The Politics of Belgium: Institutions and Policy Under Bipolar and Centrifugal Federalism

For too long Belgium remained an unexplored terrain by comparative political scientists. Belgium's politics were best known through the writings of Arend Lijphart, who considered it a model case of consociationalism. Over the past ten to fifteen years, the analysis of consociationalism has been complemented by a more detailed coverage of Belgium's spectacular transformation process from a unitary into a federal state, moving rapidly now to disintegration. Likewise, several peculiar aspects of Belgian politics, such as the record fragmentation of its party system, have been covered in edited volumes or international journals. However, given the complexity of the Belgian configuration of political institutions and actors, any inclusion of particular aspects of the Belgian case in comparative work calls for an in depth and integrated understanding of the broader political system.

This is the first book which provides such an analysis. It brings together a team of 19 political scientists and sociologists who aim to explain the dynamics and incentives of institutional change and seek to analyze the intricate interplay between the main institutional components of the Belgian body politic. The sociological, political and institutional determinants and the consequences of the "federalisation" process of Belgium is the central theme that links each of the individual chapters. This book will be essential reading for students who want to understand the politics of Belgium and for anyone with a strong interest in West European Politics, comparative politics and comparative federalism.

This book was published as a special issue of West European Politics.

Marleen Brans is Associate Professor in Public Administration at the Public Management Institute of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium. She teaches public administration, policy analysis, and comparative public policy. She has published articles in refereed journals such as Public Administration, Journal of Theoretical Politics, Public Management Review and the International Review in Administrative Sciences.

Lieven De Winter is Professor at the Political and Social Science Department of the Universite Catholique de Louvain where he chairs the Centre de Politique Comparee. His publications include articles and books on political parties (especially autonomist ones), parliaments, cabinets, government formation, electoral behaviour, clientelism, ethnic identities, and Belgian Politics.

Wilfried Swenden is Lecturer in Politics at the University of Edinburgh, UK. His current research interests are in comparative federalism and regionalism, in particular intergovernmental relations and territorial party politics. He published Federalism and Regionalism in Western Europe: a comparative and thematic analysis (Basingstoke: Palgrave-Macmillan, 2006).