Blog Post #1

 Mia Johnson

22WQ UCOR 1400 Eurovision

Jan 27, 2022

Belgium's Lack of National Identity

National identity is the sense of belongingness and similarity among people of a nation that make them a community. They have similar values, speak a national language, and take part in the same traditions. These traits bring them together. But national identity also can be exclusive and damaging. According to Triandafyllidou article about national identity she described national identity and the disadvantages of the idea, “The double-edged character of national identity, namely its capacity of defining who is a member of the community but also who is a foreigner” (Triandafyllidou p. 593). It can cause a sense of othering for those who immigrate to a new country because they aren't part of the core national identity. A strong sense of national identity can even evolve to the extent of violence because an individual or a group can be so far excluded that they can lead to threatening the strength of the country.  

After a devastating attack on a country there usually follows with a strong sense of national identity. This is not the case for Belgium. In March of 2016 there was a terrorist attack on Brussels this was followed with the question from the Belgian people asking if they were living in a failed state? In an article about Belgium’s lack of national identity the author described Belgium's reactions as, “More than two months after the attacks, there has been no collective grieving and no sense of collective responsibility” (Hooghe, 2016). Unlike other European powers following a national attack they didn’t come together despite their differences. Rather politicians redistributed blame, air traffic controllers went on strike, they didn't unite against a common enemy. But economically speaking the country isn't in shambles at all; they are just along the same average of other European countries when it comes to healthcare, education, unemployment, crime rate, and life expectancy. There is no factual reason that they should be lacking so much in national identity. But this absence of national identity isn't new; they have never had a strong sense of nationalism. According to the article the only thing that the nation is proud of is how “Belgium is not an aggressive state, and we are good at making compromises”(Hooghe, 2016). Belgium is an example of how a country can still function and stay alive without national identity because they have similar averages to other european powers yet they are just lacking the pride for their country. 

Due to Belgium consisting of many different people and origins they all have a different sense of nationalism. “Belgians are not bound together by common descent, but by common interest and by the acceptance of the basic rules of the constitution”(Maddens et al. p.47). 

Belgium, unlike many other countries in Europe, has 3 national languages which is such a key example as to how so many different people live there. In Belgium there are some sub-national identities, specifically amongst Flanders and Wallonia. For clarity it is similar to the sub-national identity of Scottish to the national identity of Britain. In Flanders and Wallonia there is more of a sense of national identity compared to the Belgian identity because they agree on more specific topics along with the idea that they are nations in the making. There was an experiment amongst Flanders and Wallonia after the 1991 general elections performed by Inter-University Centre for Political Opinion Research. They conducted 2691 interviews in Flanders, 1425 in Wallonia, and 395 in Brussels. The purpose was to analyze the national and sub-national identity of these regions. People between the ages 18-64 were asked a total of five questions. The first two measured the sense of sub-national belonging, then the next three were measuring the opinion about the reform of the state in Belgium and are assumed to be proxies for the national identity variable. After heavy analysis of the responses the results were:

 “the stronger the Flemish identify with the Belgian nation and the stronger the Walloons identify with the Walloon (sub)nation, the more positive their attitude towards foreigners” (Maddens et al. p. 57)

This experiment is important because it took some of the places in the country that were the most non-nationalistic and found out their take on foreigners and the relationship that has with their identifying with Belgium vs. their region.

Belgian national identity is very complicated due to it’s mix of a ton of different people and troubled history but something that people from the major regions of  Flemish and Wallonia can agree on is the skepticism towards their government, their love for the food and drinks in Belgium, as well as the national support of the Belgium football (soccer) team. Unfortunately their lack of national identity is stronger than their sense of national identity according to John Demessemaeker Belgians are relatively the least nationlistic people in the world because “Belgians rarely know the words of the national anthem, something which would be unimaginable in countries like Italy or France'' (Demessemaeker, 2018). It is common for the people of Belgium to more identify with the region that they are from rather than the country as a whole.

In Triandafyllidou’s article she described othering as strengthening for a nation because it brings the national identity even closer together. “Cultural traits, myths, traditions, historical territories form an integral part of the distinction between 'us' and 'them'. They give to the contrast between the nation and the 'others' a concrete form and, at the same time, they are shaped by this contrast so that they further reinforce it.” (Triandafyllidou p. 596) This is not the case for Belgium. Due to Belgium being composed of so many different people this causes others to be really prominent within the country. This further drives the wedge between national identity and the sub-national identity that many of these regions hold. The regions with Belgium have such strong identities because they speak the same languages and have the same traditions due to the fact that Belgium is surrounded by France, Germany, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands.

In conclusion, due to Belgium's compilation of different people and different cultures national identity isn't really defined or prominent. As described before the people of Belgium have more ties to the region that they are from comparatively to the country. The lack of nationalism comes from the history of Belgium because it's very difficult to pinpoint a solidified history and foundation unlike many other western powers. 

Word Count: 1070

Work cited: 

1. Hooghe, M. (2016, May 31). Belgium's absent national identity comes at a Price. POLITICO.https://www.politico.eu/article/belgiums-absent-national-identity-comes-at-a-price-failed-state-terrorist-attacks-brussels/ 

2. Maddens, B., Billiet, J., & Beerten, R. (2000). National identity and the attitude towards foreigners in multi-national states: the case of Belgium. Journal of Ethnic & Migration Studies, 26(1), 45–60. https://doi-org.proxy.seattleu.edu/10.1080/136918300115633

3. Triandafyllidou, A. (1998). National identity and the “Other.” Ethnic and Racial Studies, 21(4), 593–612. https://doi.org/10.1080/014198798329784

4. Demessemaeker, J. (2019, April 10). The intricate national identity of Belgians. LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/intricate-national-identity-belgians-john-demessemaeker