You probably don't realize it, but we are living in an unprecedented
historical moment. For the first time, Belgium has managed to be interesting
without getting invaded by Germany or abusing an African colony.
What's so interesting? In short: Belgium is coming apart at the seams. For
four months, its 11 political parties have been unable to form a national
government because the Dutch-speaking regions want greater autonomy, or even
outright independence.
Primarily split between Dutch-speaking Flemings and French-speaking
Walloons, Belgium was formed as a constitutional monarchy where the
non-French speakers were mostly treated as second-class citizens. Even
today, 177 years later, there are no national figures or national political
parties. Each party represents its own ethnic, linguistic or regional
enclave. But, although the Flemish majority is somewhat more prosperous, the
Walloons have a perceived stranglehold on Belgian politics. One is tempted
to joke that it's an Iraq with better weather and waffles.
But it isn't a mini-Iraq, and not just because they're not killing one
another. It's more like a mini-European Union. In fact, that's the one thing
everyone can agree on.
No country is more invested in the EU experiment than Belgium, whose
capital, Brussels, is also the capital of the EU. If Belgium falls to
sectarianism, what does that say about prospects for making Europe into a
super-Belgium?
Belgium is a "laboratory," says Joelle Milquet, the leader of the
French-speaking Humanist Democratic Center party and a defender of both a
united Belgium and EU. "If 10 million people in a developed country do not
manage to build a collective project," she told Britain's Telegraph
newspaper, "that would signal the bankruptcy of what one tries to build at
the European and even international level."
Paul Belien, a Flemish writer who favors an independent Flanders, agrees.
"For me, the Belgian and EU flags are basically the same," he told the
Telegraph. "They are a denial of identity."
But here's the hilarious irony of all this: The European Union is in effect
subsidizing nationalism in Belgium and across the Continent. As the EU
assumes more of the responsibilities of states - regulations, the economy,
currency, possibly even defense - the cost of independence becomes lower.
Look at Scotland. The Scots are moving, perhaps inexorably, toward national
independence from Britain. A referendum on breaking away could take place as
early as 2010 and would likely pass. And why not? Scotland didn't formally
become part of Britain until 1707, when it caved in to English threats to
its trade and the free movement of people across the border. Now, thanks to
the EU, such threats are illegal. And it's hardly likely that England would
declare war on secessionist Scotland.
A similar process is under way in Kosovo, which wants to break from Serbia
(the U.S. backs that idea) and get EU candidacy like Croatia and Macedonia.
The Basques in Spain aren't far behind. In the past, ethnic enclaves
probably couldn't make it on their own. But now the EU provides a safety
net.
The catch-22 is delightful. By scaling back the job description of a
nation-state to a few ceremonial duties, ethnic minorities see fewer risks
and a lot more rewards in breaking away. Countries such as Slovakia get to
trade on their votes in the EU and the U.N. They get their own anthems and
sports teams and get to teach their own language and culture. It's like a
McDonald's franchise. You man the register and keep the bathrooms clean, but
the folks at corporate HQ do the heavy lifting. That's why the Basques,
Scots and Flemings are looking to open their own franchises. The question is
whether the nationalist hunger of such McNations can be satisfied by just
the symbolism of autonomy.
This points to why I take so much pleasure in the troubles in Brussels. The
EU always made the most sense to Belgians, who have a weak national
identity. The myth was that everyone felt the same way.
Indeed, the EU project has always been predicated on self-serving myths.
Another is the idea that with greater "understanding" comes greater peace
and comity. The Walloons and the Flemings understand each other; they just
don't like each other very much.
But what I really like about the Belgian crisis is that it puts a dent in
the myth that Europe represents some enlightened new model exportable to the
rest of the globe. After World War II and the Holocaust, a generation of
diplomats and intellectuals predicted that nationality, religion and culture
would matter less in the New Europe. But wishing didn't make it so.
Obviously, nobody wants the bloody nationalism of early 20th century Europe.
But it's nonetheless gratifying that even on the EU's Brussels campus, life
resists the blueprints of the bureaucrats.