The institutional structure of regional consociations in Brussels, Northern Ireland, and South Tyrol

After some initial observations on the origins of regional consociations and a brief background to the conflicts in Brussels, Northern Ireland and South Tyrol, this article compares and contrasts the institutions of three regional consociations with respect to the types of institutional structures; the ways in which horizontal and vertical forms of power-sharing are combined, the distribution of powers among, and the coordination of policies between different vertical and horizontal layers of authority, and the mechanisms to guarantee the preservation of the agreed structures. On this basis, it establishes the common features of regional consociations and how far these are different from sovereign consociations. The article concludes with pointing out the potential and limitations of regional consociationalism as an approach to resolving ethnic conflicts.