From Vlaams Blok to Vlaams Belang

The Belgian Far-Right Renames Itself

Bibliographic Data

ID6407969
AuthorsJan Erk (0000-0003-3163-4105, corresponding author)
Year2005
Volume28
Issue3
Pages493-502
Publication date2005-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueWest European Politics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0140-2382 • E-ISSN: 1743-9655
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/01402380500085681
OpenAlexW1967651006
LanguageNL
Citations received32
References cited4

On 14 November 2004, the Belgian far-right party Vlaams Blok changed its name to Vlaams Belang and instituted a number of changes in its programme. This was a response to the earlier decision of the Court of Cassation which had found Vlaams Blok to be in violation of the law against racism. As a result, some of the more extreme positions of Vlaams Blok have been dropped from the new statute of Vlaams Belang. Opinion is divided concerning whether or not the law against racism has worked by effectively setting the parameters for legally acceptable propaganda, or whether the recent changes would help the far-right expand its voter base by making it more mainstream. This article seeks to contrast these two points of view. Acknowledgements All translations from Dutch and French are the author's. The author would like to acknowledge the support of the Hoover Research Fellowship, Université catholique de Louvain. He would also like to thank Yannick Vanderborght, Guy Vande Putte, Peter Mair and Klaus Goetz for their comments. Notes The changes were formally approved by the party congress on 12 December 2004. In his analysis Vlaams Blok party documents and publications, Cas Mudde has found 'Islamophobia' to be 'the most important aspect of the party's xenophobic propaganda' (Mudde 2000 Mudde Cas 2000 The Ideology of the Extreme Right Manchester and New York: Manchester University Press [Google Scholar]: 13). Similarly, Hugo Gijsels and Jos Vander Velpen show the prevalence of anti-Islamic xenophobia in their analysis of Vlaams Blok propaganda and party documents (Gijsels and Vander Velpen 1992 Gijsels Hugo Vander Velpen Jos 1992 Le chagrin des Flamands: Le Vlaams Blok de 1938 à nos jours Brussels: EPO 112 42 [Google Scholar]: 112–42). Statement Dillen made at the Vlaams Blok party congress 25 March 1984, quoted in Gijsels (1993 Gijsels Hugo 1993 Le Vlaams Blok Brussels: Éditions Luc Pire [Google Scholar]: 204). De Morgen, 'Dewael vindt islamcultuur minder vaardig', 5 October 2004, 4. For a commentary on Dewael's remarks, see Yves Desmet, 'Waarom kardinal Danneels slimmer is dan Patrick Dewael', De Morgen, Saturday, 9 October 2004, 58. The open-letter petition, 'Flemish citizen initiative', calls all Flemings to join forces in openly condemning a party that has legally been found to be racist (Vlaamsburgerinitiatief 2004 Vlaamsburgerinitiatief 2004 http://www.vlaamsburgerinitiatief.be, accessed 26 November [Google Scholar

Extreme right · Political science · Politics · German legal, social, and political studies · Hate Speech and Cyberbullying Detection · Law · Populism, Right-Wing Movements

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