Belgian nationalism is often seen as a contradiction in terms. Anyone familiar with Belgian politics is aware of deep linguistic divisions between the Flemish and Walloons and the growth of aggressive Flemish nationalism. Yet Belgium is still here. Since 1830 it has defied all predictions that it could not work, survived long German occupations in both the First and Second World Wars, and remains one country. Understanding Belgium and its unusual nationalisms has never been simple. Maarten van Ginderachter's work, which covers the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, is an invaluable guide.
The book's subtitle pitches the book as a social history of modern Belgium, but a more exact label would be a history of Belgian workers and their relation to the state. The main actors remain the leaders and to some extent the members of the Belgian Workers Party (BWP), formed in 1885. Their newspapers and other publications...
