Inclusive governance means taking care of everyone equally, without discrimination and without neglecting specific groups.
The two most high-profile reasons for discrimination are race and religion. The 30 years of violence associated with the Northern Ireland Troubles, for example, were fuelled by Catholic resentment about the unequal treatment they received at the hands of the Protestant majority:
“Catholics argued that they were discriminated against when it came to the allocation of public housing, appointments to public service jobs, and government investment in neighbourhoods. They were also more likely to be the subjects of police harassment by the almost exclusively Protestant RUC and Ulster Special Constabulary (B Specials).”
The Troubles came to an end with the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, which created a power-sharing government involving both communities. There are many other examples of discrimination around the world, not all of which have yet been resolved.
The search for cleaner and cheaper energy has caused coal-mining jobs to be lost in recent decades. Lower prices and cleaner air quality benefit almost everyone, but mining communities suffered and felt neglected. This is just one example of the impact of rapid economic and social change on employment, which requires an adequate political response – as described later in this book (6.7.8). More generally, it is reasonable to adopt policies which benefit the majority, but it is also necessary not to neglect those who lose out. Those in power are responsible for taking care of everyone.
People become disaffected if they feel that society has ignored them or discriminates against them. There is a danger that sectors of the population become alienated. Some might turn to populist politicians, who have a polarising effect on politics (but who do not have genuine solutions to people's problems). Others might turn to violence and become a threat to everyone else’s happiness and security. Inclusive governance is essential for a stable society.
Like acceptability, inclusiveness is unquantifiable. It is greater if more people find governance at least tolerable and it increases with cohesiveness, defined as people’s sense of belonging to and being supported by the society they live in.
(This is an archive of a page intended to form part of Edition 4 of the Patterns of Power series of books. The latest versions are at book contents).