Belgian Societal Cleavages

• Belgian society is divided due to religion, social class, and language.
• These cleavages have led to a complex political system.
• Groups have been institutionalized through pillarisation.

Religious Cleavage

• The oldest cleavage is between Catholicism and Secularism (or socialism).
• Issues include the organization of the State and education.
• This cleavage is less important now due to secularization.
• The division is evident in moral-ethical issues (abortion) and integration issues (Islamic immigrants).
• Seculars tend to be more open on personal freedom.

Socio-Economic Cleavage

• This cleavage started at the end of the 19th century due to industrialization.
• It is based on opposition between employers and employees.
• Conflicts were about the right to vote, working conditions, and a welfare state.
• The right to vote was key, as the previous system taxed voters.
• This cleavage is relevant because it shaped Belgium's corporatist model.
• Policies result from negotiations between trade unions and employers' organizations.

Linguistic Cleavage

• This cleavage became important after WWI between Dutch and French speakers.
• French was considered the elite language, used in academia, administration, and politics.
• Dutch speakers felt inferior and demanded recognition.
• After WWI, universal male suffrage allowed Dutch speakers to be heard.
• This cleavage is relevant because the struggle for autonomy comes from the linguistic division.
• The linguistic struggle led to the shift from a Unitary to a Federal state.

Pillars and Pillarisation

• Divisions are institutionalized through pillarisation.
• A pillar is a network of organizations (political parties, education, etc.) belonging to the same subculture.
• Pillars encapsulate their members.
• The population divides into pillars, but overlapping memberships can occur.
• Overlapping memberships lead to depillarization.
• Coinciding cleavages reinforce each other, leading to polarization (e.g., Catholicism and Dutch).
• Cross-cutting cleavages act as stabilizing factors (e.g., cooperating with a Catholic due to shared language).
• Mixed pillars establish common ground between groups.
• Belgium has both cross-cutting and coinciding cleavages.
• These cleavages threaten democracy by reinforcing societal segregation.
• Pillarisation undermines the ability to negotiate with different groups.
• The strive for autonomy originates from pillarisation.

Consociational Democracy

• Provides stability in internally divided countries, such as Belgium.
• Basic principles are power sharing at the elite level and segmental autonomy.
• Elite power sharing involves accommodation, corporatism, and proportional vote.
• Segmental autonomy means ditching the one-size-fits-all approach.
• A key element is the Mutual Veto, including minorities and giving them the power to block policies.
• Functions with a spirit of accommodation because compromise is the only way to proceed.
• Recognizing segmental autonomy is crucial, allowing people to organize their lives according to their principles.
• Belgium is a textbook example, with compromises that satisfy no one but don't trigger anyone.

Examples of Consociational Action in Belgian History

• Pact of Loppem (1918) was a compromise between conservatives and communists.
• Sought to avoid a communist revolt and guarantee male suffrage (“one man one vote”).
• Social Pact established a public and mandatory welfare state financed by both employees and employers.
• Pillars had a role, as citizens had to refer to a pillar to get their part of reward.
• From unitary to federal state (1970-2011) was a gradual transformation to defuse conflicts.
• Wallonians and Flemish were too different to work together, leading to Centrifugal Federalism.
• Cooperation is still needed due to the veto right.

Examples of Why the Majoritarian System Doesn't Work in a Consociational Democracy

• Royal question (1950): Whether Leopold III could return after cooperating with the Nazi.
• Catholics were for, socialists against, and the referendum resulted in a "yes".
• Strong regional divisions meant the Flemish imposed their views, causing violent protests in Wallonia.
• A civil war was nearly started.
• The compromise was to give the throne to Leopold III's son, King Badouin.
• Flemish views were disregarded due to the violent riot of the Francophones.
• School war: Originated in the 1950s conflicts about the educational system.
• The Catholic government (1950) funded Catholic schools.
• The socialist government (1954) undid it and invested in public schools.
• This led to massive protests and the Social Pact of 1958, which recognized both educational networks.
• Pacification came through consensus and segmental autonomy.
• Electoral district BHV: An electoral district that crosses two linguistic areas.
• The idea was to support Francophones by letting their politicians run in the BHV district.
• Dutch speakers opposed it, feeling like it erased Dutch again.
• The Flemish majority tried to split the district, resulting in a political deadlock and a government failure in 2010.
• In 2011, a new government coalition was formed, showing that imposing views results in a deadlock.

Can We Still Aim for a Consociational Democracy Nowadays?

• Belgium faces depolarization: people do not comprehend the complex system.
• The anti-majoritarian system creates a cartel democracy and partitocracy.
• This led to the rise of anti-establishment parties and a decline in political trust.

Political History of Belgium

• Burgundy period (14-15th century): United 20 small states, led to economic prosperity and development.
• Habsburg period (16-18th century): Territories were united again into the Union of 17 provinces.
• Linguistic and religious differences scattered the region, so the union broke apart.
• Treaty of Munster (1648) divided the region: the Netherlands became independent and Belgium stayed under Habsburg rule.
• Brabant revolution (1790): An attempt inspired by the French Revolution to claim independence.
• The revolt failed but led to the creation of symbols linked to the Belgian national spirit.
• Belgium avant la lettre: Pre-independence period.
• Napoleon conquered Belgium but was defeated in 1815 in Waterloo.
• Congress of Vienna (1815): Created the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, reuniting the 17 provinces.
• North and south had split development Protestant, Dutch-speaking north and catholic, bilingual south.
• King William I was not accepted and wasn't liked by liberals and catholics, even though he invested massively.
• From protests to independence (1830): Culminated due to an economic crisis that led to massive unemployment rates.
• An opera triggered a riot in Brussels, and Belgium declared its independence on October 4, 1830.

First Critical Juncture, State Formation

The newborn Belgium had to deal with 4 questions:

• Religion: The struggle between catholics and liberal led to a liberal constitution with lots of religious freedom with Church influence.
• Language: French was spoken in the south and Dutch in the north, French became the elites' lingua franca.
• Brussels: Logical choice as the capital, Brussels became bilingual, later expanded with French expansion in Flanders.
• King: The new state was a constitutional monarchy so recognition led to Leopold I.

Unionism Period: first years after independence:

• William I of the Netherlands wasn't accepting Belgium's independence.
• Liberals and catholics were cooperating against the Netherlands.
• Both elites secured independence, normalized relations with the Netherlands and wrote a constitution.
• The first national congress wasn't representative but wrote the first Belgian constitution.

The First Belgian Constitution

• Stated that Belgium is a unitary state, a parliamentary monarchy, and a majoritarian electoral system.
• A bicameral legislature that was liberal with some conservative traits.
• The House was directly elected.
• The Senate represented the conservative counterweight.
• There were limits to the voting rights, and the king chose the ministers.
• It guaranteed freedom of press, speech, association, and religion.
• Peace with the Netherlands (1839) allowed Belgium to take off.
• Led to the end of political alliance and the rise of catholic and political parties.
• With shifted the focus to religious cleavage.
• First school war: Freedom of education lead to laic and state interventions.

Rise of Economic Cleavage

• After the Industrial Revolution, divided the country.
• The south focused on coal and steel, the north was primarily agricultural.
• The working class had terrible conditions and no representation, so labor movements demanded suffrage and a welfare state.
• Rise of the Belgian Workers Party (1885): Demanded expansion of the right to vote.
• Universal plural voting (1893) passed with over 25 year old males can vote, some with more based on eduation or other justifications.
• This led to the rise of BWP, the gain of the catholic party of all seats in the north and the decline of the liberal party.

The Linguistic Question and The First Language Laws

• Freedom of language meant everyday life, but French was still the elite language.
• The Flemish movement started to demand recognition but rejected that meant Flemish people had to learn French.
• First linguistic law passed at the end of the 19th century, inefficient.
• Equality law: Dutch was institutionally recognised in 1898.
• Belgium as a colonial state: King looked abroad to have some influence, started a crazy economical deal.

Belgium as a Colonial State:

• King Leopold II aimed for colonies due to limited power at home.
• He eventually claimed Congo.
• Congo became Leopold II's private property, leading to crimes against humanity.
• In 1908, Belgium took over Congo until Congo was recognised as independent in 1960.
• Secdond critical juncture: from majoritarian to PR system (1900): Belguim adopted PR system because of the demans of the socialists and the liberals.

Consequences of the Electoral Reform

• Consolidation of BWP: Had a representative electorate in the south.
• Shift of the socio economic position of the catholic party: Became more left to attract votes, but internal division.
• Multiparty system: Coalitions needed and new parties had better conditions.
• Birth of consociationalism: Coalitions, compromises and power sharing key.
• First World War: Belgium declared independence but invaded by ruthlessly by Germany.
• War crimes were committed.
• Dutch speakers were frustrated, and it resulted in Flamenpolitik and the birth of anti belgian Flemish nationalism.
• After WWI: Belgium took over some German municipalities and German colonies.
• Growing Support of Flemish demands and linguistic laws increased.

Critical Juncture

• From unitary to federal state.
• Recognition of linguistic areas, and language was a matter of geography.
• The Flemish were not satisfied, and there was question of the KULeuven.
• Second World War: Belgium was invaded by the Germans again, territory was occupied.
• Postwar period: Four burning issues and those who cooperated with nazi got punished.
• Shift in Belgian economy (1960s): Belgium faced rising closure of mines, automation, unemployment as well as multinational investment.
• The breakthrough of regional parties made by economic, identification, majority, economy.

Territorial Organization of Belgium

• Boundary dispute: On the Flemish there is a territorial preference while people with French focuses on lanuage.
• Competence dispute: Linguistic based vs. socio-economic differences.

Key Elements of State Reforms

• 1830: unitary Belgium.
• French, Dutch, and German all have rights to language.
• Brussels is a french expansion in Flanders.
• Four major consequences that are controversial because everyone should have the same worth.