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Politics & Government vocabulary · Policy and Public Debate

Consensus

Meaning in politics & government, with examples

/kənˈsensəs/nounCommon term

In politics & government, consensus means: General agreement among all or most of the people or groups involved in a decision.

In Turkish: uzlaşı, mutabakat, konsensüs

How it is used

People reach, build or seek a consensus, and a consensus can break down. There may be a broad, cross-party or political consensus on an issue. Consensus politics describes a style of government that tries to include many groups in decisions.

Example sentences

  1. After long talks, the parties reached a consensus on the new election rules.

  2. There is a broad consensus that the city needs more affordable housing.

Common collocations

  • reach a consensus
  • broad consensus
  • build consensus
  • cross-party consensus
  • consensus politics
  • bipartisanInvolving or supported by two political parties that usually oppose each other, especially the main government and opposition parties.
  • coalitionAn arrangement in which two or more political parties agree to work together, especially to form a government when no single party has a majority.
  • polarizationA situation in which opinions in a society or parliament divide into two strongly opposed groups, with less and less common ground between them.
  • debateA formal discussion in which people, such as MPs or candidates, present different views on a subject, often before a decision or a vote.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Policy and Public Debate

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