From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article or section may contain original research or unattributed claims. Please help Wikipedia by adding references. See the talk page for details.

Sectarian democracies are multiethnic/multifactional countries where the ethnic group with the greatest power has a democratic government that does not allow minorities to participate in the democratic process of that nation.There are several countries that highlight this sort of government.The opposite of sectarian democracy is consociationalistic democracy.

Present day Iraq is a sectarian democracy where the Shiite controls the majority of the government. This is partly because Shiites in Iraq are the dominant religious group and partly because many Sunni's boycotted the elections. Despite the sectionality of the government it must be remembered that there are elected Sunnis and Kurds in power.

Under apartheid, South Africa was a sectarian democracy which some called a "white only democracy".^{[citation needed]} White South Africans enjoyed the right to vote and to participate in the political process whereas the Black South Africans were oppressed.The end of apartheid brought about consociationalist-like government allowing for powersharing between Black and White South Africans.

Present day Turkey is another example of a sectarian democracy where Turkish Muslims have the true right to participate in the political process. The Kurdish minority has been actively suppressed. Kurdish representatives in the Turkish parliament have been arrested for speaking Kurdish inside the parliament building. Turks such as Orhan Parmuk have been arrested for speaking out against the Armenian Genocide and the Turkish oppression against the Kurds.^{[citation needed]}

The political power was concentrated in the hands of the Protestant Unionists and this led to sectarian violence until the establishment of a consociationalist-like government which allowed powersharing between the Protestant Unionists and the Catholic Nationalists.^{[citation needed]}