Belgium

Abstract

The Belgian state emerged through the national and liberal revolution of 1830 and the breaking off of the Southern Netherlands from the Dutch Kingdom. Belgian national identity was affirmed both in the northern part of Belgium (Flanders), where Dutch was the popular language, and in southern areas (Wallonia), where people spoke French. However, three major conflicts dominated Belgian society and political life. The first was between Catholics and non-Catholics, resulting in the formation of the first two political parties: the Liberals and the Catholics. The second, between capital and labor, caused the rise of both social democracy and Christian democracy, which eventually took over the Catholic party. The three major political parties gradually built a network of organizations for every aspect of social life, as instruments of both protection and mobilization of their members, and Belgium became a “pilarized” country. People lived within a Catholic, Liberal, or Socialist subculture or “pilar” without social contact with people from “outside.”