The author's inaugural dissertation, Jena.

This thesis addresses the following question: do proponents and opponents in the linguistic disputes in Catalonia and Flanders prioritise individual or group-oriented rights? The dispute in Catalonia is about the use of languages in the Catalan education system, while the dispute in Flanders is about the linguistic regime in certain municipalities around Brussels. Crucially, both are made of competing normative-laden political arguments. Drawing on interviews and document analysis, the thesis situates the conflicting political arguments within the scholarship on the compatibility between liberalism and nationalism. The central argument of the thesis is that the Catalan and Flemish linguistic disputes occur within liberal nationalism. Proponents in Catalonia and Flanders argue in a form of liberal nationalism that is more nationalist than liberal, although the nationalist dimension is more explicit in Catalonia; opponents in Flanders combine liberal nationalism with classical liberalism; and opponents in Catalonia argue in a form of classical liberalism that relies on liberal nationalist elements. In short, the four positions in the two debates participate in different forms and to different degrees in liberal nationalism. The findings suggest that nationalism is an important factor in making sense of the paradox that the normative consensus on political liberalism does not translate into political consensus in these specific cases. It is hoped that the findings of this thesis will make two main contributions. The first is an explanatory contribution to improve the understanding of the Catalan and Flemish linguistic disputes: the disputes are not between liberals and nationalists, but between liberal nationalists. The second is a theory-building contribution to refine the theoretical debate about individual and group-specific rights: liberal nationalist scholars run the risk of being unable to account for the national attachments many people experience in ‘the real world’ if, in their efforts to build acceptable liberal theories, they circumscribe their defence of national membership to its instrumental role for individual autonomy. In addition, their conceptualisation of nations as bounded and homogeneous seems to be built upon flimsy empirical grounds.

O presente trabalho objetiva analisar a ascensão de movimentos nacionalistas periféricos na Europa, no período pós-Guerra Fria, em um contexto de intensificação do processo de integração observado na União Europeia nas últimas três décadas, além de estabelecer comparações entre as três nações sem Estado que mais avançaram na luta independentista no século XXI: Flandres, Escócia e Catalunha. Também serão analisadas as circunstâncias que levaram à realização de ações de descentralização política nos três Estados que contêm as nações aqui estudadas: Bélgica, Reino Unido e Espanha e por que estas medidas de acomodação de minorias nacionais não surtiram o efeito esperado, já que, em vez mitigar a luta por autonomia e/ou soberania por parte destes movimentos subestatais, a fortaleceram. A pertinência do tema se revela à medida que recrudescem estes movimentos, não só na Europa, mas em todo o mundo, denotando a crise que vive o Estado democrático liberal no que concerne ao binômio: reconhecimento das minorias nacionais e manutenção da integridade territorial dos Estados que as contêm. Além disso, a força dos nacionalismos revela o quanto os processos de globalização e integração regional vêm sofrendo reveses neste século. Dentro da perspectiva da Geografia Política, é fundamental que o tema do nacionalismo seja fortemente analisado, já que se vislumbra um cenário de reorganização do espaço mundial, em função das fragmentações territoriais que podem ocorrer a partir do recrudescimento dos movimentos nacionalistas periféricos. Este quadro já foi visto em outros momentos da História, como nos períodos pós-Primeira Guerra Mundial e pós-Guerra Fria, com as desintegrações de Impérios no primeiro caso, e com o desmantelamento da União Soviética e Iugoslávia, no segundo caso. / This current paper aims to analyze the rise of peripheral nationalist movements in Europe in the post-Cold War period, in a context of intensification of the integration process observed in the European Union in the last three decades, as well as comparisons between the three stateless nations more advanced in the struggle for independence in the 21st century: Flanders, Scotland and Catalonia. It will also analyze the circumstances that led to political decentralization actions in the three States that contain the nations studied here: Belgium, the United Kingdom and Spain and why these measures of accommodation of national minorities did not have the expected effect, since instead of mitigating the struggle for autonomy and/or sovereignty on part of these sub-state movements, they have strengthened it. The relevance of the theme is evident as these movements intensify, not only in Europe, but throughout the world, denoting the crisis that the liberal democratic State is experiencing in terms of the binomial: recognition of national minorities and the maintenance of the territorial integrity of States which contain them. Moreover, the strength of nationalism reveals how the processes of globalization and regional integration have suffered setbacks in this century. Within the perspective of Political Geography, it is fundamental that the theme of nationalism be strongly analyzed, since a scenario of reorganization of the world space can be seen, due to the territorial fragmentations that can occur from the resurgence of peripheral nationalist movements. This picture has been seen at other times in history, such as post-World War I and post-Cold War periods, with the disintegrations of empires in the first case, and with the dismantling of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia in the second case.

Cette thèse (Sciences Po Paris & Université Saint-Louis – Bruxelles) étudie le dilemme généré par l’immigration et la diversité pour les élites politiques dans deux communautés sous-nationales culturellement et linguistiquement distinctes : la Flandre (Belgique) et le Québec (Canada). Pour ces communautés, l’intégration des immigrés représente à la fois des opportunités et des défis. L’immigration peut à la fois augmenter le poids démographique de la communauté sous-nationale mais aussi affaiblir sa cohésion culturelle et linguistique. En étudiant la période de 1999 à 2014 et en utilisant l’institutionnalisme discursif, cette recherche questionne la réponse des élites sous-nationales à ce dilemme : comment les élites politiques flamandes et québécoises envisagent-elles l’intégration des immigrés ? Confrontées au dilemme de l’intégration des immigrés, sur une échelle qui irait de la menace à l’opportunité, comment les élites politiques se positionnent-elles ? Sur base d’une analyse des débats parlementaires, cette thèse identifie le positionnement des élites politiques (élus et ministres) et leur rhétorique sur quatre dimensions de l’intégration des immigrés : institutionnelle, démographique, linguistique et culturelle. Contrairement à d’autres recherches qui se sont uniquement concentrées sur les élites sous-nationalistes et les positions des partis régionalistes, notre focus sur les discours politiques et l’ensemble des élites permet de montrer comment les idées circulent et évoluent à travers les législatures. Cette recherche montre que les arguments-clés sont partagés par les élites politiques quand il s’agit des dimensions linguistique, démographique et culturelle de l’intégration des immigrés. Néanmoins et indépendamment de ces conceptions, des divergences claires existent sur les arrangements institutionnels à privilégier entre l’autorité fédérale et la sous-nation pour l’intégration des immigrés. / My PhD dissertation (Sciences Po Paris & Université Saint-Louis) considers the dilemma generated by immigration and diversity for political elites in two culturally and linguistic distinct sub-national communities: Flanders (Belgium) and Quebec (Canada). For such communities, immigration represents both opportunities and challenges. Immigration might increase the relative demographic strength of the sub-national community yet, it might also weaken its cultural or linguistic cohesion. Focusing on the 1999-2014 timeframe and using discursive institutionalism, I ask how subnational elites respond to this dilemma. Using discourse analysis, I identify the position of members of regional parliaments and their rhetoric on four dimensions of immigrant integration (institutional, demographic, linguistic, and cultural). Contrary to other researches that have focused only on sub-nationalist and regionalist party positions, my focus on political discourse allows me to show how ideas circulate and evolve through legislatures. My results run contrary to some expectations from immigration studies and federalism theory. I show that key arguments are shared between political elites when it comes to the linguistic, demographic and cultural dimensions of immigrant integration. Nevertheless and independently from the conceptions of integration put forward, I show that clear divergences remain when it comes to federal-subnational institutional arrangements for immigrant integration.

La Flandre est souvent présentée comme un espace doté d’une importante spécificité et par là d’une identité régionale forte voire irréductible à des appartenances nationales ou européennes plus amples. Pourtant, les opinions n’ont cessé de varier sur ce que sont les Flandres et sur les critères qui définiraient cette identité. Le statut de régionfrontière soumise à des délimitations et des souverainetés fluctuantes selon les guerres et les traités renforce la complexité de ce territoire. Ceci est particulièrement vrai de la période qui va des traités des limites franco-autrichiens de 1769 et 1779 à la fin du Premier Empire en 1815 et au traité de Courtrai de 1820 : rectifications, révolutions, guerres, annexions, départementalisation remodèlent sans cesse les configurations flamandes. Comment une telle recomposition permanente a-t-elle pu interagir avec les identités prétendument fortes de ces populations frontalières ? L’observation de leurs pratiques familiales, sociales, économiques, militaires, religieuses ou encore linguistiques, en France comme dans les « provinces belgiques », tend en fait à montrer la compatibilité entre différentes références locales, provinciales, nationales, internationales, qui créent alors des identités plurielles. Le constat de la malléabilité des pratiques et des appartenances conduit à la déconstruction d’une identité flamande, largement fabriquée a posteriori, encore en gestation durant la période qui nous occupe et pleinement développée dans la seconde moitié du XIXe siècle. L’historicisation de ce processus identitaire invite à considérer avec précaution les démarches qui prétendent figer les appartenances et les frontières quelle qu’elles soient. / Flanders is often portrayed as an area with an important specificity and therefore with a regional identity that is strong, if not irreducible to any sense of belonging to a wider national or European community. However, general public opinion has always varied on the question of what is Flanders and on the criteria that could define its identity. The complexity of the territory was increased by the status of border region whose delimitation and sovereignty were subject to fluctuations due to wars and treaties. This applies particularly to the period concerned i.e. from the Franco-Austrian border treaties in 1769 and in 1779 to the end of the First French Empire in 1815 and the Treaty of Kortrijk in 1820: corrections, revolutions, wars, annexations and departmentalisation shaped and reshaped the Flemish territory. How could this permanent reshaping interact with the allegedly strong identities of the border populations? The observing of the family, social, economic, military, religious or even linguistic practices tends to show the compatibility between different local, provincial, national and international references that create plural identities, in France as well as in the Belgian provinces. The plasticity of these practices and affiliations leads us to deconstruct the Flemish identity that was essentially built afterwards, while it was still in development during the study period and not fully developed before the second half of the 19th century. Thus the measures that claim to permanently establish any identity or boundary, whatever or wherever they may be, should be considered carefully, by historicising the process of identity building.

No description available.

No description available.

This thesis compares and contrasts the historiography of Quebec and Flanders during the first half of the twentieth century. The main argument is that the philosophy of neo-Thomism was influential to the conceptualization and writing of history by prominent nationalist historians in both Quebec and Flanders during the period leading up to the Second World War. By extensively comparing the life and works of prominent nationalist historians that played an active role in the nationalist movements of Quebec and Flanders, it has been found that the Catholic University of Leuven was influential in the development of nationalist historiography in Quebec and Flanders during the first decades of the twentieth century. In this sense, this thesis argues that the nationalist historians of Quebec and Flanders be considered as part of a shared historiographical tradition that was influenced by the neo- Thomist philosophy which played an essential role at the Catholic University of Leuven during this period, and which can be traced back in the writings and practices of nationalist historians in both Quebec and Flanders. Out of this shared influence of the neo-Thomist philosophy then, this thesis argues for a reevaluation of the traditional portrayal of nationalist historiography in the first half of the twentieth century, and a reconsideration of the influence neo-Thomism has had on the conceptualization of nationalist history in Quebec and Flanders. It is argued that the nationalist historians of both Quebec and Flanders have traditionally been characterized as unscientific due to their convergence of science and politics, and portrayed the nation as deterministic, meaning that the nation's essence and development was unaffected by the historical circumstances. By analysing the historical works of nationalist historians that either attended the Catholic University of Leuven, or were part of a network that was influenced by the writings of the neo-Thomists that taught at Leuven, this thesis will make three general arguments that will nuance this traditional portrayal of nationalist historiography during the first half of the twentieth century. First, it will be argued that the neo-Thomist emphasis on the interdependence of essential and existential characteristics nuances the essentialist portrayal of the nation. Using the case of neo- Thomist chemistry as a counterexample, it will be shown how nationalist historians in Quebec and Flanders ascribed an important role to the existentiality and historicity of the nation, and as such, compels us to reconsider the essentialist paradigm of nationalist historiography. Secondly, the neo- Thomist notion of science which legitimated the convergence of subjectivity and objectivity sheds new light on the practice and theory of what constituted scientific history in the first half of the twentieth century. Moreover, it will be argued that Quebec and Flanders shared a similar theoretical concept of what constituted scientific history, but represented their historical works differently due to the differentiating political and academic context. Finally, the thesis will highlight how the notions of ambiguity and human freedom, which figured prominently in neo-Thomism, influenced the notion of teleology in Quebec and Flemish nationalist historiography, as is illustrated by the notion of coincidence in Flemish, and providence in Quebec historiography. In addition, using the cases of nationalist historians Lionel Groulx and Hendrik Elias, it will be argued that the different political contexts influenced the political actions of the two nationalist historians, which helps to shed new light on the motives of Flemish nationalist historians to collaborate during the Second World War. By comparing and contrasting the two cases then, this thesis is able to show how the neo- Thomist framework and crucial concepts were not only instrumental to the nationalist historiographies in Quebec and Flanders, but were also malleable to differing historical contexts, and, as such, provides new insight in the intricate relationship between religion, nationalism and historiography that underpinned nationalist historiography in Quebec and Flanders during the first half of the twentieth century.

Raymundus Joannes Maria De Kremer, best-known under the pseudonym of Jean Ray, was one of the most important Belgian authors of the first half of the twentieth century. His contribution to literature is immense, both in its volume and in its diversity, stretching well over sixty years of uninterrupted writing. While he wrote mostly short stories of the fantastic genre and adventure novels, he also published detective stories under the pseudonym of John Flanders. A major part of his work was published in newspapers and magazines. Jean Ray was bilingual, which allowed him to write both in French and Flemish, dividing his attention equally between the two. The majority of his writings was published either anonymously or under various pseudonyms. The aim of our thesis is to provide a monograph overview of the said author. The first part situates his work in the context of Belgian literature written in French and the fantastique genre in general. The second part is devoted to his life, with special focus on his literary career. The third part contains analyses of selected parts of his extensive oeuvre. Briefly, we look at the Harry Dickson detective stories. However, the core of our analysis are his fantastic writings, i.e. selected collections of his fantastic short stories and the only fantastic novel...

The British entered the War of the First Coalition against Revolutionary France in 1793 diplomatically isolated and militarily unprepared for a major war. Nonetheless, a French attack on the Dutch Republic in February 1793 forced the British to dispatch a small expeditionary force to defend their ally. Throughout the Flanders campaign of 1793, the British expeditionary force served London as a tool to end British isolation and enlist Austrian commitment to securing British war objectives. The 1793 Flanders campaign and the Allied war effort in general have received little attention from historians, and they generally receive dismissive condemnation in general histories of the French Revolutionary Wars. This thesis examines the British participation in the 1793 Flanders campaign a broader diplomatic context through the published correspondence of relevant Allied military and political leaders. Traditional accounts of this campaign present a narrative of defeat and condemn the Allies for their failure to achieve in 1793 the accomplishments of the sixth coalition twenty years later. Such a perspective obscures a clear understanding of the reasons for Allied actions. This thesis seeks to correct this distortion by critically analyzing the relationship between British diplomacy within the Coalition and operations in Flanders. Unable to achieve victory on their own strength, the British used their expeditionary force in Flanders as diplomatic leverage to impose their objectives on the other powers at war with France.