Belgium and its immigrants: the missed policies.
(La Belgique et ses immigrés: Les politiques manquées. )

Collective work coordinated by M.-T. Coenen and R. Lewin

1997, Brussels (Belgium)

Book

French

- Tags for the period before 1974 : history of the migration movements in Belgium until 1974, date of the official stopping of immigration.
- Exile land in Belgium : sharing out and localization of immigrants in the areas and cities of Belgium.
- Social movements, parties and integration : analysis of the protest movements concerning political rights for immigrants ; integration policy of the authorities (namely for naturalization) ; pressure of far-right parties.
- Plea for a new citizenship. Chronicle of the right to vote in Belgium.
- Which political participation ?
- European construction and immigration policy.
- Work : from discrimination to equality of treatment.
- The action of trade unions.
- Social insertion and cultural expression. The policy of the French-speaking community.
- Under the media’s eye : the immigrants’ and immigration’s image in the media. The emergence of the « immigrant problem » in the media and the political discourse.
- Islam’s recognition and representation.
- Schooling : missed opportunities.

After a historical introduction, the analysis offered by this work starts in 1974, date of the official stopping of immigration. From that date on, crisis, unemployment, the lasting settling of immigrants and the birth of new generations imply to examine the existing policies towards foreign populations. Can we talk about an immigration policy or about integration or assimilation policies?
Published in 1997, this book offers a state of the issue which is interesting to study the evolution of the different themes broached and their actuality today: right to vote, integration and naturalization, role of Europe, culture and teaching, image in the media and the political discourse, etc.

Philippe Plumet

INFOREF

External expert. Project leader – Educational coordination unit « Democracy or barbarism », Ministery of French-speaking community in Belgium.