Power-sharing has become a primary tool used by international actors to pacify violent conflicts and ensure democracy in deeply divided societies. It refers to elite cooperation in government and territorial decentralization. Habitually intense negotiation and compromise is involved before agreements can be reached between the conflicting parties and relevant stakeholders. Unsurprisingly, the adoption of such agreements is challenging, as demonstrated most recently by the Syrian peace process. Moreover, even when adopted, power-sharing is not always durable and is fraught with difficulties. For instance, while it has pacified some countries, such as Lebanon, it has been unable to transform their political frameworks into ones based on functional cooperation. Iraq, meanwhile, demonstrates the danger of partial power-sharing implementation.
Comparing three Middle Eastern countries – Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon – this project examines the adoptability and durability of power-sharing agreements, focusing on two main research questions:
Using a multi-disciplinary comparative approach, drawing on expertise from Political Science, Comparative Constitutional Law, and Political Economy, the project will not only extend and refine power-sharing theory but also provide concrete policy recommendations for national, international, and non-state actors. An international research team consisting of researchers from Switzerland, Canada, Lebanon, and Iraq will work with a large number of civil society organisations, mediation practitioners, and key political actors. Together, their expectations of power-sharing arrangements will be examined as well as their assessment of its benefits and shortcomings in the case countries. This will ensure that findings are based on local knowledge and insights. Furthermore, working with an international advisory board and deepening existing links to a variety of state and civil society actors, project findings will be translated into both concrete policy recommendations and academic journal outputs.
Sibel Gürler
Coordinator
University of Basel
Laurent Goetschel
Co-Coordinator
University of Basel
Abdallah Abdelwahab
Principal Member
University of Basel
Soeren Keil
Principal Member
University of Fribourg
Eduardo Wassim Aboutaif
Principal Member
University of Kaslik, Lebanon
Principal Member
Peace Paradigm Iraq
Principal Member
ANND, Lebanon
Swiss Network for
International Studies