| Abstract | The main goal of the special issue on ‘the interplay between collective memory and the erosion of nation states: The paradigmatic case of Belgium’ is to examine the erosion of the Belgian State as an exemplary illustration of the way memories of past events can influence current attitudes, emotions, representations and behaviours. We believe that the recent political crisis in Belgium, with no government for more than one year after the 2010 general elections, could be partly illuminated by the diverging and sometimes contradictory memories each linguistic group (Dutch- vs. French-speakers) in Belgium holds about the past. These issues will be examined through different disciplines from the social sciences and humanities: social psychology, history, psychoanalysis, political sciences, and literature.
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