Governments in Belgium

Executives play a crucial role in maintaining stability in Belgum’s deeply divided society. They ensure representation and cooperation across communities, and balance diverse interests. In particular, coalition governments foster compromise in a fragmented party system, preventing dominance by any single community. This chapter presents an overview of existing research on the various steps in the process of coalition formation at the federal and regional levels, from drafting agreements to portfolio allocation, to ministerial appointment and parliamentary validation, stressing the importance of political parties and individual actors in this process. Research has shown that coalition formation has grown increasingly complex due to linguistic divides, party system fragmentation, and multilevel governance, with recent coalitions involving up to seven parties. The chapter also reviews studies on the composition and functioning of governments in Belgium, as well as cabinet (in-)stability and resignations. Finally, it reflects on avenues for future research on governments in Belgium.