The politics of Belgium
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
The politics of Belgium
(Comparative government and politics)
Palgrave Macmillan, 2012
2nd ed
- : pbk
- : hardback
- Other Title
-
The politics of Belgium : governing a divided society
Available at / 10 libraries
-
No Libraries matched.
- Remove all filters.
Note
"2nd edition fully revised and updated"--Cover of pbk
Bibliography: p. 261-275
Includes index
Description and Table of Contents
- Volume
-
: pbk ISBN 9781137029607
Description
Belgium set a new world record in 2011 for the time needed to form a government, taking no less than 541 days to bring together a new federal coalition. Governing a divided society like Belgium is never easy, demanding appropriate institutions and advanced political skills.
In this fully revised and updated text, Kris Deschouwer gives an even-handed and analytically sophisticated account of contemporary Belgium politics. He explains the background to the territorial divide between a Dutch-speaking north and a French-speaking south that has shaped the political system and has led Belgium's polarized communities to contemplate divorce after decades of search for institutional responses to internal conflict. Deschouwer sets out the institutional arrangements of what has been called the most thorough example of a consociational democracy, and shows how this form of democratic government, along with Belgium's particular federal system has provided a basis - most of the time - to govern a deeply divided country.
Fully updated to cover the latest developments, including the 2011 agreement on new constitutional reform, this leading text provides a comprehensive picture of Belgian politics which helps answer the question of whether Belgium - and indeed other divided societies - can be governed in a legitimate democratic manner.
Table of Contents
Why Belgium?
A Short Political History
Territorial Organization and Reorganization
Political Parties
Voting and Elections
The Government
The Parliament
Policymaking
Belgium in the World
Still Belgium?
- Volume
-
: hardback ISBN 9781137030245
Description
Belgium set a new world record in 2011 for the time needed to form a government, taking no less than 541 days to bring together a new federal coalition. Governing a divided society like Belgium is never easy, demanding appropriate institutions and advanced political skills.
In this fully revised and updated text, Kris Deschouwer gives an even-handed and analytically sophisticated account of contemporary Belgium politics. He explains the background to the territorial divide between a Dutch-speaking north and a French-speaking south that has shaped the political system and has led Belgium's polarized communities to contemplate divorce after decades of search for institutional responses to internal conflict. Deschouwer sets out the institutional arrangements of what has been called the most thorough example of a consociational democracy, and shows how this form of democratic government, along with Belgium's particular federal system has provided a basis – most of the time – to govern a deeply divided country.
Fully updated to cover the latest developments, including the 2011 agreement on new constitutional reform, this leading text provides a comprehensive picture of Belgian politics which helps answer the question of whether Belgium – and indeed other divided societies – can be governed in a legitimate democratic manner.
Table of Contents
Why Belgium?
A Short Political History
Territorial Organization and Reorganization
Political Parties
Voting and Elections
The Government
The Parliament
Policymaking
Belgium in the World
Still Belgium?
by "Nielsen BookData"