaviour alongside the social justice scale developed by (Torres-Harding, S. R., B. Siers, and B. D. Olson. 2012. “Development and Psychometric Evaluation of the Social Justice Scale (SJS).” American Journal of Community Psychology 50 (1-2): 77–88. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-011-9478-2), this study aim is to investigate whether Jewish Arab bilingual elementary schools who foreground social justice as part of their educational mission contribute to their graduates’ attitudes towards social justice. In order to carry out our investigation, a quantitative method was used and two types of schools were chosen: state schools, whose main objective is to create solidary among the Jewish majority in society, and Jewish-Arab bilingual schools, whose aim is to promote understanding among Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel and a social justice agenda. Our hypothesis was that perceptions of social justice would be significantly higher among Jewish Arab bilingual schools’ graduates when compared to state schools’ graduates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the challenges and potential of engaging with public history where the histories of various "publics" are either contested or overlooked, arguing for the benefits to individuals and communities of engaging collaboratively with the past and finding new ways to tell their stories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Swiss Political Science Review is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The power-sharing literature lacks a review that synthesizes its findings, despite spanning over 50 years since Arend Lijphart published his seminal 1969 article 'Consociational Democracy'. This review article contributes to the literature by introducing and analysing an original dataset, the Power Sharing Articles Dataset, which extracts data on 23 variables from 373 academic articles published between 1969 and 2018. The power-sharing literature, our analysis shows, has witnessed a boom in publications in the last two decades, more than the average publication rate in the social sciences. This review offers a synthesis of how power sharing is theorized, operationalized and studied. We demonstrate that power sharing has generally positive effects, regardless of institutional set-up, post-conflict transitional character and world region. Furthermore, we highlight structural factors that are mostly associated with the success of power sharing. Finally, the review develops a research agenda to guide future scholarly work on power sharing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stability of divided societies is an important and recurring concern in political science research. It has been suggested that distinctive socialization processes in the different regions of divided societies will lead to diverging trends in public opinion. Therefore, we investigate trends in public opinion on key political issues and attitudes in three divided societies: Canada (Quebec), the United Kingdom (Scotland) and Spain (Catalonia). Using over two decades of survey data, we show that these distinct communities indeed have a particular ideological profile but also that there is no indication these differences become larger over time. In other words, we do not observe any evidence for an increasing lack of public opinion coherence in these divided societies. We conclude with some observations on why divergence could not be observed at the level of public opinion but might still be present at the level of party elites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Processes of constitutional discussion increasingly invite widespread popular inclusion and participation. Conceptual and practical problems remain, not least the respects in which inclusion is to take place. In deeply divided places, these challenges are intensified, first in the difficulties of conceptualising inclusion, and second in the practical dangers participation may pose to peace. We tackle these problems empirically by looking at a hard case of constitutional discussion amid division: the re-emergence of debate about Irish unity in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Through focus groups and interviews, we explore how 'others', disengaged from the main political groups and defined transversally, approach the discussion, showing that they welcome the prospect of participation and seek to remove discursive triggers of conflict by focussing on shared everyday experience. We discuss the implications for the constitutional process and the likely impact on polarisation. The analysis has implications for the literature on divided societies, for constitutional theory and for policy. We argue that it is both possible and desirable to remedy group exclusion while facilitating universalistic discussion and lessening the dangers of polarisation. The policy implications are quite radical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Inonu University Law Review / İnönü Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi Dergisi is the property of Inonu University Law Review (IULR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Adopting a social cohesion framework, we consider how the shared education model in Northern Ireland reflects distributive, ideational and relational dimensions of social cohesion, and the processes through which its implementation may be contributing to a more socially cohesive society. We use this case study to reflect on the current conceptualisation of social cohesion in the literature and to argue for dynamic and interdependent connections between aspects of cohesion that are often assessed in isolation. Our analysis draws on the body of research on shared education that has accumulated since the first pilots were introduced in 2007. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of divided societies and divisions in societies acquires special significance against the background of growing socio-political tensions in the internal and external political dimensions around the world. The West is ceasing to be an area of predominant tranquility and wellbeing. In recent years, in European societies a trend of increasing divisions has also emerged. The article analyzes old and new socio-political divisions (cleavages) within the Portuguese society. The choice of Portugal as a case study is due to the combination of several factors: the memory of the Carnation Revolution, the attitude towards the European project, the imperial past, Catholicism/secularism, and the historical legacy of the Salazar dictatorship. The theoretical and methodological framework of the study is based on the use of the concept of divided societies and constructivism as the main epistemological tools, while the country studies analysis is also applied. The authors attempt not only to identify the basic socio-cultural divisions in the contemporary Portuguese society, but also answer the question of whether it is possible to speak of a divided society in relation to the Portuguese case. The emphasis is placed on the peculiarities of Portugal’s historical path as a post-imperial state whose specificity is largely due, first, to the heritage of the Portuguese maritime empire, and, second, to the legacy of the 1974 Carnation Revolution. The key cleavages that are at the center of the analysis are the legacy of the Carnation Revolution, the European project, the imperial legacy, the religious configuration, and the Salazar heritage. The conclusion is that the Portuguese society has managed to avoid the most negative scenario of the development of the situation and has a chance of consolidation.

This study attempts to measure the deliberation quality of the Democratic Opening Debates in the Turkish Parliament through the Discourse Quality Index (DQI). The majority of studies have been conducted on the deliberation quality of relatively homogenised and developed Western societies and on less conflictual or contentious topics. In these countries, democratic culture has been institutionalised. On the contrary, Turkey is a developing country and has been going through an ethnic conflict involving violence for many decades. Thus, this case study aims to make an original contribution to empirical deliberation studies. Researchers have examined the 88-page stenographic records of the Democratic Opening Debates and put forward a DQI score. According to the findings, the controversial debates fulfill only 40% of high-level deliberative discourse ethics. This result demonstrates that the ideal deliberation process does not exist in Turkey even though a convenient atmosphere is created for deliberations by means of official procedures. Ethnic division in the society has a profoundly negative impact on the quality of deliberations.

The subject of this paper is models of consociational democracy in Austria and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The aim is to define in a comparative analysis the similarities and differences between consociational systems of government in these two countries, their practice and scope. Based on these conclusions, we draw new knowledge in the field of activities and possibilities of consociational arrangements in the divided societies of modern Europe. The scientific justification of this paper is that through the analysis of different consociational democracies and their practical experiences, the scope of this form of democratic rule is assessed, and the conclusions are theoretically added to the existing fund of scientific knowledge about this phenomenon. The social contribution of the paper is in the fact that consociational democracy is an increasingly common solution for many divided societies and therefore the analysis of existing consociational democracies is a socially justified topic.

The author, using the identity approach and discourse analysis explores a serious political conflict in today’s Spain about historical memory, threatening solidarity and civilian identity of the Spaniards and also political stability in the society, divided on a variety of characteristics – economic, social, territorial, cultural, value, ethnic, linguistic, etc., which have acquired or are acquiring a political dimension. The alternative politics of memory, which are declared and carried out by different competing actors of political process at the country level, first of all being government and opposition parties, are analyzed in the article. The expression of authorities’ discourse of the present left coalition government on the issues of Spanish past in the country’s mediasphere is considered to understand the extent and depth of public and political debate on key problems of Spanish history and memory. The author uses a historical metaphor of conflict of the “two Spains” to assess “memory wars” in Spanish society, multicultural and divided on various grounds, identifying short-term (with a view of forthcoming general parliamentary elections, which will take place in 2022) and long-term strategic risks for inclusive nation-building and sustainable development of the country. A conclusion is made that a division based on party ideological principles is axial (dominant) in “memory wars”, despite the remaining sharpness of the vertical conflict between center and some particularist regions (primarily Catalonia); within the frame of this conflict there are attempts to reassess, anonymize, and get a hold of or mythologize various historic events and personas. Nowadays the dispute between “rightists” and “leftists” in assessment of Second Spanish Republic, number of victims on both sides during the civil war, Francoist regime, success of democratic transition in post-Francoist period and other “difficult” questions across Spanish past becomes more emotionally charged, deep and aggressive.

Political parties are afforded a key role in making consociational democracy work; however, parties that dis-identify with salient identities and appeal to voters across the ethno-political divide face barriers when interacting with voters and with other, segmental parties. Nevertheless, such cross-segmental parties often thrive and even ascend to power. Northern Ireland's cross-segmental parties – the Alliance Party, the Green Party, and People before Profit – have sought to traverse group-specific voter interests and set their agenda apart from that of segmental parties. For such parties to be considered 'coalitionable', they should outline their (potential) governing contribution to complement other political parties' agendas. Cross-segmental parties' participation in government makes them appear electable, but it is the focus on bipartisan concerns that consolidates their electoral success and ensures their political relevance. We focus on the evolution of Alliance's political agenda and fill a gap in the literature on the relevance of cross-segmental parties in consociations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores collective identity frames and discursive strategies employed by social movement actors mobilizing in ethnically divided societies, a context where ethnicity constitutes the primary collective category of identification. By using Bosnia and Herzegovina as a case study, it analyzes movement framing in three waves of social protests that occurred in the country in the last decade. Specifically, it investigates the diverse ways in which movement leaders tackled ethnicity in their discourses. The article shows that movement leaders' narratives rested, respectively, on the primacy of human and citizenship rights, a common feeling of deprivation, and victimhood. Their approach toward ethnicity, however, differed in each wave. Ethnicity was openly rejected in 2013, avoided and not openly contested in 2014, and accepted and approached as an opportunity to bring further support to the movement in 2018. The article highlights that ethnicity can be tackled differently by social movement actors mobilizing on nonethnic grounds in divided societies, and that it might constitute a vantage point for social mobilization rather than a drawback, contributing to raising transversal solidarity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the long-term consequences of permissive constitutional arrangements, drawing on a comparative study of Israel, India and Sri Lanka. In all three countries, constitutional drafters at the foundational stage adopted permissive arrangements that avoided controversial decisions on conflicted identity-related issues. In all three cases, three to six decades after independence, the permissive constitutional approach was replaced by more decisive formal constitutional principles. Such unpermissive constitution making was meant to limit the range of options available for future legislation or constitutional interpretation by courts, and preferred nationalist, religious and ethnocentric identity. This article seeks to investigate why such developments occurred in the three countries, and what can be learned from them about the durability and normative advantages of permissive constitutional arrangements. Empirical analysis of the long-term consequences of permissive arrangements illustrates the limited durability that appeared to characterize some of these arrangements. The present assessment also reveals how in some cases, the main ideational conflict at the heart of the constitutional debates has shifted over the years. Nevertheless, the central argument put forth by this article is that, despite ongoing challenges, permissive constitutional arrangements should still be regarded as a valuable constitutional tool for advancing political compromise and facilitating stable democratic institutions. The analysis demonstrates the crucial role permissive constitutions may have as a political tool designed to circumvent violent conflicts and as an analytical tool, thereby offering insight into current constitutional conflicts over ideational issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Istanbul Medipol Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi Dergisi is the property of Istanbul Medipol University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Corruption has been a salient feature of Puerto Rico (PR)’s modern history. However, systematic empirical research on this subject has been generally lacking. In this paper, we examine trends and patterns in municipal government malfeasance and corruption during a period spanning over six decades. Using data from all municipal audit reports conducted by the PR Office of the Comptroller between 1952 through 2015, we characterize patterns of corruption across three periods of change that altered governance practices in the territory: the time of hegemonic dominance of the Partido Popular Democrático (PPD), the era of intense political competition between the PPD and the pro-statehood Partido Nuevo Progresista (PNP), and the eventual decay of the territory’s institutional model. We show that institutions and political practices, as opposed to economic determinants, play a key role in explaining corruption patterns. We argue that corruption patterns can be explained through the lens of politics in divided and polarized societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of visual research methods with young people—such as photo diaries and mental mapping—risks reproducing a focus on local-scale micro-politics at the expense of broader contextualization. We contend that combining visual and narrative methods through digital storytelling enables young people to represent their everyday lives within broader social and political processes. Working in post-conflict urban areas in Lebanon, we found that this method allowed young people to disrupt the dominant geopolitical narratives that so often frame their lives and surroundings. This paper provides a detailed explanation of our place-based approach to digital storytelling, including a discussion of ethical and practical concerns. Our approach eschews the individual testimonial technique typical of digital storytelling. Rather than a tool for introspective self-reflection, place-based digital storytelling encourages inter-subjective extrospection, a process of exploring how individual stories unfold within broader geopolitical contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How can ethnic reconciliation be achieved in conflict settings where populations are physically separated? We address this question by examining the role of "extended contact"—a form of indirect contact which entails learning about the contact experiences of others—in the context of Cyprus's frozen conflict. We field a survey experiment in order to test two pathways through which extended contact works: (1) by helping build a common identity; and (2) by activating empathy. We find that our treatments are associated with greater trust in the outgroup and greater support for cross-ethnic interaction, but only among segments of the population that are initially less favorable toward reconciliation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

'Social Stratification, Past, Present, and Future' celebrates the 50th anniversary of the annual Cambridge Social Stratification Seminar. This editorial presents a brief characterisation of the 'Cambridge school' approach that has featured prominently through the seminar's lifetime. Then it discusses the domains and topics explored in this issue – education; intergenerational transmission of inequality; family, work and employment; occupations; migration for work; housing, and political preferences. While most of the papers focus on Great Britain, several papers involve international comparisons, one focuses on stratification in India, and another on China. Collectively, researchers reveal how social hierarchy influences people's lives, and reproduces fairly stably over time. The papers also contribute to understanding the sometimes counter-intuitive outcomes that challenge those charged with policy development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Divided societies emerging from conflict are found around the globe, and these divisions can cause, and may be perpetuated by, disunity in educational provision. Establishing sound and equitable education is considered vital in promoting reconciliation in places with apparently intractable conflict. Northern Ireland was involved in ethno-sectarian violence for 30 years. Society there is still fundamentally divided and there is considerable duplication of services supplying the needs of each community. This is true also of education with multiple schools each catering for 'their own' population. Sometimes these can be too small to be sustainable and/or may be inefficient. In this research GIS analysis is used to identify 32 pairs of primary schools and their levels of sustainability are estimated, alongside some additional cost of the duplication, although this can be difficult to quantify. Bringing schools together in a society emerging from conflict will not be easy for communities. However, economic costs may drive difficult structural change. Perhaps an even more important driver, in addition to financial costs, is the less tangible but even more important costs to future social cohesion should separation continue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Good Friday Agreement (1997) brought political violence in Northern Ireland to an end and provided the basis for shared government. A consociational political structure was adopted which institutionalised community differences while encouraging coalition government. The goal was that a requirement for consensus decisions would encourage cooperation between political leaders and promote effective decision-making. This paper examines the period of devolved government in Northern Ireland from 1998 to 2017 through the lens of education policy to explore leadership on these issues. The paper will examine three policy issues: a review of the effects of academic selection in post primary education; a proposal to rationalise the administrative arrangements in education; and an initiative to promote collaborative networks between separate denominational schools through 'shared education'. The paper will conclude that, far from providing a superordinate goal around which the different political parties could coalesce, there was a lack of systemic leadership on educational debates. Inability in most cases to establish consensus resulted in policy paralysis. The one area where this did not occur was the adoption of 'shared education' which may have been because this initiative was a bottom-up process based on the empowerment of teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lebanon and Northern Ireland conjure opposite images on consociationalism in the minds of many political scientists. While in Lebanon, the consociational system widely proved inefficient in preventing the outbreak of ethno-national conflicts, the Northern Ireland’s experience of consociationalism remains vastly positive. Following a “Most Similar Systems Design” defined by Adam Przeworski and Henry Teune (2000), this research note tests the hypothesis that the positive nature of exogenous influences participates to a higher political stability in Northern Ireland relative to Lebanon, where external influences of negative nature had the reverse effect. For the sake of this study, the developments taking place after the signature of the agreements shaping both consociational systems – the Ta’if Agreement of 1989 in Lebanon and the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 in Northern Ireland – are analysed through a particular focus on elites’ external relations with patron states and their interactions with their regional or global environments.

The precise form of internalization of the provisions of the Council of Europe's Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities in domestic law is crucial in ensuring its long-term effectiveness. Experiences in the Western Balkans raise important questions about the role of minority (or community) rights legislation in deeply divided societies. This article uses the case-studies of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and the Republic of North Macedonia to highlight key themes and limitations that have emerged. Comparative analysis reveals a surprising divergence of approaches to internalization in the region. The article further demonstrates that the 'nation-cum-state paradigm' remains prevalent, despite the premise of universality. It argues that such legislation can play an important symbolic and practical role, but that legal internalization needs to be seen as an ongoing process. It concludes that attention needs to be given to ensuring the continued particularization and adaptation of such legislation in light of both the limitations and changing circumstances, providing a key lesson also for other divided societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A tripartite alliance formed by the African National Congress, the South African Communist Party and the Congress of South African Trade Unions has been ruling the country with wide parliamentarian majorities. The country remains more consensual and politically inclusive than any of the other African countries in the post-independence era. This article examines three performance's aspects of the party dominance systems: legitimacy, stability and violence. As we are living in a period in which an unprecedented number of countries have completed democratic transitions, it is politically and conceptually important that we understand the specific tasks of crafting democratic consolidation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lebanon and Northern Ireland conjure opposite images on consociationalism in the minds of many political scientists. While in Lebanon, the consociational system widely proved inefficient in preventing the outbreak of ethno-national conflicts, the Northern Ireland's experience of consociationalism remains vastly positive. Following a "Most Similar Systems Design" defined by Adam Przeworski and Henry Teune (2000), this research note tests the hypothesis that the positive nature of exogenous influences participates to a higher political stability in Northern Ireland relative to Lebanon, where external influences of negative nature had the reverse effect. For the sake of this study, the developments taking place after the signature of the agreements shaping both consociational systems - the Ta'if Agreement of 1989 in Lebanon and the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 in Northern Ireland - are analysed through a particular focus on elites' external relations with patron states and their interactions with their regional or global environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The systemic turn in deliberative democracy theory seeks to connect specific deliberative exercises to the broader social and political context and processes of decision-making. However, it still lacks empirical foundations to capture the complexity of real-life deliberative processes. This is especially true in contexts where deliberation—at least in its pure idealized form—seems hardly possible, like in the case of deeply divided societies. Building on a systemic approach to deliberation, while addressing some of its critiques, this paper focuses on the preconditions that facilitate the emergence of more or less formal deliberative moments in deeply divided societies. We explore this question inductively through the study of a conflict over fisheries between settlers and Indigenous communities in Canada (Burnt Church/Esgenoopetitj). We argue that in order for a deliberative niche to emerge, shifts in the equilibrium between the actors involved have to happen, either because of external pressures or because, as the case studied here suggests, because of endogenous transformations to the ecology of the conflict. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between the police and communities can be difficult in ethnically divided societies, especially if membership of the police force is largely drawn from one community. This situation pertained in Northern Ireland, which has separate schools for different religious communities. Despite a major reform of the police after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement (1998), the relationship between the police and the Catholic minority remained difficult and, in particular, the police found it difficult to engage with pupils in some Catholic schools. An education initiative, called Shared Education, was launched in 2006 to support the peace process by encouraging collaborative partnership between Protestant and Catholic schools. This paper examines a school partnership in Northern Ireland in which statutory and non-statutory organisations, including the Police Service in Northern Ireland, were involved. The paper examines how the relationship between the police and the schools was enabled by the collaborative partnership: in particular, it allowed the police to provide information and advice to parents on internet safety and cyber-bullying to parents with whom it would otherwise have been very difficult to engage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Movements and groups abound in modern society. Sometimes, a movement or group succeeds in mobilizing a large section of the population and thoroughly knitting it together, by building a pervasive subculture and by setting up a vast interrelated network of organizations, resulting in a seemingly impenetrable and powerful bloc. This happened to different degrees in most Western countries, including the United States and Canada. It is also occurring now in the non-Western world. Belgium and the Netherlands were particularly affected by extensive bloc building. In both countries, Catholic, Socialist, and Liberal pillars – plus a Protestant pillar in the Netherlands – divided society and determined political and social life from the late nineteenth century up to the late twentieth century. As a consequence, the phenomenon has been studied there more thoroughly and under a specific label, 'verzuiling' (pillarization). The first section of this article offers a review of pillarization theory in the Netherlands, Belgium and elsewhere. In the second part, to advance the study of organized blocs all over the world, I argue for a broad, international perspective on pillarization against the particularistic tendencies of many pillarization researchers, especially in the Netherlands. In a shorter third part, I address the isolation of pillarization theory from general sociological theory. Self-reinforcing processes of segregation and organization in large population groupings were and still are a common feature in the modern world. They have resulted in more than one case in divided societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the foundational promises of deliberation in contemporary democracies was the transformation of citizen's preferences by the force of the better arguments. However, deliberation has proved so far to be ineffective to promote intergroup changes for the better in terms of attitudes. As a result, evidence shows that even discussions lying relatively close to the theoretical ideal might nevertheless push changes in either a positive or a negative direction. We argue that deliberation lacks the necessary built-in mechanisms for constraining polarization and unleashing desired changes, particularly in deeply divided societies. Thus, efforts aimed at bridging the divides between adversarial groups require the promotion of specific, empathy-generating discursive contents, which even highly deliberative debate cannot ensure. Based on two experimental studies, we show how deliberation and intergroup reconciliation operate through different mechanisms. While there is no reason to believe they are incompatible, it remains to be seen how they can be set in motion simultaneously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]