Experience in the fight against separatism in Belgium

Abstract

Many countries in the modern world have faced with the problem of separatism, which can threaten not only the well-being of one individual state, but also the world order as a whole. Thus, it is necessary to study and use the experience of countering this phenomenon on the example of other countries, in particular, Belgium. In this country, there were social contradictions, and eventually the separatist sentiments throughout the entire period of independence. The purpose of this research is to study the methods of combating separatism in the history of Belgium and to analyze the possible use of these methods to counter separatist sentiments at the present stage of development of this country. In the course of this study, a number of methods of theoretical knowledge were used: analysis, synthesis, abstraction, concretization and generalization. As a result of the study, it was determined that different ethnic groups were formed on this territory due to the events unfolded on the territory of modern Belgium, back in the days of ancient history. In the course of the study, it was stated that after gaining independence, two mature national communities were combined in one state. The domination of Wallonia over Flanders was the cause of social contradictions. It has been determined that reaching a compromise is the main method of counteracting social protests and separatism, which manifested in many historical events. It is substantiated that the use of forceful methods of struggle was ineffective. Simultaneously with the use of method of compromise decisions, the principle of balance in the federal authorities is important for Belgium. The results made it possible to note that many decisions (although they were able to preserve the unity of Belgium) increased social contradictions between ethnic groups. This study puts into science a new perspective on the issues of combating separatism in Belgium, and also provides an analysis of how these methods affect the modernity and what variants are possible for the solution of modern problems