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The Belgian Elite and their Networks during the Interwar Period
| The interwar period is often referred to as the period of the breakthrough of mass democracy in Belgium. Of course no one would deny that this was a crucial time for the democratisation and consolidation of the political and social sphere, but there is a tendency to pass over some elements that tend to differentiate this proposition. After all, the involvement of citizens in the democratic process was limited to the sole act of electing representatives. They didn’t have any grip on actual policy, their role was purely passive. Therein lies an evident new question: who did then? This is the first element I would like to clarify in our paper: who determined or influenced policy in Belgium during the interwar period? In practice, this comes down to the identification of a group we (as a matter of convenience) label as the power elite.
It is the purpose of my research to uncover this elite and analyse the mutual relations that existed within this group. Of course, this would have to go further than mere name-dropping. This is why I’d like to connect this information to a more theoretical, philosophical level of analyses, using the broad spectrum of literature that already exists within the political and social sciences. Was there ever one big elite network in Belgium (Mills 1956), or were there rather several parallel and/or competing networks (Dahl 1958) in accordance with ideological or other dividing lines (cfr. ‘pillarization’)? How can the existence of this elite be consistent with democracy and the democratic principles we value so highly? This question is especially problematic for a period that is traditionally considered as a catalyst for democratisation. It is therefore remarkable that this exercise has never been done for Belgium before.
In this paper, I’d like to focus on the background and importance of Belgian ministers during the interwar period. Since they were in the centre of political life and public policy, they were of course a vital link in the chain of power. These facts will then be linked to the existing literature on theories and principles of democracy, elites and elite recruitment.
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