Ideological Oppositions and Consociational Attitudes in the Belgian Parliament

This is a study of cleavages and issues in the Belgian parliament designed to assess the relative importance of ideological conflicts and of attitudes conducive to consociationalism. There is evidence of the existence of three major cleavages, and related issue positions: socioeconomic, philosophical, and sociolinguistic (although this last is complicated by the issue of federalism). Further analysis shows that partisan differences exist on these cleavages and issues. A study of legislative norms and role definitions suggests that some of these are compatible with consociationalism (particularly those espoused by more experienced MPs), but that others incorporate elements of confrontation politics. On balance, the elements of ideological opposition appear to be stronger than those of consociationalism in the Belgian parliament.