Community government
Topic: Power-sharing: Majoritarianism versus Accommodation · NCERT: Class 10, Ch 1 "Power-sharing"
Meaning
A community government is Belgium's third kind of government, alongside the central and regional governments. It is elected by the people of one language community (Dutch, French or German), wherever they live. It deals with cultural, educational and language matters. It is a form of power-sharing among social groups, meaning a share of power given to a group rather than to a place.
Example
Imagine Annette, a Dutch-speaking student in Belgium, who wants schooling in her own language. She is more likely to get it than Selvi, a Tamil student in Sri Lanka, because Belgium's community governments control education.
Don't confuse with
- Regional government: a region covers a fixed territory, such as Flanders or Wallonia. A community covers the speakers of one language, wherever they live.
- Reserved constituencies in India: these give a social group a share of power by reserving seats for it in legislatures. They do not create a separate government for the group.