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Comment by jacquesm

5 days ago

Belgium absolutely is a nation state. They're as sovereign as the United States is. In some ways more sovereign.

6 comments

jacquesm

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jcranmer  5 days ago

If we're being pedantic, the US is not a nation-state (because the US doesn't really have a coherent "nation"), and I suspect for similar reasons you could claim that Belgium is not a coherent nation either, given the Flemish/Walloon divisions in the state.

That said, a lot of people use nation state as a synonym for sovereign state, and Belgium is as much a sovereign state as the US is.

  • jacquesm  5 days ago

    Belgium actually obeys their constitution, they're capable of reigning in excesses. Yes, the four (not two) language areas (Vlaanderen, Wallonia, the German area and the twin language area of Bruxelles) of the country are a massive complication, but I actually really like how they manage to get along in spite of it.

    There are many other countries in Europe (and outside of it) that are multi-lingual and for the most part having a single language is not a core requirement for being a nation state.

tengwar2  5 days ago

Belgium is a state, and not a nation. "Nation state" has a specific meaning, separate from "state". Belgium has two major cultural groups (Walloon and Flemish) who tend to be at odds with each other, hence is not a nation. Contrast Kurdistan, which is a nation but not a state.

  • jacquesm  5 days ago

    If you want to get really pedantic then Belgium is a 'multinational state'.

    • tengwar2  5 days ago

      This isn't about pedantry, it's about not using a phrase incorrectly and through doing so giving misinformation. Pedantry might be pointing out that "foot pedal" is redundant - all pedals are foot-operated by definition. That wouldn't matter because the meaning is unaltered by the redundancy. However saying that Belgium (or the USA) is a nation state is simply incorrect.