Accommodation or Defusion in the Management of Linguistic Conflict in Belgium?
1983; SAGE Publishing; Volume: 31; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1111/j.1467-9248.1983.tb01773.x
ISSN1467-9248
Autores Tópico(s)Political Systems and Governance
ResumoUnder the influence of the consociational model, conflict management in deeply divided societies like Belgium is usually viewed in terms of purposive accommodative behaviour on the part of established élites. This paper argues, however, that this perspective in fact misrepresents the nature of élite efforts to manage the linguistic conflict that has dominated Belgian national political life since the mid-1960s. Eschewing accommodation, the leaders of the country's three traditional parties have, instead, pursued a minimalist ‘defusionist’ management strategy because their aim has been not to institutionalize this conflict, but to make it ‘go away’ and, thereby, restore political stability and effective governance, under their well-tried collective political hegemony, to the country.
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