Inaug.-Diss.--Berlin. / Lebenslauf.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1974. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 424-442).

The Belgian political system before 1961 depended for its stability primarily upon the three traditional parties which dominated it and transcended the cleavage between the Dutch and French speaking communities. In times of tension, such as the Schools Crisis of 1958, inter-party co-operation (or consociational democracy) was used as a means of crisis-management. The system was, therefore, one of competitive party politics in normal times and consociational techniques used to resolve exceptionally acute issues. The Community Problem of the 1960s, arising out of the growth of strong community or regional movements and new political parties in Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels, assumed crisis proportions in 1968 when it caused the downfall of a government. The consociational approach was attempted as in 1958. It proved difficult because by 1968 the main parties were losing control of the political situation. Their traditional total dominance of the system was weakened and they were themselves splitting internally along community lines under pressure from the regional movements. The efforts to reform the Constitution in the 1960s and again in the 1970s were an attempt to achieve a consensus to de-fuse the issues and manage the crisis. This was more difficult to achieve than in 1958 because of the complexity of the issues, many of which allowed no compromise where compromise was essential, the mixed motives of the various parties and their varying levels of enthusiasm for the reforms and finally the serious strains upon the unity of the traditional parties. Reforms were passed in 1971 by all parties and in 1980 by the three traditional parties alone. The new system, in spite of its allowance for regional cultural and economic autonomy, remains still largely centralist. Post-1980 Belgium presents, however, many more areas where compromise and accommodation are more necessary than before 1961. The necessary pre-conditions for consociationalism as part of normal politics have increased. It is questionable, however, whether these pre-conditions will prove sufficient to transform the system into a consociational democracy on a more permanent basis.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2000. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Tourism is a global growth industry. Large cities are prominent tourist destinations and are therefore the focus of tourism studies. Because cultural tourism can act as a lever for the urban economy, cities are increasingly investigating historical heritage as a resource in developing cultural tourism. Furthermore, many opportunities for development exist as these tourism products are characterised by adaptability, flexibility and a wide-ranging nature. Development of the historical heritage of tourist attractions is especially noted in Europe. The rich historical heritage and unique cultural activities of these cities can be used to attract visitors. This study utilises the geographical information system (GIS) programmes TransCAD, ArcView and ARC/INFO to investigate the cultural tourism potential of Mechelen in Belgium. GIS is particulary well suited for spatial analyses in tourism studies. It was assumed that two factors - location and function - will influence the tourism potential of historical buildings. In investigating the morphological location of buildings, the grouping of buildings around pre-selected marker buildings in Mechelen was considered. Functional analyses considered the current function of historical buildings and the attractiveness of the respective functions to tourists. Concurrent analyses of these two factors resulted in deductions regarding the tourism potential of the individual historical buildings. Furthermore, areas with high development potential were identified. The identification of such areas contributes to effective development planning and sustainable development. By targeting development visitors are attracted which supports optimal utilisation of tourist resources by residents. Well planned, targeted development thus increases the contribution that cultural tourism can make towards the urban economy. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Toerisme is 'n wêreldwye groei-industrie. Omdat groot stede die belangrikste toerisme-bestemmings is, geniet hulle baie aandag in toerisme-studies. Die historiese erfenis van stede word toenemend as hulpbron vir die ontwikkeling van kulturele toerisme ondersoek omdat dit as 'n hefboom vir die bevordering van die stedelike ekonomie kan dien. Daarbenewens is daar talle moontlikhede vir ontginning, omdat die kulturele toerisme-produk gekenmerk word deur aanpasbaarheid, buigsaamheid en 'n wyd omvattende aard. Die ontwikkeling van die historiese erfenis van toeriste-aantreklikhede word veral in Europa waargeneem. Die meeste Europese stede is ryk aan historiese erfenis en unieke kulturele aktiwiteite wat gebruik kan word om besoekers te trek. In dié studie word die geografiese inligtingstelsel (GIS) programme TransCAD, ArcView en ARC/INFO ingespan om die kulturele toerismepotensiaal van Mechelen, België, te ondersoek. GIS is besonder geskik vir die doen van ruimtelike analises in toerismestudies. Daar is van die uitgangspunt uitgegaan dat twee faktore die toerismepotensiaal van historiese geboue beïnvloed, naamlik ligging en funksie. Wat die morfologiese ligging betref, word gekyk na die groepering van historiese geboue rondom sekere vooraf geselekteerde beeldbepalergeboue. In die funksionaliteitsanalises word daar gelet op die huidige funksies van die individuele historiese geboue en die aantreklikheid van die onderskeie funksies vir toeriste. Deur gelyktydig na dié twee faktore te kyk, is afleidings gemaak oor die toerisme-potensiaal van die individuele historiese geboue. Gebiede met 'n hoë potensiaal vir ontwikkeling is geïdentifiseer. Die identifisering van gebiede wat meer gunstig vir toerisme-ontwikkeling is, dra by tot beter ,ontwikkelingsbeplanning en volhoubare ontwikkeling. Geteikende ontwikkeling maak die stad meer aantreklik vir besoekers en dra daartoe by dat die inwoners van die stad optimaal voordeel kan trek uit die besoekende toeriste. Goed beplande, geteikende ontwikkeling vergroot ook die bydrae wat kulturele toerisme in die stimulering van die stad se ekonomie kan speel.

Überarb. Diss. Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 2007. / Originaltitel: Patterns of migration and adaptation in the urban transition: newcomers to Antwerp, c. 1760-1860.

Doctorat en Sciences politiques et sociales / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Doctorat en sciences sociales, politiques et économiques / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Pas de résumé / Doctorat en droit / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The First World War was a long stalemated war in which millions of men fought and died. Many studies have looked at the reasons soldiers fought and stopped fighting. In this study, the perceptions that Belgian soldiers had of their enemy, Germany, are looked at. The Belgian army was stationed on a small part of the front at the coast, the last part of Belgium that is un-occupied. The war can be divided into three phases: the first phase is the invasion until the Germans were stopped, the second begins with the stalemate and the development of trench warfare on the Western Front, and the third and last phase is the pushing back of the Germans and final victory. In the first phase with the invasion and brutality of the Germans in Belgium, Belgian soldiers formed a view of Germans as barbarians, capable of anything. With the second phase the perceptions started to diverge among the men, depending on experience and surroundings of the soldiers; some get use to their new environment, old and new conflicts resurfaced, Germans faded into the background. On the other hand the war was still going on, violence of war was all around them, and brothers in arms were killed. In the third phase soldiers became enthusiastic again because of the prospect of being able to go home. With the ending of the war old grudges were not settled. The Peace treaty was not what was expected. A lot of memorials built at the time reflected views of Germany that very explicitly highlighted their perceived misbehavior, especially at the beginning on the war. Naturally this led to tensions between Belgium and Germany. Many Belgians never forgot what happened during the war, nor let go of their views that were formed.

Today, Belgium is an oft-cited example of a “fabricated state” with no real binding national identity. The events of 1787-1790 illustrate a surprisingly strong rebuttal to this belief. Between 1787 and 1790, the inhabitants of the Southern Netherlands protested the majority of reforms implemented by their sovereign Joseph II of Austria. In ten independent provinces each with their own administration and assembly of Estates, a resistance movement grew and its leaders eventually raised a patriot army over the summer of 1789. This force chased the imperial troops and administration from all the provinces except Luxembourg, allowing the conservative Estates and their supporters to convene a Congress at Brussels, which hosted a central government to the new United States of Belgium. By November 1790, however, infighting between democrats and conservatives and international pressures allowed Leopold II, crowned Emperor after his brother’s death in February, to easily reconquer the provinces. This thesis investigates the moment in which “Belgianness,” rather than provincial distinctions, became a prevailing identification for the Southern Netherlands. It tracks the transition of this national consciousness from a useful collaboration of the provinces for mutual legal support to a stronger, more emotional appeal to a Belgian identity that deserved a voice of its own. It adds a Belgian voice to the dialogue about nations before the nineteenth century, while equally complicating the entire notion of a nation. Overall, the thesis questions accepted paradigms of the nation and the state and casts Belgium and the Belgians as a strong example that defies the normal categories of nationhood. It examines how the revolutionaries—the Estates, guilds, their lawyers, the Congress, and bourgeois democratic revolutionaries—demonstrated a growing sense of “Belgianness,” in some ways overriding their traditional provincial attachments. I rely on pamphlet literature and private correspondence for the majority of my evidence, focusing on the elite’s cultivation and use of national sentiment throughout the revolution.