Almond says that, in the Continental European political system, there is no secularism and political homogeneity, but there is cultural homogeneity. He argues that non-western countries become more comprehensive and less remote when they use this continental type, which is based on a multi-racial (multi-national) society and lacks strong consensus. Furnivall states that democracy is achieved by European countries with the help of Consociationalism, and that there is fulfillment of the requirements and demands of the divided societies through appropriate processes. On the other hand, in non-western countries, there is lack of strength in social will and social unity due to the divided society, and, it is dangerous for both the democracy and political unity. Consociational Democracy and the Segments of Plural Society The concept of a plural society is central to consociational theory. The utility of consociational democracy is premised on the existence of multiple communal segments with non-overlapping social cleavages, each led by segmental elites. Power-sharing between communities in a plural society is then predicted to benefit from consociational institutions, like segmental vetoes, proportional representation, segmental autonomy, and grand coalitions. See also Ethnic group Multiculturalism Polyethnicity Pluralism (disambiguation) References External links Rabushka, A. and K. Shepsle (1972) Politics in Plural Societies Cultural concepts Sociological terminology Pluralism (philosophy)