While having been wrongly neglected by scholars, René Magritte's 'La Réproduction Interdite' was painted in an important transitional period in the artist's life. Magritte was on the verge of...Show moreWhile having been wrongly neglected by scholars, René Magritte's 'La Réproduction Interdite' was painted in an important transitional period in the artist's life. Magritte was on the verge of separating from both the French and Belgian surrealist groups and developing his own art theory. This paper focuses on the causes of this transition, as well as identifying its main characteristics in 'La Réproduction Interdite'. These characteristics consist of external factors, which include the influences of the surrealist groups and the work's patron, Edward James, on the painting, in addition to internal influences, which includes Magritte's recently formulated art theory and new ideas.Show less
On the 24th of February,1848, the Belgian ambassador in London informed the English Foreign Minister Palmerston of the Belgian stance regarding the new developments in France. The ambassador told...Show moreOn the 24th of February,1848, the Belgian ambassador in London informed the English Foreign Minister Palmerston of the Belgian stance regarding the new developments in France. The ambassador told Palmerston that “a republican France was an aggressive and conquering France.” The memories of the French Revolutionary Wars and the subsequent Napoleonic Wars were still fresh in Europe. Had it not been a French Republic that had threatened the European Balance of Power, subduing the existing states and creating puppet states across the continent? A French Republic that had turned on its rightful king and deposed him before trying to subjugate the lawful order in Europe? The same Republic that had turned into an imperial power under the guidance of Napoleon the likes of which had not been seen since the days of Rome? The parallels to the events of 1789 had to have been frightening to the crowned heads of Europe and their governments. On the 24th, Frederick William IV of Prussia informed Victoria of Britain that he looked at France in fear of a new European war. In the newly formed nation of Belgium, the news of the new French Revolution was met with dread in governmental circles. In the Netherlands, the messages from the French capital of Paris were met with anticipation and uneasiness. When Tsar Nicholas heard of the news he reacted calmly, but immediately stated that Russia would march to war if any infractions were made on existing treaties. He also put a million more rubles at the disposal of the war ministry. Additionally, he wrote a letter to Victoria that a Russo-British union as discussed in 1844 may be needed to ensure stability in Europe. The general consensus at the time among the leaders of European nations was that war was inevitable. France was militarily, by virtue of its population, still one of the most powerful nations on the continent and if it would lead to war, it would mean untold destruction in a display that would appear to be a replica of the events that had happened a little over three decades ago. In the Low Countries, the subject of this thesis, the consequences of the Belgian Revolution of 1830 were still felt strongly. The Belgian Revolution had broken out after the July Revolution in Paris, that had seen the Orleanist take-over of France. It seemed likely that this new French Revolution, a Republican Revolution this time, would also move beyond the borders of France into the Low Countries and bring about another time of violence and war in Belgium and the Netherlands. Except history does not move in predictable patterns. Knowledge of the past does not make one a seer and although a war may have seemed inevitable, it was avoided nonetheless. The diplomatic crisis surrounding this new French Revolution however, is often downplayed in historical works, which have mostly focused on the spread of Revolution across the continent when discussing 1848. Yet, revolution and war were intrinsically linked at the time, especially if that revolution occurred in France. A Revolutionary France would mean a threat to European peace and the balance of power, but it was also a beacon for revolutionaries across the continent who felt supported by a Republican France that might come to their aid, militarily if need be. It may ultimately have been the case that no war in Europe erupted in 1848, but this does not mean that war had not loomed large over the governments of the Low Countries and Europe in general. A manifesto by the French Foreign minister of the Provisional Government Lamartine was sent to all the other courts of Europe one week after the initial Revolution in Paris. It had the intent of unlinking war and revolution (in France), because they were so intrinsically linked in the mind of the 19th century governments. The main objective of the manifesto was legitimising the rule of the Provisional Government and to make sure the reactionary powers would not see the new French Republic as an existential threat. The traumas of the French Revolutionary Wars were specifically addressed. If we consider Lamartine’s manifesto and the Belgian ambassador’s words, this parallel of revolution in France and war was very much on the minds of the contemporary players of the international game of diplomacy.Show less
Why do Member States, that are similar in many aspects, still have varying levels of compliance? As current compliance theories are unable to answer this question a new theory has been developed...Show moreWhy do Member States, that are similar in many aspects, still have varying levels of compliance? As current compliance theories are unable to answer this question a new theory has been developed that adds an historical aspect into compliance research: the challenging attitude approach. This theory proposes that earlier adopted attitudes by Member States, that range from agreeable to challenging, which they display before, during and after infringement proceedings, affect future compliance. Member States initially base these attitudes on a normative assumption about the importance of compliance to a policy field. For this research the Netherlands has been compared to Belgium, which yearly faces twice the amount of infringement proceedings as the Netherlands. Portugal has been to Spain, which faces from 10% more to twice the amount of infringement proceedings as Portugal. Their portrayed attitudes in regards to the Dangerous Substances Directive and the Birds Directive have been studied. This research showed, however, that Belgium did not adopt a challenging attitude more often than the Netherlands. Spain did adopt a challenging attitude more often than Portugal. There was also great variation displayed by Member States in adopted attitude per directive. However, there appears to be a correlation between adopted attitude and future compliance. More research is needed to make substantial claims about the challenging attitude approach.Show less
This thesis is about cultural transformation through migration between the Turkish district of Emirdağ and the diaspora in Belgium. In this research, the poems from Emirdağ and the poems from the...Show moreThis thesis is about cultural transformation through migration between the Turkish district of Emirdağ and the diaspora in Belgium. In this research, the poems from Emirdağ and the poems from the diaspora were analyzed using the qualitative research method narrative analysis. In the analysis, the reflection of cultural transformation through migration in Emirdağ's poetry has been observed. The results provide an insight into the migration culture and the outcomes of socio-cultural and economic transnationalism.Show less
The continuous urbanisation of our surroundings has led to an increase in environmental problems. In addition to the process of urbanisation negatively impacting the quality of our environment, it...Show moreThe continuous urbanisation of our surroundings has led to an increase in environmental problems. In addition to the process of urbanisation negatively impacting the quality of our environment, it also directly supports climate change. Consequently, the two major global trends lead to a notable increase in the unpredictability and magnitude of flooding hazards that can cause substantial damage to cities and their population. Though there are preliminary flood prevention strategies already in place, governments and policymakers struggle to formulate more integrated approaches and policies so as to fully prevent adverse consequences originating from extreme flooding events. This thesis studies the extreme pluvial floods that have severely affected many countries and regions in Western Europe, leading to economic decline, infrastructural damages, and loss of life. During two days in July 2021, the sudden appearance of these urban pluvial floods has left many countries such as Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands devastated by the destruction of their cities and villages as many areas were left submerged underwater. In an effort to understand the effectiveness of already existent adaptation plans and water management policies in averting potential flood events, this paper will provide a comparative analysis of said policies and plans for both the Netherlands and Belgium. Hence, their approach to water management policies will be investigated to evaluate the effectiveness of the measures implemented prior to the extreme urban floods, followed by an evaluation of the adaptations of these policies after the events.Show less
Individuals with high levels of need for cognitive closure (NFC) do not want to spend a lot of cognitive processing power to make decisions, preferring to quickly resolve problems, no matter the...Show moreIndividuals with high levels of need for cognitive closure (NFC) do not want to spend a lot of cognitive processing power to make decisions, preferring to quickly resolve problems, no matter the quality of the solution. High levels of NFC have been shown to correlate with environmentally unfriendly behavior. Based on this, we study NFC in relation to food waste intentions in participants from the USA and Belgium (N = 209). We hypothesize that people with higher levels of NFC also show a higher level of food waste intentions and take country of residence as a moderator. The model and the main effects turned out to be not significant. The limitations of the study design and directions for future research are given and explained.Show less
Despite the fact that the number of cybersecurity attacks in the EU and their impact have continued to increase in 2020 and 2021 (ENISA, 2021) and Belgium’s – the EU capital’s country – main...Show moreDespite the fact that the number of cybersecurity attacks in the EU and their impact have continued to increase in 2020 and 2021 (ENISA, 2021) and Belgium’s – the EU capital’s country – main cybersecurity governance organization’s effectiveness has been questioned in the past (Rondelez 2018), its new cybersecurity governance strategy from 2021 (CCB, 2021) has received little scholarly attention. This paper aims to assist in filling this literature gap and to provide information in the pursuit of creating the most appropriate networked (cybersecurity) governance model (e.g., Tagarev, 2020; Yusif & Hafeez-Baig, 2021) by performing qualitative research that applies Provan and Kenis (2008) their influential three models of network governance. This paper argues that the lead organization model convincingly fits the current Belgian cybersecurity landscape, largely because of the large, authoritative, and central role of the main organization: the Centre for Cybersecurity Belgium (CCB, n.d., 2021; VSSE, n.d.-a, n.d.-b). This confirms an earlier academic prediction from 2018 that the Belgian landscape would develop into a lead organization network (Rondelez, 2018).Show less
Een vergelijkend historisch onderzoek over de Nederlandse spoorwegstaking van 1903 en de Belgische algemene staking van 1902. De rol van de sociaaldemocratische partijen binnen deze...Show moreEen vergelijkend historisch onderzoek over de Nederlandse spoorwegstaking van 1903 en de Belgische algemene staking van 1902. De rol van de sociaaldemocratische partijen binnen deze stakingsbewegingen staat in deze scriptie centraal. De factoren die het gedrag van de sociaaldemocratische partijen verklaren worden in de scriptie uiteengezet.Show less
Over the last years, some member states of the European Union have been the target of terrorist attacks. The attacks in France and Belgium in 2015 and 2016 show that the fight against terrorism and...Show moreOver the last years, some member states of the European Union have been the target of terrorist attacks. The attacks in France and Belgium in 2015 and 2016 show that the fight against terrorism and specifically against the Islamic State (ISIS) is far from an end. The thesis aims to discuss if the difficulties faced by Belgium to deal with the issue could influence the adoption of an effective common anti-terrorist policy by member states and if this could be done through the development of CSDP. Could terrorist attacks and the insufficient capacity of Belgium in providing adequate counter-terrorism and intelligence services be considered situations significant enough which could lead to an agreement between member states about the development of an effective Common Security and Defense Policy which would benefit the whole EU? Social constructivism is used as the theoretical basis of this analysis.Show less
The French Senate is nowadays often presented by its critics as an institution that is conflicting with the principles of democracy. This raises questions about how this area of tension between...Show moreThe French Senate is nowadays often presented by its critics as an institution that is conflicting with the principles of democracy. This raises questions about how this area of tension between democracy and the second chamber has emerged and evolved throughout the history of the French political system. Bicameralism seems contradictory to the French political culture because the republican doctrine strongly believed in a single assembly. This research focuses on the first half of the French Third Republic (1870-1914) and investigates to what extend the Senate was considered to be compatible with democracy. How was it possible that a Senate -an institution that seemed to have lost its place in the French political landscape and was associated with aristocracy and conservative liberalism- obtained a place in the institutional framework of this republic which was so democratic for its time? In general, historians have shown little interest in upper houses. However, this thesis argues that in order to get a complete picture of the reasons behind the evolution of democratic institutions it is not enough to merely study political theory or constitutional law; one should also look at the reality of political practice. In order to understand how important historical events and national context in France were in shaping the debate about the relation between the Senate and democracy, the French case is put in an international comparative perspective with the discussions that took place around the same period in Belgium and The Netherlands. This research demonstrates that the French Senate of the Third Republic was not constructed against democracy, or simply as the representation of conservative forces. It rather was a very inventive chamber that served the interest of the Republican Party, promoted democracy and played an important role in the political education of the French countryside and its integration into the French nation. Secondly, it is argued that discussions about the legitimacy of the French upper house were to a very large extend determined by historical circumstances -such as the Boulanger crisis and the Dreyfus affair-, political opportunism, pragmatism, and specificities in the national political culture.Show less
