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

19 th & early 20 th 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 other Late 19 th & 20 th 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 20 th 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: 19 th c = regime censitaire -- limited, property-based suffrage Brussels & Wallonia more advanced:  Coal & iron make Belgium a 2 nd 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 20 th 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 20 th c Economic change:  Flanders comes of age -- ‘The Third Industrial Revolution  Wallonia: Coal and steel in decline

Belgium

Doing consociation differently The 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?