Power-sharing: Institutions, Behavior, and Peace

The research examines the causal chain from formal (de jure) power-sharing institutions to peace, arguing that institutions operate primarily by inducing specific behavioral practices (de facto power-sharing). Using a global dataset of 180 countries from 1975 to 2010, the authors find that inclusive institutions increase the share of ethnic groups in government, which reduces the likelihood of rebellions by excluded groups but increases the risk of infighting among coalition partners. Dispersive institutions, such as federalism, are found to decrease the risk of ethnic conflict by increasing regional autonomy for minorities, although this effect is less statistically robust than that of inclusive institutions.

• Formal inclusive power-sharing institutions effectively induce the behavior they are designed for by significantly increasing the proportion of ethnic groups represented in central governments.
• Inclusive power-sharing practices create a trade-off: they reduce the probability of conflict between the government and excluded groups, but simultaneously increase the probability of infighting among the ethnic groups within the governing coalition.
• The overall effect of inclusive institutions on general ethnic conflict often appears null or inconclusive because the pacifying effect on excluded groups and the destabilizing effect on coalition partners offset each other.
• Dispersive power-sharing institutions, which decentralize power to subnational levels, decrease the risk of ethnic civil war and territorial conflict by increasing the regional autonomy of ethnic minorities.
• Causal mediation analysis indicates that formal power-sharing institutions have little to no direct effect on conflict; their influence is almost entirely mediated through the behavioral practices they induce.
• When the causal order is reversed in empirical models, the results show that power-sharing practices have a direct effect on conflict that cannot be explained as being mediated by formal institutions.

APA

Bormann, N.-C., Cederman, L.-E., Gates, S., Graham, B. A. T., Hug, S., Strøm, K. W., & Wucherpfennig, J. (n.d.). Power-sharing: Institutions, Behavior, and Peace. Peace Research Institute Oslo. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/6b9ad814-de9f-4f4e-a291-f672fc81e038/Power Sharing Institutions Behavior and Peace.pdf?inline=true

Chicago

Bormann, Nils-Christian, Lars-Erik Cederman, Scott Gates, Benjamin A. T. Graham, Simon Hug, Kaare W. Strøm, and Julian Wucherpfennig. Power-sharing: Institutions, Behavior, and Peace. Peace Research Institute Oslo, n.d. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/6b9ad814-de9f-4f4e-a291-f672fc81e038/Power Sharing Institutions Behavior and Peace.pdf?inline=true.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bormann |first1=Nils-Christian |last2=Cederman |first2=Lars-Erik |last3=Gates |first3=Scott |last4=Graham |first4=Benjamin A. T. |last5=Hug |first5=Simon |last6=Strøm |first6=Kaare W. |last7=Wucherpfennig |first7=Julian |title=Power-sharing: Institutions, Behavior, and Peace |publisher=Peace Research Institute Oslo |url=https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/6b9ad814-de9f-4f4e-a291-f672fc81e038/Power Sharing Institutions Behavior and Peace.pdf?inline=true |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bormannndpowersharing, author = {Bormann, Nils-Christian and Cederman, Lars-Erik and Gates, Scott and Graham, Benjamin A. T. and Hug, Simon and Strøm, Kaare W. and Wucherpfennig, Julian}, title = {{Power-sharing: Institutions, Behavior, and Peace}}, institution = {Peace Research Institute Oslo}, url = {https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/6b9ad814-de9f-4f4e-a291-f672fc81e038/Power Sharing Institutions Behavior and Peace.pdf?inline=true}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }