Minoritarianism is most often applied disparagingly to processes in which a minority is able to block legislative changes in the presence of supermajority threshold requirements.
[citation needed] For example, if a two-thirds majority vote in favor is required to enact a new law, an opposing minority of greater than one-third is said to have "minoritarian" powers.
Minoritarianism is sometimes used to describe rule by a dominant minority such as an ethnic group delineated by religion, language, or some other identifying factor.
Attempts to resolve the dilemma through formal supermajority standards are generally discouraged by parliamentary authorities: Some people have mistakenly assumed that the higher the vote required to take an action, the greater the protection of the members.
[citation needed] The term is most commonly used to refer to an ethnic group which is defined along racial, national, religious, cultural or tribal lines and that holds a disproportionate amount of power.
Americo-Liberians were culturally disconnected from native Liberians, preferring Western-style wear, American food, Protestantism, and the English language.
[citation needed] During the Imperial period of Chinese history, China experienced minoritarian rule in two separate instances.