Consociation in practice:

Belgium – doing consociation differently?

Belgium: an accidental country? Congress of Vienna (1815) creates a ‘greater

Netherlands’ Belgian succession (1830) produces

constitutional monarchy Divided by

Religion and religiosity Social class Language

19th & early 20th c Belgium

Primary cleavage: religion & social class Society divided into 3 familles spirituelles

Catholic Liberal Socialist

Each has its own set of organizations – In effect pillars or subcultures With proportional allocation – in effect, carving up

the state – to each

Politics

19th c Catholics and Liberals alternate in power Neither strong enough to do without the otherLate 19th & 20th c Socialists added to the mix Governments: typically coalitions –

2 of the 3 parties Subculture autonomy:

each has its own organizations & structures

Some questions:

What about language? Why did this take so long to penetrate?

How comfortable are these arrangements? Was everyone happy with them? Are they now?

Language & linguistic conflict Initially unorganized French as the dominant language:

“Flemish in the kitchen, French in the parlor” Despite rising Flemish nationalism, not

salient or ‘hot’ until mid 20th c

Slow advance of Flemish

1873: Flemish permitted in courts 1878: permitted in local administration 1883: permitted in secondary schools

1930: Ghent becomes Flemish university 1932: Flemish equal in education & admin 1935 Co-equal in courts

Why so slow:

19th c = regime censitaire -- limited, property-based suffrage

Brussels & Wallonia more advanced: Coal & iron make Belgium a 2nd cradle of the

industrial revolution Universal suffrage & PR from 1893…but Other cleavages (initially) take precedence

Turning the tables

Linguistic issues grow in salience in 20th c In 1960s, linguistic frontier drawn:

Flemish to the north French to the south But problem of Brussels

1970s: parties split on linguistic lines

Explaining the change:

Processes of mobilization, ‘awakening’ -- a quiet revolution – throughout 20th c

Economic change: Flanders comes of age -- ‘The Third Industrial

Revolution Wallonia: Coal and steel in decline

Belgium

Doing consociation differentlyThe Schools Conflict (1950s) Catholics insist on presence in schools Liberals (with Socialists) want neutral

schools Intense conflict results in Schools Pact –

restores status quo ante

Linguistic conflict

Initial responses: consociational or not? Dealing with language: Not bilingualism but separation:

A linguistic frontier Proportional carve-up

Gradual regionalization or federalization of the central state

Over time more & more powers devolved to Flemish & Wallonian cultural councils Flemish and Wallonian regional governments

Central state hollowed out

Some comparisons:

Consociation with a difference: Not everyone necessarily included Protracted conflicts ‘Segments’ willing to press to see how far

they can go – Examples

Schools conflict Current crisis: protracted dispute about splitting

Brussels-Halle-Vilvoord electoral district

Consociation as a solution

Is consociational democracy the only option? Are there other forms of accommodation? When is consociation more likely to work? What is the down-side? Politics and Pitfalls

Some questions:

Are some kinds of conflicts easier to deal with than others?

Class? Religious? Ethnic, ethno-national? Geographic? Linguistic?

What are the costs? Who pays?