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The False Promise of Liberal Consociations
Bogaards, Matthijs
Bogaards, Matthijs
Title / Series / Name
Chinese Political Science Review
Publication Volume
Publication Issue
Pages
Author
Editors
Keywords
Civil war
Consociation
Democracy
Ethnic conflict
Federalism
Institutions
Liberalism
Power-sharing
Sociology and Political Science
Political Science and International Relations
SDG 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Consociation
Democracy
Ethnic conflict
Federalism
Institutions
Liberalism
Power-sharing
Sociology and Political Science
Political Science and International Relations
SDG 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Files
URI
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14018/28959
Abstract
It has become common to distinguish between two types of consociations. Liberal consociations, which leave open which groups will share power and enjoy autonomy, are generally considered “good”. In contrast, corporate consociations are viewed as “bad” because they institutionalize ethnic politics. This paper challenges these assumptions. It shows that the advantages of liberal consociations have been overstated and the downsides of corporate consociations have been exaggerated. Moreover, there is little liberal about liberal consociations. The paper recommends to go back to the earlier terminology of self-determination vs. pre-determination, to accept that consociational politics is group-based, and to do more systematic empirical research on the effects of different institutional arrangements.
Topic
Publisher
Place of Publication
Type
Journal article
Date
2026-03-17
Language
ISBN
Identifiers
10.1007/s41111-026-00337-2