Citizens’ Perspectives on Power-Sharing Settlements as Part of a Peace Process

• In Event: The Promises and Perils of Power-Sharing in Global Perspective

Abstract

Power-sharing settlements of intrastate conflict have been criticized for being elite-centric in nature. Criticisms of power-sharing settlements range from the often-exclusionary nature or the process by which such agreements are constructed to their ostensible failure to focus on issues of interest to the citizens of the state. In reality, little empirical evidence exists regarding citizens’ perceptions of and degree of support for the use of power sharing as a means of ending an intrastate conflict. We seek to investigate this issue by examining citizens’ perceptions of the use of political power sharing as a component of a peace process. Using a nationally representative survey of Nepali citizens, we examine respondents’ level of support for the peace process that followed Nepal’s civil war. We employ a conjoint analysis to estimate the effects of including different groups in political power-sharing arrangements, including rebel groups, women’s groups, and historically marginalized peoples. We also seek to analyze what effects such variations in political power sharing have on respondents’ trust in the government, as well as their sense that the members of the identity groups to which they belong are fairly included and represented in the government.

Authors

• Caroline A. Hartzell, Gettysburg College

• Douglas Page, Gettysburg College