Flanders in the 21st century: A region in a federal state or a confederation state?

Abstract

From 1970 to 2014, the Kingdom of Belgium introduced six reforms of
the political system, which resulted in its change from a unitary state into
a federal one and is undergoing evolution. The country divisions are based on
linguistic and cultural differences. The Kingdom of Belgium is still a constitutional
monarchy but it consists of three regions, three communities and four
language regions. Each region and community elects its local parliament and
the Federal Parliament at the federal level, which is composed of the House
of Representatives and the Senate. The latest reform changed the principles
of the functioning of the Senate: the number of senators was raised to 60
and they are appointed (nominated and co-opted). Belgium’s political scene
reflects the historical conflict of interest between Dutch-speaking Flanders
and French-speaking Wallonia. The New Flemish Alliance led by a charismatic
politician and a republican Bert de Wever has been gaining importance
since 2004. The party slogans call for maximum autonomy for Flanders and
finally the creation of a confederation of Flanders and Wallonia, if the latter
agreed. The N-VA reports spectacular successes in local and federal elections.
The article aims to analyse the reasons of the present development of
the situation in the Kingdom of Belgium and to outline the direction that
dynamically developing Flanders determines for the country.