The Belgian electoral system is less prone to polarisation than many others, according to a Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) doctoral thesis on polarisation in democracies.
The study shows that polarisation has increased significantly and is putting many democracies under pressure.
It examined 36 democracies around the world to see how polarisation is related to the electoral system and the power relations that arise from it, using different calibrated data sets covering the period from 2000 to 2018.
It also distinguished between polarisation due to conflicting world views and polarisation due to identity issues.
“There are roughly two types of democracies," political science doctoral student Kamil Bernaerts explains in his study.
"On the one hand, you have consensual democracies that rely on proportional electoral systems and distribute power among as many social groups as possible," he says.
"On the other hand, you have majoritarian democracies, in which power is concentrated in the hands of the majority and only a few parties have electoral significance.”
Research shows that consensual democracies, such as Belgium, the Netherlands and the Scandinavian countries, are less polarised than majoritarian democracies, such as the United States or France.
Even though the Belgian political model is increasingly being criticised and major reforms are overdue, it still remains less polarised.
“We also find that consensual institutions are better able to combat hostile political or social camps than disputes over important political issues,” the researcher notes.
