Consensus democracy[1] is the application ofconsensus decision-making andsupermajority to the process of legislation in ademocracy. It is characterized by a decision-making structure that involves and takes into account as broad a range of opinions as possible, as opposed tomajoritarian democracy systems where minority opinions can potentially be ignored by vote-winning majorities.[2]Constitutions typically require consensus or supermajority.[3]
A consensus government is anational unity government with representation across the wholepolitical spectrum. Aconcordance democracy is a type of consensus democracy where majority rule does not play a central role. Optional referendums andpopular initiatives correspond to consensus democracy.[4]
Consensus democracy is most closely embodied in certain countries such asSwitzerland,Germany,Austria,Denmark,Lebanon,Sweden,Iraq, andBelgium, where consensus is an important feature of political culture, particularly with a view to preventing the domination of one linguistic or cultural group in the political process.[5] The termconsociational state is used in political science to describe countries with such consensus based political systems. An example of such a system could be the DutchPoldermodel.Many parties in Lebanon call for applying consensus democracy, especially at times of crisis.
Tripartism applies consensus democracy to economic policy by fosteringsocial dialogue between opposing interest groups, primarilynational trade unions andemployers' organizations.
Consensus government chiefly arises innon-partisan democracies and similar systems in which a majority of politicians areindependent. Many former British territories with largeindigenous populations use consensus government to fuse traditional tribal leadership with theWestminster system.Consensus government in Canada is used in theNorthwest Territories andNunavut, as well as the autonomousNunatsiavut region, and similar systems have arisen in the Pacificisland nations ofFiji,Tuvalu andVanuatu, as well as the ancientTynwald of theIsle of Man.[6]
TheBorda count tends to elect broadly-acceptable options or candidates (rather than consistently following the preferences of a majority).[7]
Borda count is sometimes described as a consensus-based voting system, since it can sometimes choose a more broadly acceptable option over the one with majority support.
