| This dissertation studies the effects of government centralization and decentralization on ethnic conflict in the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, and Belgium. In the last fifty years, each of these countries experienced increased pressure to centralize due to the expansion of the welfare state and the need to rebuild after World War II. At the same time, ethnic groups have often decried this centralization, noting that centrally-made plans often do not take minority concerns into account.; After detailing the diverse structures of these governments, this study focuses on the histories of a single ethnic group in each country: the Welsh in the United Kingdom, the Bretons in France, the Frisians in the Netherlands, and the German-speakers in Belgium. Each of these groups is a linguistic minority which makes up less than 10% of the population of the country as a whole. Each has also at some point in the last fifty years either agitated for or benefited from some attempts at government decentralization within their countries within the last fifty years. Though decentralization usually seems to alleviate ethnic tensions initially by allowing the ethnic groups some control over their own affairs, the effects do not seem to last. Usually, the decentralization eventually leads to new demands for more group-specific governance. On the other hand, more unitary governments that respect human rights and democracy seem to have fewer problems in the long run, as countries find ways to reconcile minority concerns with their own traditions. |
