ETHNIC IDENTITIES AND NATIONALISM. BELGIAN CASE STUDY
ETHNIC IDENTITIES AND NATIONALISM. BELGIAN CASE STUDY

Summary/Abstract: Starting with the XIXth century the academia saw an increase interest in the field of knowledge related to the issues of ethnicities, minorities studies, nation building. What started as a purely academic project soon became of out most relevance especially after the end of World War II and the beginning of the decolonisation process which saw the emergence of a series of new nations. This process of nation building and of redefinition of the states didn’t spare the European continent, often with tragic results (see the interwar period or the conflicts after the fall of communism in 1989). Added to this already complex situation we need also to take into consideration the emergence of a new political actor – the European Union as a supranational organization. This is important given the fact that the current analysis, starts with a literature review of the theories on ethnicity, nationalism etc. in order to focus as a case study on Belgium, a multi-ethnic state, with a specific local situation where he have a strong presence of the European Union institutions.

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