Fédéralisme et identités collectives au Canada et en Belgique: des itinéraries différents, une fragmentation similaire

Abstract

AbstractThe end of the twentieth century is marked by tensions between universalism and particularism which are particularly glaring in plurinational and pluriethnic countries. This article attempts first to demonstrate the importance and the difficulty in reaching a balance between unity and diversity in pluralistic countries. Even in the cases of Canada and Belgium, where conditions are among the most favourable, federal solutions adopted since the 1960s have not achieved the desired balance. A comparison of the evolution of federalism and collective identities in both Canada and Belgium reveals that opposing federal solutions have led to a similar fragmentation of identities. Pierre Trudeau's pancanadianism and the constitutional linguistic and culturalcloisonnementin Belgium have inhibited the realization of balance between unity and diversity. These choices have further contributed to the fragmentation process already in progress, the first through excessive universalism, the second through excessive particularism. The last part of the article seeks to evaluate the implications of these results for the debates on citizenship in political philosophy.