Many societies are strongly divided especially in ethnic religious racial and ideological
terms. Such divisions are usually related to the existence of divergent interests that may lead
to severe conflicts between groups and between them and state authorities. In order to limit
them there is often a need to enable participation in decision-making processes by members of
different groups. However it is extremely difficult to establish and maintain effective
power-sharing arrangements. This book examines the cases of Indonesia Nigeria Kenya and
Burundi where a hybrid model of power-sharing has emerged combining specific elements of
consociational and centripetal types. It also explains the specificity life cycle and
performance of different hybrid systems.
