ABSTRACT
The adaptation of the state’s institutions to evolving political circumstances often constitutes a necessary and yet highly destabilizing phase for deeply divided societies. This chapter further discusses the manner in which the Brussels Capital Region (BCR) has mediated that experience. The relevance of the BCR’s case lies in the region’s original combination of alternative and incrementally demanding procedures for institutional reforms with an extensive set of institutional incentives for cooperation between the French-speaking majority and the Dutch-speaking minority. These two characteristics have largely contributed to the BCR’s remarkable capacity both to adapt to evolving demands raised by its two ethno-linguistic groups and to keep the inter-community tensions at a very low level. This chapter argues that this double achievement makes the BCR a highly dynamic form of power-sharing. The chapter frames this form of power-sharing as ‘living consociationalism’. The chapter outlines the dynamics of this ‘living consociationalism’ in the BCR context and connects this to the accommodation+ model that can be seen in Northern Ireland’s experience of power-sharing. The chapter explains how living consociationalism in the Brussels Capital Region offers the potential for ethno-linguistic groups to build a common purpose and define themselves and their inter-group partners as being involved in the same political project with similar goals.
