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Divided by the Same Language: Political Science Associations in Belgium and the Netherlands

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2026

Marc Hooghe
Marc Hooghe*
Affiliation:
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Van Evenstraat 2B, B-3000, Leuven, Belgium
*
E-mail: Marc.Hooghe@soc.kuleuven.ac.be
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Abstract

Since 2001, the political science associations of The Netherlands and Flanders (Belgium) have sought ever closer cooperation, culminating in the organisation of annual Dutch–Belgian political science conferences. One of the goals of this unprecedented cooperation is to strengthen the visibility of Dutch-language political science, and to keep Dutch alive as a credible language for political science research. At first sight, this form of regional cooperation runs counter to processes of internationalisation and Europeanisation. It can be argued, however, that exactly these regional identities and associations (cf. also the Nordic countries) can counterbalance a one-sided orientation to Anglo-Saxon norms within international political science.

Keywords

political sciencepolitical science associationsBelgiumThe Netherlands

Information

Type
The Profession
Information
European Political Science , Volume 4 , Issue 2 , June 2005 , pp. 141 - 150
Copyright
Copyright © 2005 European Consortium for Political Research

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References

Notes

1 Although it is customary to make a distinction between ‘Flemish’ and ‘Walloon’, for the French side of the country this is not quite correct. It is safe to refer to the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of Belgium (ca. six million), including the Dutch minority in Brussels, as Flemish. The French (ca. four million), however, prefer ‘communauté francophone’, which is composed of Wallonia, proper, and the French-speaking majority in Brussels. Sometimes this is also referred to as ‘la Belgique francophone’, although the Flemish tend to resist this qualification because it could also be read as implying that Belgium is an entirely francophone country.

2 Belgians usually have quite elaborate lunches, while Dutch people tend to stick to just a sandwich at noon (sometimes accompanied by a glass of buttermilk), which remains a source of amazement to the Belgian delegation. In the evening too, Belgians tend to follow a more southern European pattern, eating later and more plentifully than Dutch people usually do. However, these small cultural differences are dealt with in a quite simple manner: when the conference is held in the Netherlands – it was held at Noordwijkerhout in 2002 and Dordrecht in 2003 – all participants follow the Dutch pattern; when it is held in Belgium (Antwerp in 2004), participants adopt Belgian eating habits.

3 This is true not just of political scientists: in the field of literature the same phenomenon is visible. While successful Belgian authors aspire to be published by one of the major publishing houses in Amsterdam or Paris, no self-respecting Dutch author would ever seek a publisher in Antwerp or Brussels. Apparently, the centres of a language area still exert a powerful appeal to authors in the peripheral regions, but not the other way around. As far as I know, the same relation holds for German authors and German language publishers in Austria and Switzerland.

4 More information about the journals and associations discussed in this article can be found on their websites: www.politicologie.nl, www.palgrave-journals.com/ap, www.respublica.be, www.politologischinstituut.be, and absp.spri.ucl.ac.be/default.htm