Abstract
In our modern States, Constitutions underlie political power and its institutional settings. Two different texts lay the foundation of the Constitutional history of Belgium: the Constitution of 1831 and that of 1993. Each arose during a period of historical change. In 1831, in the shadow of decolonization from the Netherlands, the Constitution created a unitary State. In 1993, in a context of the Europeanization of politics, the Constitution declared a federal State. Over the years, the Belgian polity has undergone dramatic changes. What is puzzling about Belgium is that the constitution-making process has consistently remained in a State of uncertainty. In spite of path dependency and lesson-drawing, constitutional lawmakers, it seems, have not been able to avoid drafting decisions under a veil of ignorance.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Brennan H, Buchanan JM (1985) The reason of rules. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Deschouwer K (2006) And the peace goes on? Consociational democracy and Belgian politics in the twenty-first century. W Eur Polit 29(5):895–911
Imbeau LM (2009) Testing the “veil of ignorance” hypothesis in constitutional choice: a “walk-talk” approach. J Publ Finance Publ Choice 26(1):3–21
Imbeau LM, Jacob S (2011) Is the “veil of ignorance” in constitutional choice a myth? An empirical exploration informed by a theory of power. In: Marciano A (ed) Constitutional mythologies. Springer, Dordrecht
Imbeau LM, Jacob S (2015) Measuring the opacity of the ‘veil of ignorance’ in constitutions: theory, method and some results. In: Imbeau LM, Jacob S (eds) Behind a veil of ignorance? Power and uncertainty in constitutional design. Springer, New York NY
Keating M (1998) Principes et problèmes du gouvernement asymétrique. Politique et Sociétés 17(3):93–111
Keating M (2009) Social citizenship, solidarity and welfare in regionalized and plurinational states. Citizsh Stud 13(5):501–513
Lijphart A (1969) Consociational democracy. World Polit 21(2):207–225
Lijphart A (1999) Patterns of democracy. Yale University Press, New Haven-London
Mabille X (1992) Histoire politique de la Belgique. CRISP, Bruxelles
Rokkan S (1970) Citizens, elections and parties. Universitetsforlaget, Oslo
Swenden W, Jans MT (2006) Will it stay or will it go? Federalism and the sustainability of Belgium. W Eur Polit 29(5):877–894
Witte E, Gubin E, Nadnrin J-P, Deneckere G (2005) Nouvelle Histoire de Belgique. Editions Complexe, Bruxelles
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Schiffino, N., Jacob, S. (2015). Uncertainty and Cleavages at Stakes: Do the Belgian Constitutions of 1831 and 1993 Stabilize Political Power?. In: Imbeau, L., Jacob, S. (eds) Behind a Veil of Ignorance?. Studies in Public Choice, vol 32. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-14953-0_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-14953-0_7
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-14952-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-14953-0
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)