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Begin New Search Political Geography Belgium Content Type Journal Article

1. The Broadening Protection Gap for Stateless Palestinian Refugees in Belgium

Author:
Wout Van Doren, Julie Lejeune, Marjan Claes, and Valerie Klein
Publication Date:
12-2020
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Statelessness & Citizenship Review
Institution:
Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness, Melbourne Law School
Abstract:
This paper reflects upon the issue of statelessness, Palestinians and a recent evolution of Belgian caselaw. When seeking to apply the definition of a ‘stateless person’, as found in art 1 of the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons to Palestinians, judges are confronted with specific challenges. Since 2016, divergent standards are developing as to the question of whether, and in which circumstances, Palestinians may be stateless for the purposes of international law. This evolution takes place in a national landscape characterised by a statelessness determination procedure that falls short of standards set out in the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Handbook on Protection of Stateless Persons in a number of areas, while a growing number of asylum seekers originating from Palestine are registered over the period 2016–19. This paper exposes, anno 2020, the protection gaps left open by the remarkably divergent approaches to this question taken by the different national actors involved.
Topic:
Territorial Disputes, Citizenship, Stateless Population, and Protection
Political Geography:
Europe, Middle East, Palestine, and Belgium

2. Citizenship Deprivation under the European Convention-System

Author:
Louise Reyntjens
Publication Date:
12-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Statelessness & Citizenship Review
Institution:
Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness, Melbourne Law School
Abstract:
In response to Islamic-inspired terrorism and the growing trend of foreign fighters, European governments are increasingly relying on citizenship deprivation as a security tool. This paper will focus on the question of how the fundamental rights of individuals deprived of their citizenship are affected and which protection is offered for them by the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (‘ECHR’). In many countries, these new and broader deprivation powers were left unaccompanied by stronger (procedural) safeguards that protect the human rights they might affect. Unlike the Universal Declaration of Human Rights or the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the ECHR does not provide for an explicit right to citizenship. The question therefore rises what protection, if any, is offered by the ECHR system against citizenship deprivation and for the right to citizenship. Through a case study of the Belgian measure of citizenship deprivation, the (implicit) protection provided by the Convention-system is demonstrated.
Topic:
Security, Counter-terrorism, Citizenship, and Stateless Population
Political Geography:
Europe and Belgium

3. The Premises, Assumptions, and Implications of Van Gend en Loos: Viewed from the Perspectives of Democracy and Legitimacy of International Institutions

Author:
Eyal Benvenisti and George W. Downs
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
In its Van Gend en Loos judgment, the ECJ assigned citizens directly enforceable rights vis-à-vis their respective state executives, and authorized national courts to protect those rights. What explains the Court's suspicion of state executives as the sole actors to implement Community law (acting directly or through the Commission)? What justifies its confidence in the ability of the national courts to protect the individuals? We submit that the ECJ was informed by the premise that national courts acting in unison could withstand political pressures and protect individuals while implementing the Treaty. Moreover, the ECJ understood that its interaction with national courts would put it in a position potentially to offer significant support for citizens of relatively weaker countries against various predatory policies employed by the more powerful states in the organization. In this article we explore these premises and present evidence to support them. More generally, we argue that there is good reason to endorse this model of judicial activism as a means to ensure democracy as judged by the effective and informed participation of individuals in public decision-making that affects them – within international organizations. This judgment demonstrates the promise of greater interaction and coordination between national and international tribunals in preventing democratic failures at both the national and international levels. Although judicial intervention often pre-empts public deliberation, it can also encourage it; although it may operate to pre-empt the vote, it can also function to ensure it.
Topic:
International Organization
Political Geography:
Belgium and Netherlands

5. Editor's Note

Author:
Sikander Kiani and Michael Brannagan
Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
Institution:
Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
Abstract:
No abstract is available.
Topic:
Politics and Non State Actors
Political Geography:
United Kingdom, Middle East, India, and Belgium

6. How to Save the Euro - and the EU

Author:
Henry Farrell and John Quiggin
Publication Date:
05-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Foreign Affairs
Institution:
Council on Foreign Relations
Abstract:
The European Union is in danger of compounding its ongoing economic crisis with a political crisis of its own making. Over the last year, crises of confidence have hit the 17 EU members that in the years since 1998 have given up their own currencies to adopt the euro. For the first decade of this century, markets behaved as though the debt of peripheral EU countries, such as Greece and Ireland, was as safe as that of core EU countries, such as Germany. But when bond investors realized that Greece had been cooking its books and that Ireland's fiscal posture was unsustainable, they ran for the door. The EU has stopped the contagion from spreading -- for now -- by creating the European Financial Stability Facility, which can issue bonds and raise money to help eurozone states. Together with the International Monetary Fund, the European Financial Stability Facility has already lent Greece and Ireland enough money to cover their short-term needs. But such bailouts are only stop-gap measures. Portugal and Spain, and to a lesser extent Belgium and Italy, remain vulnerable to pressure from bondholders. Portugal is likely to receive 50-100 billion euros over the next few months. But should Spain also need a bailout -- which could cost as much as 600 billion euros -- the 750 billion euro European Financial Stability Facility would soon be exhausted. In that event, the main euro creditors, primarily British, French, and German banks, might have to accept so-called haircuts, substantial cuts in the principals of their loans. (The banks' tax-avoidance strategies might inflate this total, but the Bank for International Settlements has estimated that the exposure of British, French, and German banks to the group of vulnerable debtor states referred to as the PIGS -- Portugal, Ireland, Greece, and Spain -- amounted to more than $1 trillion in mid-2010.) Encouraged by Germany, some of the states in difficulty have sought to placate bond markets by making ruthless cuts in government spending. But as many economists have pointed out, these measures are hindering growth without satisfying bondholders that their money is safe; bondholders worry that these measures are not politically sustainable. In fact, they are likely to undermine Europe's political union.
Political Geography:
Europe, Greece, Germany, Belgium, and Ireland

7. Guest Editor's Note

Author:
Talip Küçükcan
Publication Date:
03-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Insight Turkey
Institution:
SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:
Migration and settlement of Turks and Muslims in Europe since the 1960s irrevocably changed the social, cultural, religious and demographic landscape of European societies by transforming them into ethnically more heterogeneous and diverse political communities. It is estimated that Muslims currently constitute approximately 5.2 per cent of Europe's total inhabitants, which is home to 38 million Muslims. Of these, 13million live within the European Union, but they are spread out over the continent. There are about 4.5 million Muslims in France, Germany hosts almost 4 million Muslims, and the United Kingdom is home to 1.6 million Muslims. Italy, the Netherlands and Spain each have just over half a million Muslims, while smaller countries such as Austria, Sweden and Belgium have less than half a million. Turks constitute the largest Muslim immigrant community in Europe with an estimated number of 4.6million.
Topic:
Migration
Political Geography:
Europe, France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Netherlands, and Austria

8. Individualization and Institutionalization of Islam in Europe in the Age of Securitization

Author:
Ayhan Kaya
Publication Date:
03-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Insight Turkey
Institution:
SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:
This article discusses a new social and political phenomenon in Europe, which has become evident along with the visibility of Islam in the European public space. Revealing the current social-political context in Western Europe, which is mainly characterized by a growing drift of securitization of Islam and migration, this paper argues that there are two simultaneously running processes regarding the changing nature of Euro-Islam, which seem to are antithetical: individualization of Islam vs. institutionalization of Islam. Drawing upon the findings of the field research in Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands, this article shows that while the processes of globalization seem to prompt younger generations with Muslim background to liberate themselves from the constraints of their patriarchal parental and community culture, western states as well as ethnocultural and religious brokers tend to reify, or reinforce, their existing communal and religious boundaries. That is to say that the descendants of migrants seem to have been squeezed between individualization and institutionalization of Islam.
Topic:
Islam and Migration
Political Geography:
Europe, France, Germany, Belgium, and Netherlands

9. Role of Turkish Islamic Organizations in Belgium: The Strategies of Diyanet and Milli Görüş

Author:
Zeynep Yanaşmayan
Publication Date:
03-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Insight Turkey
Institution:
SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:
Immigration of Turkish guestworkers to Western European countries in the 1960s and 1970s laid the ground for the emergence of various transnational religious organizations. This paper examines transnational organizations of Turkish origin that gained major support and membership in their host societies. Drawing upon a case study on Turks in Belgium, it shows that in the last four decades these organisations went through various transformations depending on the dynamics in their respective immigrant communities, host societies and countries of origin. This essay captures the role and selfadaptation process of Turkish Islamic organisations vis-à-vis the changing environment both in their host countries and countries of origin. It focuses on two Turkish transnational organisations in Belgium: The Islamic Federation of Belgium (IFB) and the Turkish Islamic Foundation of Belgium (TIFB). This essay concludes that political structure in the countries of origin constantly induces transnational organizations to further adopt and position themselves according to changing circumstances.
Topic:
Environment and Islam
Political Geography:
Turkey, Belgium, and Western Europe

10. Understanding "Spanglish" and "Flemch": A Comparative Analysis of American and Belgian Language Politics

Author:
Urvashi Wattal
Publication Date:
01-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Macalester International
Institution:
Macalester College
Abstract:
Globalization has been defined by various scholars, such as David Harvey and Ulrich Beck, as a rapid dissemination of information, ideas, and even people across the world. The process of globalization is witnessed on various platforms, including the economic, the political, and the cultural. Under pressure from global forces and institutions, the role of traditional nation-states is continuously being challenged. A prime example of such a force is the increasing influence of the European Union (EU) in shaping domestic policies within its member states. Globalization has not only made the world smaller in a technological sense, it has also highlighted issues of conflict and resurgent nationalism, while at the same time furthering the cause of Cosmopolitanism.
Political Geography:
America, Europe, and Belgium

11. Initiation of the Consortium by US Secretary of Defense William Cohen during an intervention at the meeting of the Euro - Atlantic Partnership Council Defence Ministers (EAPC-D) in Brussels, Belgium, on June 12, 1998.

Author:
William Cohen
Publication Date:
06-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Connections
Institution:
Partnership for Peace Consortium of Defense Academies and Security Studies Institutes
Abstract:
Our ultimate goal for the 21st century should be a cooperative security network of Allies and Partners, with PFP as the cornerstone. Therefore, we must remain steadfast in our commitment to PFP's evolution as an independent framework for European security, worthy of membership in its own right, as well as its preparatory role for Alliance membership for those who desire it. While PFP will remain a primary vehicle for preparing aspiring NATO members for the military obligations that Alliance membership entails, it is not just a stepping stone and should not be portrayed simply in these terms. In other words, PFP is not a means to an end. It is an end in itself. As we continue the process begun in 1991 of recognizing that new challenges mean new missions for the Alliance, we should always look for opportunities for Partner participation in those missions. Thus the increasing role of Partners should be reflected in the updated Strategic Concept.
Topic:
Security and NATO
Political Geography:
Belgium

12. Report by Swiss Federal Councillor Adolf Ogi on the results of the Consortium's first conference to the EAPC-D in Brussels, Belgium, on 18 December 1998

Publication Date:
06-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Connections
Institution:
Partnership for Peace Consortium of Defense Academies and Security Studies Institutes
Abstract:
During the EAPC Meeting of Defence Ministers of 12 June 1998, US Secretary of Defence Cohen proposed the creation of a PfP Consortium of defence academies and civilian institutes of security studies. This Consortium should serve to strengthen defence civilian and military professionalism through enhanced institutional cooperation among the forty-four EAPC member states in defence education and training. Its activities should include an annual conference, a dedicated Internet website, a secretariat, and a journal or other appropriate publication to further its goals.
Political Geography:
United States, Belgium, and Brussels

13. Cyprus: The Belgian 'Tool Box' Revisited

Author:
Ergün Olgun and Dirk Rochtus
Publication Date:
09-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Insight Turkey
Institution:
SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:
Bi-ethnic Belgium has skillfully developed cooperation and concertation arrangements which meet even the EU's rigid "one voice" requirement, taking into consideration the continuing increase in the powers and functions of its regions and communities. Belgium consequently offers a huge box of tools, particularly to bi-ethnic or multi ethnic partnership states. Probably the most distinguishing differences between Cyprus and Belgium are the chronic conflictual relationship between the two ex-partner peoples of Cyprus, and the absence there of a common vision of co-existence and equal power-sharing. If the two sides in Cyprus could be incentivized enough to sincerely opt for equal partnership, the Belgian multi-tier governance experience, despite some significant differences between the two lands, could still offer some practical lessons from which eager parties in Cyprus could benefit.
Political Geography:
Belgium and Cyprus

14. In Search of a European Dimension in the UN Security Council

Author:
Bart Kerremans, Edith Drieskens, and Daniele Marchesi
Publication Date:
09-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The International Spectator
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
Both Belgium and Italy want to give their current mandate in the UN Security Council a European dimension. Yet, the conclusion that they are natural partners in doing so may be premature. Before focussing on Belgian and Italian objectives, the article presents the current state of the ongoing reform processes in Brussels and New York and of EU actorness in the Security Council more generally, as both are critical for estimating the prospects for a stronger European profile. It concludes by discussing the possibilities and constraints that the non-permanent members face within this framework.
Topic:
Security
Political Geography:
New York, Europe, Belgium, Italy, and Brussels

15. Political Offence and Terrorism in Belgium: from Noble to Vile

Author:
Martin Moucheron
Publication Date:
01-2006
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Cultures & Conflits
Institution:
Cultures & Conflits
Abstract:
The 19th December 2003 law inserting specific terrorist infractions in the penal Code sets a new step in the evolution of the political offence in Belgium: the "political" moral element in the definition of those infractions has indeed been conceived as an aggravating circumstance, opposing in that way the principle of the "régime de faveur" (preferential treatment) established by the newborn Belgium and progressively restricted in its application. At a larger scale, this "de-politization" of the political offence through terrorism can lead to contemporary governmentality and democratic model which seem to induce an exclusion of ideology out of the field of what Foucault calls "the conditions of true and false". La loi du 19 décembre 2003 inscrivant au Code pénal des infractions terroristes spécifiques marque une nouvelle étape dans l'évolution du délit politique en Belgique. En effet, l'élément moral « politique » retenu dans la définition de ces infractions est conçu comme une circonstance aggravante, et contredit ainsi le principe du régime de faveur établi aux premières heures de la Belgique et progressivement restreint dans son application. Plus largement, cette « dé-politisation » du délit politique à travers le terrorisme renvoie à la gouvernementalité et au modèle démocratique contemporains, qui semblent induire une exclusion de l'idéologie hors du champ de ce qui constitue, selon Foucault, les « conditions du vrai et du faux ».
Topic:
Terrorism
Political Geography:
Europe, France, and Belgium