Federalism and Solidarity in Belgium: Insights from Public Opinion

In 1981, Arend Lijphart wrote: “What is remarkable about Belgium is not that it is a culturally divided society—most of the countries in the contemporary world are divided into separate and distinct cultural, religious or ethnic communities—but that its cultural communities coexist peacefully and democratically. The prospects for the Belgian consociational experiment must be regarded as highly favourable. Belgium can therefore serve as an extremely valuable and instructive example for other divided societies” (Lijphart, 1981, 1). This observation may have seemed valid in 1981; however, in 2011, international media announced the imminent breakup of Belgium as the country reached the world’s record for the longest time needed to form a government after elections. The Belgian federal elections of 2010 were followed by a political deadlock and institutional crisis, culminating in 541 days of difficult negotiations, mostly on a sixth reform of the state, before a new federal government w...