BACKGROUND
Belgium is described to be a small nation-state created in 1830 located in Europe that is divided into two major ethnic groups; the Dutch speaking Flemish and French-speaking Walloons. This conflict has not particularly been a violent one but as been long withstanding. The territory was controlled by the French following the French Revolution. This significantly benefitted the French-speaking Walloons economically and politically and was resented by the Flemish who often felt disadvantaged. Amongst its issues, the nation is extremely divided through a long-term political domination of the Flemish. It was also argued that Belgium was never created with a shared identity and or a single nation seeking nationhood. Of Belgium's 4.5 million speakers, …show more content…
Although the Flemish outnumber the Walloons, French was the official way of speaking among to elite. The Walloons take comfort in its political, economic, and cultural dominance and advantages it has over the other ethnic groups. Consequently, poverty and unemployment are prevalent within Wallonia causing its people to have to receive government assistance. Thus, creates a displeasure within the rich tax-paying Flemish people. This ultimately led the Flemish upper-class to blame the Walloons for the economic problems that exist in the country. This dissatisfaction pushed Belgium right into a political deadlock and it became "more obvious than ever that people in Belgium live in a nation with two completely distinctive democracies, two completely different cultures and opinions" (Lauwers, 2010). In 1993 a change to Belgium's language policies occurred. The nation was divided into two parts on the basis of territory. The use of each language was constrained to each specific region of existence. Administrative, education and judicial matter all were based on territory, not the individual. Brussels was declared bilingual and performed all its policy making with a dual monolingualism view
Belgium is described to be a small nation-state created in 1830 located in Europe that is divided into two major ethnic groups; the Dutch speaking Flemish and French-speaking Walloons. This conflict has not particularly been a violent one but as been long withstanding. The territory was controlled by the French following the French Revolution. This significantly benefitted the French-speaking Walloons economically and politically and was resented by the Flemish who often felt disadvantaged. Amongst its issues, the nation is extremely divided through a long-term political domination of the Flemish. It was also argued that Belgium was never created with a shared identity and or a single nation seeking nationhood. Of Belgium's 4.5 million speakers, …show more content…
Although the Flemish outnumber the Walloons, French was the official way of speaking among to elite. The Walloons take comfort in its political, economic, and cultural dominance and advantages it has over the other ethnic groups. Consequently, poverty and unemployment are prevalent within Wallonia causing its people to have to receive government assistance. Thus, creates a displeasure within the rich tax-paying Flemish people. This ultimately led the Flemish upper-class to blame the Walloons for the economic problems that exist in the country. This dissatisfaction pushed Belgium right into a political deadlock and it became "more obvious than ever that people in Belgium live in a nation with two completely distinctive democracies, two completely different cultures and opinions" (Lauwers, 2010). In 1993 a change to Belgium's language policies occurred. The nation was divided into two parts on the basis of territory. The use of each language was constrained to each specific region of existence. Administrative, education and judicial matter all were based on territory, not the individual. Brussels was declared bilingual and performed all its policy making with a dual monolingualism view