Suchergebnisse

Most studies of Belgian pillarization have focused on what is considered to be the central feature of the phenomenon: the interweaving of religion & secular activities. This approach met with difficulties, however, when confronted with the continuous growth of the pillars in the 1960s & 1970s, a time of rapid secularization. Therefore, another approach has been developed, which sees a structural characteristic as the main feature of pillarization: the formation & growth of large organizational complexes or intricate aggregates of mutually related organizations. To study such organizational networks, notions are adopted from the field of institutional economics in its analysis of the evolution of large-scale industrial enterprises. The specific character of multicompany systems lies in the development of two strategies: product diversification & vertical integration of firms. A similar strategic behavior can be observed in the life of the Belgian pillars & may be considered as a proper explanation of their paradoxical growth in a time of secularization. AA

Focus is given to studies on Belgian politics which have been published in the US & Britain between 1965 & 1975. Special emphasis is on works by V. R. Lorwin, D. Urwin, A. Zolberg, & M. O. Heisler. These studies have added considerable insights, findings, & hypotheses to knowledge of political processes in Belgium. This is probably due to 3 characteristics which mark most of these studies: (1) a strong tendency toward comparative analysis, (2) the use of fruitful theoretical concepts, & (3) the use of sophisticated techniques for handling empirical data. Modified HA.