A Throne in Brussels [Hardcover]

Paul Belien (Author)

Book Description

Release date: May 1, 2005 | ISBN-10: 184540033X | ISBN-13: 978-1845400330

Paul Belien argues that the pan-European super-state currently in the making will resemble a 'Greater Belgium' rather than a 'Greater Switzerland', since Europe will also be an artificial construct. Belgium has infected EU political attitudes and acts as a model for the EU -- a failed attempt to'construct a nation' out of different peoples with separate languages and traditions. To learn what the EU as a single state might be like, take up this highly readable mix of history, analysis and warning. You'll never feel the same about Belgium or Europe again.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An extremely well-written, penetrating historical analysis" -- Lord Ralph Harris

"If you read only one book on Belgium, make it this one." -- Daniel Hannan MEP

"Paul Belien writes with ease and erudition, and mounts an unanswerable case." -- Roger Scruton

"The Belgianisation of Europe is a real threat." -- Lord William Rees-Mogg

"This is a fascinating book after which I cannot but see the Belgian royal family in a completely new light." -- Hugo Vickers

About the Author

Paul Belien is a Master of Law, with specialisations in European and Social Security law (University of Ghent) and has a PhD in International Studies (University of Buckingham). He is the founder of the Brussels-based Centre for the New Europe (CNE) and worked for two decades as a professional journalist. His articles have appeared in various British and American publications, such as the Spectator, the Wall Street Journal and many others.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Imprint Academic (May 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 184540033X
• ISBN-13: 978-1845400330
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,124,214 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 51 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Unauthorized history of Belgium and its royals June 8, 2005

By Luc Van Braekel

Format:Hardcover

This book comes in three layers: it is about the Belgian royal family of Saxe-Coburg, but also about Belgian political history and about European integration. The message that the author brings is that a federal Europe will go the same way as Belgium: a state without a real national identity, held together by opportunism, corruption and the cultivation of a non-identity. But don't expect a long philosophical treatise: this is a book packed with facts, anecdotes and stories about politics, about royal love stories and about royal business and financial ventures. The moral lesson is explained in the preface and in the last paragraphs of the book.

The author is a Eurosceptic and a proponent of the secession of Flanders from Belgium. But even if you are not a Eurosceptic nor a secessionist, you will find this unauthorized history of Belgium and its royals very interesting and amusing. You will learn from this book how a monarchy can sustain an artificial state and what the drawbacks and dangers of this type of government are.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The First True History of Belgium August 5, 2009

By David Baeckelandt

Format:Hardcover

This book is the most honest history of Belgium I have read. For once things that are taboo to the Belgian establishment - the role of Lafayette in the establishment of Belgium; the coup by radical refugees from France that established this artificial state; the scandals around King Leopold I of Belgium (and his successors); etc. - are finally exposed. This is history that reads like fiction. And it is the history necessary to understand the current issues between the Flemings and the Walloons. The pace is fast but the scholarly detective work (and thorough citations) also make this a ready reference tool. The title is a bit of a misnomer because in fact this is truly a revisionist history of Belgium.

5.0 out of 5 stars A Case for Flanders May 1, 2013

By Carl Robinson

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

A Throne in Brussels is a book that argues that Belgium is not a nation in any real sense of the word, but instead is an artificial construction that holds together two wholly separate people-the Flemings and the Walloons. These two people have had radically different economic histories. The Walloons industrialized first, but have since stagnated. The Flemings started as poor agrarians but today are the vanguard for Belgium's economic development. The author, Paul Belien, argues that the Flemish should leave Belgium and become an independent people.

Belien's organizes his arguments by discussing Belgian history through segmenting it by the reigns of Belgium's Kings. Every lurid tale whispered about the Royal House is mentioned. Much is also made of Walloon "rip-offs" against the Flemings through taxes and welfare state transfer programs. King Leopold III, the reigning monarch during the German Occupation of Belgium is especially criticized.

Belien successfully argues that Belgium's monarchs and political elite are corrupt, self-serving, and damaging to the Flemish. He also argues that Belgium's political culture of a rapacious elite, ruling an artificial state, has seeped in to the European Union. He explores the idea that Moslem/North African immigration into Belgium is a weapon used by the Belgium state to displace the Flemings.

This book is a stunning read! It is well written, easy to follow, and highly persuasive. It would go well with a book about Belgium from the point of view of the Walloons.