The Politics of Belgium : Governing a Divided Society.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Deschouwer, Kris.

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource (219 pages)

Edition:

3rd ed.

Place of Publication:

Oxford : Taylor & Francis Group, 2026.

Summary:

The third edition of this highly respected text covers the numerous political developments that have taken place in Belgium since 2012.

Contents:

Cover

Half Title

Endorsement

Title Page

Copyright Page

Table of Contents

List of Figures

List of Tables

Acknowledgements

Abbreviations and Acronyms

1 Why Belgium?

Belgium as a Consociational Democracy

Belgium as a Federal State Sui Generis

Belgium as a Laboratory for Democratic Experimentation

Belgium On the European Scene

Plan of the Book

2 A Short Political History

Union and Separation of the Low Countries

The Weight of History

1830-1848: Consolidation and 'Unionism'

1848-1893: the Social Question and the Flemish Question

1893-1918: the Right to Vote

1918-1945: More Consociationalism and Territorial Division

1945-1995: Towards a Federal State

After 1995: the Federation at Work

Conclusions

3 Belgian Federalism

The Steps in the Belgian Federalization Process

The Freezing of the Language Border (1963)

The First State Reform: the Foundations (1970)

The Second State Reform: the First Asymmetry (1980)

The Third State Reform: a Solution for Brussels (1988)

The Fourth State Reform: Officially a Federation (1993)

The Fifth State Reform: Further Transfers and Fiscal Autonomy (2001)

The Sixth State Reform: After the Longest Government Formation (2012)

The Distribution of Powers

The Institutions of Belgian Federalism

Financing the Regions and Communities

Dealing With Conflicts

A Peculiar Federation

4 Political Parties

The Political Parties

Traditional Vs. Non-Traditional Parties

(Former) Christian Democratic Parties

Socialist Parties

Liberal Parties

Regionalist and Substate Nationalist Parties

The Rise (And Fall) of Regionalist and Parties

Flemish-nationalist Parties

Walloon Regionalist Parties

Brussels Regionalist / Pro Francophone Parties

Radical Right Parties

Green Parties

Radical Left Parties.

Summary

Party Organization

Structure

The Party Leader

The Party Bureau

Party Membership

Party Finance

5 Voting and Elections

Electoral Rules

Proportional Representation

Electoral Districts

Drafting the Lists

The Act of Voting

Distributing the Seats

Main Features of Electoral Results

Proportionality

Fragmentation

Volatility

Asymmetry

Substate Elections

Local Elections

Provinces

Local Municipalities

6 The Government

The Procedure at the Federal Level

The Role of the Monarch

The Procedure at the Substate Level

The Mechanisms of Coalition Formation

A Difficult and Lengthy Process

The Functioning of the Government

The Survival of the Government

Governing at the Local Level

7 The Parliament

Two Chambers of the Parliament

The Senate

The Chamber of Representatives

The Legislative Function

Majorities and Special Majorities

Controlling the Government

Interpellations and Questions

Investigation Commissions

The Use of Language

The Substate Parliaments

The Members of Parliament

The Declining Power of Parliament

Democratic Innovation

8 Policymaking

The Political Parties… Again

Neo-corporatist Policymaking and the Social Partnership

The Social Security System

Health Insurance

Unemployment

Pensions

Tensions

The Economic Structure

The Economic Policies of the Regions

Note

9 Belgium in the World

The World in Belgium

Belgium Big in Africa

Belgium in Europe and Europe in Belgium

The Substate Level Abroad

Between Principles and Reality

10 Still Belgium?

Two Stories

New Institutions and Capacity for Decision-Making

Still Belgium?

Bibliography.

Index.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

1-04-054381-2

1-04-065485-1

1-003-58628-7

OCLC:

1592929688