1830-2005 : 175 years of Belgian foreign policy and diplomacy

Abstract

The purpose of this dissertation is to analyse the foreign policy of Belgium since her independence. The major events will be reviewed and Belgian foreign policy will be seen from a long historical perspective in order to highlight the constant trends and the eventual variants. Despite her characteristics of a small state, Belgium has always made her voice heard in the international arena. Foreign policy making has been a central concern since the creation of the State. However, until the First World War a status of neutrality limited Belgium's actions on the international scene. The first part of the dissertation thus focuses on how Belgium interpreted her position in the world in relation to neutrality. Following the abrogation of imposed neutrality after the First World War, Belgium sought to enter into alliances with other countries. The second part of the dissertation aims to look at the evolution of the movement towards international cooperation and the European spirit of Belgian foreign policy. In fact, Belgium became one of the six founding countries of the European Union. She often played a key role in the process of European integration, trying to relaunch it on several occasions. Despite the modification in the status of Belgium and in the nature of her relations with other nations, the dissertation will argue that there are two main trends in Belgian foreign policy which are the protection of the commercial and economic interests of the country alongside the security dimension. The instances of inconsistency are the colonial projects in the Congolese basin and the advocacy of the principle of supranationality which applies to European construction.