Federalism, Nationalism and Social Policy Decentralization in Canada and Belgium

Abstract: This article looks at the relationship between federalism, sub-state nationalism and social policy in Canada and Belgium up to the early 2000s. It argues that nationalism represents a powerful force for the decentralization of social policy since it seeks to make the national community congruent with the community of redistribution. Nationalist mobilization over social policy is occurring in both Québec and Flanders, although there are ideological and programmatic differences between the two nationalist movements. The article also shows how the consequences of these patterns of mobilization are conditioned by the institutional context. In Canada, the competitive nature of federal/provincial relations and the statist nature of social programmes (i.e. absence of 'social partners' other than the state involved in their management) explain why there has been decentralization of social policy towards Québec whereas consensual decision making and Bismarckian social insurance arrangements have created strong institutional obstacles to comprehensive social policy decentralization in Belgium.