HOCO WEEK 1
The case of Belgium:
Belgium: should Christian education etc be funded by the state or not?
11,8 mln. Inhibitants: 60% dutch-speaking, 40% French-speaking
The case of Belgium: find out if a country want to split or stay together with another country.
How likely is a Flemish exit from Belgium: only about 12% of the Flemish (vlaanderen) people want
an ….
How can we find out by comparison?
We can learn from comparison if the split would be likely or not: je kan de redenen van een exit pas
echt herkennen als je vergelijkt met andere cases of exit: Belgium/Netherlands, Ireland/UK, etc.
Potentional comparative strategies to explain:
Comparing the diverse cases of exit: yet one re-appearing explanatory factor?: FINDING
ONE MAIN REASON
Goal: Look at many different cases where exit happened to see if there is one main reason that
explains them all.
Method: Choose exit cases that are different from each other (e.g., different places or times) and look
for a pattern. Is there one thing that keeps showing up as a cause?
Example: If you look at countries leaving trade agreements, you might find that, even if they are
different, a common reason is economic trouble.
Comparing cases of exit and non-exit: some difference in explanatory factors?: SPOTTING
DIFFERENCES
Goal: Compare cases where exit happened and where it didn’t to see what’s different.
Method: Check what factors exist in the exit cases but not in the non-exit ones. This helps find what
pushes a group or country to leave.
Example: If one country leaves a trade agreement but another stays, the reason could be that the one
that stays has stronger political stability or better economic conditions.
,Knowledge clip 1:
What is the state?
Max Webers (modern) term: The state is the human community that (successfully) claims the
monopoly of the legitimate use of violence within a given territory.
Historical term: The state is often used to reffere to a system of rules in some formal bureaucracy to
extract resources and to implement policies.
The logic of empires (for example the Roman empire) is different than a world of states: empires see
themselves as superior civilization (superieure beschaving) and therefore they allow themselves to
take over areas and to spread their civilization, violence is accepted to do this. For empires its
possible to inherently expanse.
On the other hand, states see each other as equal, there is equity among sovereign states.
Intervention in domestic politics (binnenlandse politiek) of other states is not allowed. Territorially
limited: state boundaries clearly defined and fixed.
War is an important driving force for political systems to take shape as states. Because war became
more and more expensive people had to pay higher taxes, so there was a higher taxation.
An essential thing for wars is to have soldiers, you can better use the population of a state and make
them willing to die for the country. That’s why states started to spread the idea that people belong to
a national community, a fatherland that should be defended, so that they would be loyal soldiers
that brought the idea of national-political communities within the framework of territorial states.
With the help of invented traditions, such as independence day uniformization of culture and
language, spread a feeling that people shared a common identity and destiny. This sense of unity and
belonging helped create a cohesive national identity, making individuals more willing to prioritize the
interests of the state over regional or personal allegiances. Through tools like education, media, and
national celebrations, states cultivated a shared cultural narrative that reinforced loyalty to the
nation-state: people in a territory became part of an imagined community a community where
people don’t know all the members, but still felt that they belonged to the people living in the same
political community.
A nation-state is a political and territorial entity where a nation coincides (samenvallen) with the
boundaries of a state. It combines:
1. Nation (a group with shared identity and culture).
2. State (a defined territory with a government and sovereignty).
, What is the nation? And what is nationalism?
Nation: political community with sense of communality, this sense of communality
(gemeenschappelijkheid) has also been defined is various ways:
o Ethnic nations: descent; culture; history ; etc.
o Civic nations ; values, rules and institutions
Later on, also nations demanding a state, based on principle of self-determination. This concept had
become known by the American Wilson, nations should liberate themselves by determining the
unpolitical faith?/ Wilson argued that self-determination could also mean more autonomy on
domestic affairs. Self-determination: the right of full independence of nations to become a state with
souvernty in international relations.
Nationalism: is essentially the idea that nation and state should be congruent (matching/in
agreement). In other words, people who see themselves as part of the same nation should live
together in one state. Here, the concept of a nation focuses on the reality of the group—the people
who already share common traits and a sense of unity. Nationalism argues that these groups should
have their own state to govern themselves.
What explains the emergence of the national state?
The national state emerged as a way to organize people and power in a specific territory. This
happened because of several reasons (deze punten worden niet specifiek in de kennisclip verteld):
1. Need for Control and Order: Leaders needed a way to manage their land, collect taxes, and
keep control over their people. A strong national state helped them do this.
2. Wars and Defense: States needed loyal armies to protect their borders. To create this loyalty,
they spread ideas of belonging to a nation—where people felt united by shared culture,
language, or history.
3. Economy and Trade: As trade and industries grew, states needed clear borders and rules to
make business easier. A national state provided this stability.
4. Identity and Unity: Over time, states encouraged people to feel part of a single group (a
nation) by creating shared traditions, languages, and symbols like flags or national holidays.
This made people feel more connected and loyal to the state.
These factors combined to make the national state the main way to organize power and
communities.
What is federalism?
In a unitary state (eenheidsstaat: staatsvorm waarin de macht en soevereiniteit voornamelijk bij de
centrale overheid liggen), sovereignty is concentrated in the central government, which holds the
authority to change the entire constitutional order unilaterally. However, this does not mean that the
central government retains control over all responsibilities. In fact, there has been significant
decentralisation in many democracies in the past decades: shift of responsibilities and authority from
centre to regional or local governments Devolution: granting legislative autonomy to one or more
region (devolution betekent dat een centrale overheid bepaalde wetgevende bevoegdheden
, overdraagt aan een of meer regio's binnen het land.). The ultimate authority still resides with the
central government, there is no need for agreement from regions to change the constitutional order.
Federal states:
self-rule (zelfbestuur) and shared rule (gedeeld bestuur): soevereignty is shared between two
autonomous levels of government, the central government and states/regions: de centrale overheid
(nationaal niveau) en de deelstaten of regio's (lokaal niveau). Both their competences
(bevoegdheden) are protected by written constitution. If both levels disagree about the institutional
order the supreme court arbitrates (als er conflicten ontstaan tussen de centrale overheid en de
deelstaten over wie ergens verantwoordelijk voor is, beslist een onafhankelijk hooggerechtshof of
constitutioneel hof). To change the political system there have to be an agreement by both levels.
Similarly to the concept of nation and nationalism, federation refers to the actual situation where
federalism is here the desire, the ideology to create and maintain a federal system.
Why federations?
o Working together to deal with external threat or strengthen international role: Federal
systems allow different regions or states to unite under one central government to handle
common challenges, such as defending against external threats or increasing their
influence in global affairs.
o Checks and balances on power: By dividing and sharing power between the central
government and regional governments, federal systems prevent any single level of
government from becoming too powerful.
o Preserving and protecting cultural diversity: Federalism allows different regions to
maintain their unique cultural identities while still being part of the larger state. For
example, in Belgium, where both Dutch (Flemish) and French are spoken
What is citizenship? And what is multiculturalism?
Citizenship: the membership of a political community, involving:
Rights: the rights that have been developed within national states (civil rights, political rights,
social rights, cultural rights/ecological rights sometimes)
Obligations: are duties or responsibilities that a person, group, or organization is required to
fulfill, such as tax liablity (the amount of money that a person is legally required to pay in
taxes to the government) a tax liability is an obligation because it’s enforced by law.
Participation
Identity
The link between state and territory is loosening in several ways, means that the traditional
connection between a country's borders (its territory) and its citizens (those who belong to the state)
is becoming less clear or less strict. This is happening in several ways, and it is changing how we
understand citizenship and rights. Here's a breakdown of this idea:
1. EU Citizenship and Transnational Rights:
People are no longer limited to the rights and privileges of just one country. For example,
with EU citizenship, a person from any EU member state can live, work, and enjoy rights in
any other EU country. This creates a transnational form of citizenship, where a person’s rights
are not bound by a single national territory but extend across borders.
The case of Belgium:
Belgium: should Christian education etc be funded by the state or not?
11,8 mln. Inhibitants: 60% dutch-speaking, 40% French-speaking
The case of Belgium: find out if a country want to split or stay together with another country.
How likely is a Flemish exit from Belgium: only about 12% of the Flemish (vlaanderen) people want
an ….
How can we find out by comparison?
We can learn from comparison if the split would be likely or not: je kan de redenen van een exit pas
echt herkennen als je vergelijkt met andere cases of exit: Belgium/Netherlands, Ireland/UK, etc.
Potentional comparative strategies to explain:
Comparing the diverse cases of exit: yet one re-appearing explanatory factor?: FINDING
ONE MAIN REASON
Goal: Look at many different cases where exit happened to see if there is one main reason that
explains them all.
Method: Choose exit cases that are different from each other (e.g., different places or times) and look
for a pattern. Is there one thing that keeps showing up as a cause?
Example: If you look at countries leaving trade agreements, you might find that, even if they are
different, a common reason is economic trouble.
Comparing cases of exit and non-exit: some difference in explanatory factors?: SPOTTING
DIFFERENCES
Goal: Compare cases where exit happened and where it didn’t to see what’s different.
Method: Check what factors exist in the exit cases but not in the non-exit ones. This helps find what
pushes a group or country to leave.
Example: If one country leaves a trade agreement but another stays, the reason could be that the one
that stays has stronger political stability or better economic conditions.
,Knowledge clip 1:
What is the state?
Max Webers (modern) term: The state is the human community that (successfully) claims the
monopoly of the legitimate use of violence within a given territory.
Historical term: The state is often used to reffere to a system of rules in some formal bureaucracy to
extract resources and to implement policies.
The logic of empires (for example the Roman empire) is different than a world of states: empires see
themselves as superior civilization (superieure beschaving) and therefore they allow themselves to
take over areas and to spread their civilization, violence is accepted to do this. For empires its
possible to inherently expanse.
On the other hand, states see each other as equal, there is equity among sovereign states.
Intervention in domestic politics (binnenlandse politiek) of other states is not allowed. Territorially
limited: state boundaries clearly defined and fixed.
War is an important driving force for political systems to take shape as states. Because war became
more and more expensive people had to pay higher taxes, so there was a higher taxation.
An essential thing for wars is to have soldiers, you can better use the population of a state and make
them willing to die for the country. That’s why states started to spread the idea that people belong to
a national community, a fatherland that should be defended, so that they would be loyal soldiers
that brought the idea of national-political communities within the framework of territorial states.
With the help of invented traditions, such as independence day uniformization of culture and
language, spread a feeling that people shared a common identity and destiny. This sense of unity and
belonging helped create a cohesive national identity, making individuals more willing to prioritize the
interests of the state over regional or personal allegiances. Through tools like education, media, and
national celebrations, states cultivated a shared cultural narrative that reinforced loyalty to the
nation-state: people in a territory became part of an imagined community a community where
people don’t know all the members, but still felt that they belonged to the people living in the same
political community.
A nation-state is a political and territorial entity where a nation coincides (samenvallen) with the
boundaries of a state. It combines:
1. Nation (a group with shared identity and culture).
2. State (a defined territory with a government and sovereignty).
, What is the nation? And what is nationalism?
Nation: political community with sense of communality, this sense of communality
(gemeenschappelijkheid) has also been defined is various ways:
o Ethnic nations: descent; culture; history ; etc.
o Civic nations ; values, rules and institutions
Later on, also nations demanding a state, based on principle of self-determination. This concept had
become known by the American Wilson, nations should liberate themselves by determining the
unpolitical faith?/ Wilson argued that self-determination could also mean more autonomy on
domestic affairs. Self-determination: the right of full independence of nations to become a state with
souvernty in international relations.
Nationalism: is essentially the idea that nation and state should be congruent (matching/in
agreement). In other words, people who see themselves as part of the same nation should live
together in one state. Here, the concept of a nation focuses on the reality of the group—the people
who already share common traits and a sense of unity. Nationalism argues that these groups should
have their own state to govern themselves.
What explains the emergence of the national state?
The national state emerged as a way to organize people and power in a specific territory. This
happened because of several reasons (deze punten worden niet specifiek in de kennisclip verteld):
1. Need for Control and Order: Leaders needed a way to manage their land, collect taxes, and
keep control over their people. A strong national state helped them do this.
2. Wars and Defense: States needed loyal armies to protect their borders. To create this loyalty,
they spread ideas of belonging to a nation—where people felt united by shared culture,
language, or history.
3. Economy and Trade: As trade and industries grew, states needed clear borders and rules to
make business easier. A national state provided this stability.
4. Identity and Unity: Over time, states encouraged people to feel part of a single group (a
nation) by creating shared traditions, languages, and symbols like flags or national holidays.
This made people feel more connected and loyal to the state.
These factors combined to make the national state the main way to organize power and
communities.
What is federalism?
In a unitary state (eenheidsstaat: staatsvorm waarin de macht en soevereiniteit voornamelijk bij de
centrale overheid liggen), sovereignty is concentrated in the central government, which holds the
authority to change the entire constitutional order unilaterally. However, this does not mean that the
central government retains control over all responsibilities. In fact, there has been significant
decentralisation in many democracies in the past decades: shift of responsibilities and authority from
centre to regional or local governments Devolution: granting legislative autonomy to one or more
region (devolution betekent dat een centrale overheid bepaalde wetgevende bevoegdheden
, overdraagt aan een of meer regio's binnen het land.). The ultimate authority still resides with the
central government, there is no need for agreement from regions to change the constitutional order.
Federal states:
self-rule (zelfbestuur) and shared rule (gedeeld bestuur): soevereignty is shared between two
autonomous levels of government, the central government and states/regions: de centrale overheid
(nationaal niveau) en de deelstaten of regio's (lokaal niveau). Both their competences
(bevoegdheden) are protected by written constitution. If both levels disagree about the institutional
order the supreme court arbitrates (als er conflicten ontstaan tussen de centrale overheid en de
deelstaten over wie ergens verantwoordelijk voor is, beslist een onafhankelijk hooggerechtshof of
constitutioneel hof). To change the political system there have to be an agreement by both levels.
Similarly to the concept of nation and nationalism, federation refers to the actual situation where
federalism is here the desire, the ideology to create and maintain a federal system.
Why federations?
o Working together to deal with external threat or strengthen international role: Federal
systems allow different regions or states to unite under one central government to handle
common challenges, such as defending against external threats or increasing their
influence in global affairs.
o Checks and balances on power: By dividing and sharing power between the central
government and regional governments, federal systems prevent any single level of
government from becoming too powerful.
o Preserving and protecting cultural diversity: Federalism allows different regions to
maintain their unique cultural identities while still being part of the larger state. For
example, in Belgium, where both Dutch (Flemish) and French are spoken
What is citizenship? And what is multiculturalism?
Citizenship: the membership of a political community, involving:
Rights: the rights that have been developed within national states (civil rights, political rights,
social rights, cultural rights/ecological rights sometimes)
Obligations: are duties or responsibilities that a person, group, or organization is required to
fulfill, such as tax liablity (the amount of money that a person is legally required to pay in
taxes to the government) a tax liability is an obligation because it’s enforced by law.
Participation
Identity
The link between state and territory is loosening in several ways, means that the traditional
connection between a country's borders (its territory) and its citizens (those who belong to the state)
is becoming less clear or less strict. This is happening in several ways, and it is changing how we
understand citizenship and rights. Here's a breakdown of this idea:
1. EU Citizenship and Transnational Rights:
People are no longer limited to the rights and privileges of just one country. For example,
with EU citizenship, a person from any EU member state can live, work, and enjoy rights in
any other EU country. This creates a transnational form of citizenship, where a person’s rights
are not bound by a single national territory but extend across borders.
