Cultural Divisions in Belgium
The Great Divide
The history of Belgium has greatly affected the peoples who live there today. With foreign influence from the Dutch in the north, the French in the south and to a lesser degree the Germans in the east, Belgium now has a few very distinct cultural groups. Belgium can mostly be split into two culturally significant groups the Flemish (Dutch speaking) in the north and Walloon (French speaking) in the south with the most eastern part of Walloon speaking mostly German; a third region surrounding Brussels (the capital) is bilingual. This has led to all three languages being accepted in the country but only Dutch and French being recognized as national languages.
With a population of over 10.7 million the country is divided into geographical areas based on language but the land mass associated with the communities is not proportional to their representation in the population. Approximately 60% of the population speak Dutch as their first language but the Flemish region only covers 45% of the country while approximately 40% of the population speak French and German (less than 1%) and occupy 55% of the country in the Walloon region.
Flanders and Wallonia
The region of Wallonia was the first of the two regions industrialize in the 1800's and was one of the first central European areas to industrialize with its economy based on heavy industry. This was not the same in Flanders where most of the economy was agriculturally based. This lead to much of the wealth in the country being held by those in the Walloon region. By the middle of the 20th century prosperity in Wallonia had declined and industry had moved towards the Flemish region in the North. This led to civil unrest in the Walloon region and in 1968 large conflict between the two regions broke out leading to eventual State reform in Belgium which led to the creation of the separate governments.
The problem is that there is a certain amount of discontent between these groups in Belgium especially between the Flemish/Wallonia regions. Some go as far as calling it racism, these types of people strongly believe that Belgium is basically made up of two separate states and have started a small separatist movement. This is more common in Flanders as this part of the country is wealthier and some people want independence from the poorer region of Walloon.
Levels of Government
There are three levels of government in Belgium: federal, community (linguistic) and regional. Each level has different power and responsibilities.
Federal Government
The federal government has given more power to the other levels over the past 40 years in order to let them decide how they want to deal with more cultural and education issues in their regions. The federal level still holds the power over certain national issues like defence, social security, foreign affairs and public health (although some of the later two are done by regional government)
Community Government (linguistic)
Community powers were originally associated with the use of language and were involved in cultural aspects like media and education. This level has also moved into areas surrounding individual welfare and social assistance programs as well some areas of health care.
Regional Government
Regional jurisdictions are responsible for many areas of infrastructure including roads, energy, housing, water, planning, employment and some other areas like foreign affairs, the environment and nature conservation.
The French and Flemish cultures see themselves as very different and because of this want to be treated differently according to their cultures. This led to more power being distributed to their regions and communities to govern themselves. The Flemish Community and Regional governments merged in 1980 to for a single Governing body over the Flemish Region.
The history of Belgium has greatly affected the peoples who live there today. With foreign influence from the Dutch in the north, the French in the south and to a lesser degree the Germans in the east, Belgium now has a few very distinct cultural groups. Belgium can mostly be split into two culturally significant groups the Flemish (Dutch speaking) in the north and Walloon (French speaking) in the south with the most eastern part of Walloon speaking mostly German; a third region surrounding Brussels (the capital) is bilingual. This has led to all three languages being accepted in the country but only Dutch and French being recognized as national languages.
With a population of over 10.7 million the country is divided into geographical areas based on language but the land mass associated with the communities is not proportional to their representation in the population. Approximately 60% of the population speak Dutch as their first language but the Flemish region only covers 45% of the country while approximately 40% of the population speak French and German (less than 1%) and occupy 55% of the country in the Walloon region.
Flanders and Wallonia
The region of Wallonia was the first of the two regions industrialize in the 1800's and was one of the first central European areas to industrialize with its economy based on heavy industry. This was not the same in Flanders where most of the economy was agriculturally based. This lead to much of the wealth in the country being held by those in the Walloon region. By the middle of the 20th century prosperity in Wallonia had declined and industry had moved towards the Flemish region in the North. This led to civil unrest in the Walloon region and in 1968 large conflict between the two regions broke out leading to eventual State reform in Belgium which led to the creation of the separate governments.
The problem is that there is a certain amount of discontent between these groups in Belgium especially between the Flemish/Wallonia regions. Some go as far as calling it racism, these types of people strongly believe that Belgium is basically made up of two separate states and have started a small separatist movement. This is more common in Flanders as this part of the country is wealthier and some people want independence from the poorer region of Walloon.
Levels of Government
There are three levels of government in Belgium: federal, community (linguistic) and regional. Each level has different power and responsibilities.
Federal Government
The federal government has given more power to the other levels over the past 40 years in order to let them decide how they want to deal with more cultural and education issues in their regions. The federal level still holds the power over certain national issues like defence, social security, foreign affairs and public health (although some of the later two are done by regional government)
Community Government (linguistic)
Community powers were originally associated with the use of language and were involved in cultural aspects like media and education. This level has also moved into areas surrounding individual welfare and social assistance programs as well some areas of health care.
Regional Government
Regional jurisdictions are responsible for many areas of infrastructure including roads, energy, housing, water, planning, employment and some other areas like foreign affairs, the environment and nature conservation.
The French and Flemish cultures see themselves as very different and because of this want to be treated differently according to their cultures. This led to more power being distributed to their regions and communities to govern themselves. The Flemish Community and Regional governments merged in 1980 to for a single Governing body over the Flemish Region.