Belgian federalism: Means to an end?

This chapter provides a critical overview of the history, structure and dynamics of Belgian federalism. In line with other chapters in this volume, the first section analyses the historical and sociological junctures that brought about a federal structure. The following section sets out the main institutional features and decision-making processes of Belgian federalism. The third section reviews the benefits and costs of federalism against the backdrop of the crisis in which Belgian federalism has found itself since 2007. The key argument is that political autonomy in a context of a bipolar federal setting without statewide parties has created incentives in which sub-state actors have little choice but to mobilize for sub-state interests. In the case of the Flemish, these interests tie in with a strengthening of current levels of Flemish autonomy, in the case of French-speaking Belgium, principally for socio-economic reasons, these interests favour the institutional status quo. The final section reviews the most likely institutional scenario that will emerge from the current crisis.