Explain briefly the need and significance of power sharing.

The need for power sharing can be summed up as follows:

a) To reduce the possibility of conflict between different social groups.

b) To uphold the unity of the nation in terms of such reduced conflicts.

c) To ensure the stability of political order in a country.

d) To ensure the legitimacy of a government, by involving citizens in the system.

The significance of power-sharing lies in the analysis of the above stated needs. Firstly, what upholds any democracy is a stability between different political and social groups, and power-sharing provides a way to do that. It is a better option than imposing the will of a majority community, which can turn out to be harmful to both the minorities and the majority.

Secondly, the true spirit of democracy lies in this exercise of power sharing which in turns ensures participation of all citizens in the democracy’s decisions. The citizens are enabled to acquire a stake in the system.