Belgian federalism: Towards complexity and asymmetry

Abstract

From the beginning of the twentieth century, tendencies towards decentralisation began to take shape in the Belgian unitary state. They resulted in a federal concept in 1988. The constitutional reformers of 1988 worked out a strikingly original concept. Not only do the constituent parts differ thoroughly at the economic, social, ideological and linguistic‐cultural levels, but there is also an incredible degree of complexity and asymmetry among the newly‐created institutions themselves, as witness the extreme case of the political structures in the Brussels region. This sui generis can be understood only by looking at it against a background of the complex political evolution of the last few decades and in particular the equally complex process by which the 1988 government was formed.