In contrast to a
majoritarian
or
adversarial system
, a consensus
system aims to disperse power among a number of political
institutions, actors and
parties
so that government policy
requires compromise and the accommodation of a range of views
before action can be taken. Consensus systems do not
regard bare majority support as sufficient to legitimize government
action—broader support is required so that as many
groups as possible can be persuaded of the merits of the
action. Electoral systems with
proportional representation
are seen
as consensus systems because they are more likely to produce
coalition
governments and the need
for parties to compromise over their policies.