ABSTRACT
This chapter examines sub-state nationalism and populism can partly overlap and be combined by political parties in their ideology and discourse. It shows that the parties’ relation to power matters, and that the overlap is higher when parties are sitting in power at the regional level and in the opposition at the national level. These findings stress the flexibility of the two ideologies and their adaptability to the parties’ changing context. Sub-state nationalism and populism translate into party politics and present similarities in that regard. In both cases, their core characteristics have been characterized as limited. The Vlaams Belang is also the party that combines populism and sub-state nationalism the most. If the N- Vlaamse Alliantie seldomly uses populism on its own, it does use it primarily in combination with sub-state nationalism. Populist positions are related to the idea of Belgium as a failed state: the situation is depicted as “not logical” and the need for reform as “common sense”.
