And the peace goes on? Consociational democracy and Belgian politics in the twenty-first century

Bibliographic Data

ID6406587
AuthorsKris Deschouwer (0000-0003-1779-2828, corresponding author)
Year2006
Volume29
Issue5
Pages895-911
Publication date2006-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueWest European Politics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0140-2382 • E-ISSN: 1743-9655
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/01402380600968760
OpenAlexW2048448780
LanguageEN
Citations received46
References cited18

Belgium has long been considered a copybook example of consociational democracy. In this article we first explore the nature of this 'old' Belgian consociationalism. We conclude that consociational decision-making was not a permanent feature of the system, but rather a technique of decision-making at moments where deep conflicts severely threatened the stability or even survival of the political system. Next, we ask whether Belgium can still be labelled a consociational democracy today. If so, one must be aware of the fact that the societal segments are in the first place territorial. It is the federal construction that still displays the typical characteristics of consociational decision-making. However, its stability so far cannot be simply explained by referring to elite attitudes, but rather to institutional features making the absence of a negotiated compromise unattractive to all partners

Compromise · Democracy · Elite · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · European Union Policy and Governance · Law · Political Systems and Governance · Social Policy and Reform Studies

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