ABSTRACT
Belgium’s history has shaped its political dynamics as much as political dynamics have shaped its history. Belgium claimed its independence after secession from the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1830. However, the country was not created ex nihilo back then. This chapter sketches the formation of the Belgian state and especially the way in which that happened. Doing so, it is shown how and why the choices made in 1830 locked in many features of the future of Belgium, its polity, politics, and policies. The chapter goes through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries to see how the political conflicts and divisions have developed in Belgium and continued to shape the country.
