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Ian O’Flynn, David Russell (Eds.): POWER SHARING. New Challenges for Divided Societies. Pluto Press 2005, 240 pp.
will be published in October 2005. The price will be set at 27.00 EUR (Paperback, ISBN 0745322921) or 82,50 EUR (Harcover, ISBN 074532293X). Further informations could be found here or...
... here:

It is widely assumed that internal power-sharing is a viable democratic means of managing inter-communal conflict in divided societies. In principle, this form of government enables communities that have conflicting identities to remedy longstanding patterns of discrimination and to co-exist peacefully. [...] New Challenges for Power-Sharing seeks to explore the unintended consequences of power-sharing for the communities themselves, their individual members, and for others in society. More specifically, it is distinctive in questioning explicitly whether power sharing:

• perpetuates inter-communal conflict by institutionalising difference at the political level;
• inhibits conflict resolution by encouraging extremism;
• stifles internal diversity;
• and fails to leave sufficient space for individual autonomy.

This book not only provides a theoretical exploration and critique of these questions,but comprehensively examines specific test cases where power-sharing institutions have been established,including in Northern Ireland, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia and Lebanon. It also explores such issues as the role of political leaders,human rights instruments, the position of women, and the prospects for reconciliation within such societies.

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Table of contents:

1. Conceptual Issues:
   • Ian O’Flynn: Democratic Values and Power Sharing
   • Tom Hadden
   • Integration and Autonomy: Minority rights and Political Accommodation
   • Duncan Morrow: reaking Antagonism? Political Leadership in Divided Societies
   • Stefan Wolff: Electoral Systems Design and Power-Sharing Regimes
2. Case Studies:
   • Anthony Oberschall and L. Kendall Palmer: The Failure of Moderate Politics: The Case of Northern Ireland
   • Kris Deschouwer: The Unintended Consequences of Consociational Federalism: The Case of Belgium
   • Florian Bieber: Partial Implementation, Partial Success: The Case of Macedonia
   • Marie-Joëlle Zahar: The Dichotomy of International Mediation and Leader Intransigence: The Case of Bosnia and Herzegovina
   • David Russell and Nadim Shehadi: Power Sharing and National Reconciliation: The Case of Lebanon
3. Deepening Democracy:
   • Rachel Rebouché and Kate Fearon: Overlapping Identities: Power Sharing and Women’s Rights
   • Manlio Cinalli: Below and Beyond Power Sharing: Relational Structures across Institutions and Civil Society
   • Brandon Hamber and Gráinne Kelly: The Challenge of Reconciliation in Post-conflict Societies: Definitions,Problems and Proposals
   • Robin Wilson: Towards a Civic Culture: Implications for Power Sharing Policy Makers