Grand coalition
A key characteristic of Consociational democracy applicable in minority protection but also in other types of divided societies. Acknowledging the dangers of non-cooperation, it is based on the involvement of each pillars of the society into the local, regional, or national bodies to avoid the exclusion of one or more social groups. If applied in multiethnic societies, electoral laws usually allow for or even encourage the participation of ethnic parties. Grand coalition can be obligatory, by legal means (federal government of Belgium, Government of Brussels Region, South Tyrol in Italy), or voluntary by a long-standing practice of minority involvement (the involvement of the DAHR into several Romanian local governments, i.e. Arad, Cluj-Napoca, Baia Mare). If legislation is in place, it can provide free choice for political parties to form a coalition with the condition of compulsory involvement of at least one party representing each ethnic groups (Belgium federal government, Brussels Region, South Tyrol), or ordain that the two parties receiving the most votes must form a coalition (Northern Ireland).