MACMILLAN Power-Sharing in Europe: Past Practice, Present Cases, and Future Directions (Federalism and Internal Conflicts)

This book evaluates the performance of consociational power-sharing arrangements in Europe. Under what conditions do consociational arrangements come in and out of being? How do consociational arrangements work in practice? The volume assesses how consociationalism is adopted, how it functions, and how it reforms or ends. Chapters cover early adopters of consociationalism, including both those which moved on to other institutional designs (the Netherlands, Austria) as well as those that continue to use consociational processes to manage their differences (Belgium, Switzerland, South Tyrol). Also analysed are ‘new wave’ cases where consociationalism was adopted after violent internal conflict (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Northern Ireland) and cases of unresolved conflict where consociationalism may yet help mediate ongoing divisions (Cyprus, Spain).   Soeren Keil is Reader in Politics and International Relations, Canterbury Christ Church University, United Kingdom.   Allison McCulloch is Associate Professor in Political Science, Brandon University, Canada. Review “This is a valuable edited book … . The editors side-step theoretical complications, and in the process come up with an incisive set of questions, interesting descriptive mapping and make good progress towards a meaningful typology of cases, while presenting us with a fascinating set of substantive chapters.” (Jennifer Todd, Zeitschrift für Vergleichende Politikwissenschaft, Vol. 15 (3), October, 2021) “Power-Sharing in Europe: Past Practice, Present Cases and Future Directions marks the beginning of a new way of understanding and evaluating institutional designs in plural societies. … the volume stands as a comprehensive and very-much-needed contribution to the literature. This volume is a highly recommended resource to anybody interested in the devices and arrangements suitable for managing plural societies, their performance, and ‘life cycles’.” (Arianna Piacentini, Journal of Federalism, April 30, 2021) Review “ Power-sharing in Europe moves beyond debates between advocates and detractors of power sharing to engage with critical issues regarding the origins, performance, and future of arrangements for managing intrastate conflict. Particularly noteworthy is the focus on the functionality of power-sharing arrangements, which is explored through a series of rich and detailed case studies. Anyone interested in power sharing and democracy will benefit from this engaging book, which develops a well-defined roadmap for future research.” - Caroline A. Hartzell, Professor of Political Science, Gettysburg College, USA ‘This fresh collection of up-to date research marks the definitive arrival of a new cohort of scholars in command of their fields. Severally they re-examine with vim and vigor Europe’s classical power-sharing cases, positive and negative―salted  and peppered with contributions from the veterans Matthijs Bogaards and John McGarry. Highly recommended.’  - Brendan O’Leary, Lauder Professor of Political Science, University of Pennsylvania, USA. From the Back Cover This book evaluates the performance of consociational power-sharing arrangements in Europe by addressing two key questions: First, under what conditions do consociational arrangements come in and out of being? And second, how do consociational arrangements work in practice and how do they mediate potential deadlock between power-sharing partners? The volume assesses core aspects of power-sharing theory and practice through a collection of case studies drawn from across the European continent. Chapters cover those countries which were early adopters of consociationalism but which have since moved on to other institutional designs (the Netherlands, Austria), early adopters which continue to use consociational processes to manage their differences (Belgium, Switzerland, South Tyrol), and ‘new wave’ cases where consociati