ABSTRACT
A core feature of the politics of Belgium is the evolution and peculiarities of its federalism. Unlike federations formed by uniting pre-existing states, Belgium’s federalization emerged through successive devolutionary reforms driven by linguistic and territorial conflicts as well as by party politics. From the freezing of language borders in the 1960s to six major constitutional reforms between 1970 and 2012, compromises gradually institutionalized a uniquely complex federation, with two types of federated entities, both territorial regions and linguistic communities. While these were merged in the north of the country, this was not the case in the south, amounting to a strong institutional complexity, especially at the heart of the country in Brussels.
