‘Will it stay or will it go?’ Federalism and the sustainability of Belgium

Swenden, Wilfried; Jans, Maarten

doi:10.1080/01402380600968745

Cited by 73 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Processes of federalization are associated with a growing divergence of policies in the different regions. This also goes for Belgium, not in the least because of the considerable downloading of competencies to the regional policy-making level in a federation of a dual and centrifugal nature (De Rynck and Dezeure, 2006;Deschouwer, 2006;Swenden and Jans, 2006). Our central hypothesis is that the development of women's policy agencies and gender equality policies at the respective policy levels mainly features divergence.…”

Section: Why and Where Can One Expect Divergence (And Convergence) Inmentioning

confidence: 94%

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Convergence and Divergence: the Federalization of Belgian Equality Policies

Celis

Meier

2011

Regional & Federal Studies

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The development of an asymmetrical federal structure profoundly changed the institutional setting for Belgian gender equality policies. This contribution assesses the influence of this process on the development of the Belgian women's policy agencies and its gender equality policies. It argues that while the characteristics of the Belgian federal system-its asymmetrical structure and dual, centrifugal nature-stimulate the development of diverging structures, the nature of the issue-the cross-cutting character of gender inequality, the hegemonic approach to gender inequality-and the absence of national civil society actors push towards a convergence of policy approaches across different policymaking institutions.

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Section: Why and Where Can One Expect Divergence (And Convergence) Inmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…(Lombardo, 2005). 5 For an overview, see Swenden and Jans (2006). 6 Knill (2005) limits convergence to policies and ismorfism to the organizational structure.…”

Section: Convergence and Divergence: Gender Equality Policies In A Fementioning

confidence: 99%

Convergence and Divergence: the Federalization of Belgian Equality Policies

Celis

Meier

2011

Regional & Federal Studies

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“…However, the demands of the Flemish movement led to new linguistic laws in the 1920s and the 1930s, and made possible the use of Dutch notably for matters of justice, administration and education. At the same time, the idea of a generalized bilingualism, throughout the whole country, was rejected both by the French-and Dutch-speakers as each preferred to ensure the protection of their language in their territory (Swenden & Jans, 2006). The logic behind these linguistic laws was thus territorial.…”

Section: The Relationship Between Federalism and Consociationalism Inmentioning

confidence: 99%

Combining Federalism with Consociationalism: Is Belgian Consociational Federalism Digging its Own Grave?

Caluwaerts

Reuchamps

2014

Ethnopolitics

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Belgian consociational federalism is often praised for its ability to deal peacefully with the country's internal divisions. Nevertheless, recent political stalemates raise the question: Is Belgian consociational federalism digging its own grave? This article argues that granting segmental autonomy effectively accommodates political conflicts that are currently on the agenda, but renders the process of intersegmental conflict accommodation increasingly more difficult in the long run. More specifically, federalism undermines the problem-solving capacity of the other power-sharing mechanisms in three ways: (1) it increases demands for more autonomy, (2) it decreases the potential for package deals and (3) it lowers the costs of nonagreements which induce a political stalemate. These evolutions are often overlooked, but go to the heart of the impasse Belgian politics has recently experienced.Belgium is generally considered to be a deeply divided society, a polity characterized by deep mutually reinforcing cleavages. Economic, cultural, social and political struggles are often reduced to a political competition between the different segments of society, and this situation is often considered detrimental to democratic stability. Yet, Belgium is also a polity that is often praised for its ability to settle its internal tensions and divisions peacefully. Like many other democratic regimes faced with deep societal divisions, it has adopted rules that are more demanding than simple majorities; these institutions force the conflicting groups to get together, and find solutions that every segment can endorse. And hitherto, these institutions seem to be working well, as they have always

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“…La fédéralisation du pays en 1993, puis les transferts successifs de compétences aux régions ont renforcé ce niveau de pouvoir. Les élections régionales ne sont certainement plus de deuxième ordre, elles sont aussi importantes politiquement que les élections régiona-les, en tout cas en Flandre (Swenden et Jans 2006 7 . En ce qui concerne le Parlement wallon, les circonscriptions n'ont pas été élargies à la taille des provinces.…”

Section: Les Femmes Candidates Aux éLections Régionales De 2004unclassified

Les derniers écueils vers la parité politique en Belgique: Une analyse des élections régionales de 2004

Pilet

Fiers

2008

Swiss Political Sci Review

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‘Will it stay or will it go?’ Federalism and the sustainability of Belgium

Cited by 73 publications

References 11 publications

Convergence and Divergence: the Federalization of Belgian Equality Policies

Convergence and Divergence: the Federalization of Belgian Equality Policies

Combining Federalism with Consociationalism: Is Belgian Consociational Federalism Digging its Own Grave?

Les derniers écueils vers la parité politique en Belgique: Une analyse des élections régionales de 2004

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