The Political Economy of the Transformation of Electoral Processes in Benelux Countries: A Crisis of Models?

This article examines the political economy of transforming electoral processes in the Benelux countries (Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg) and identifies signs of a “model crisis†in party- political structures. The aim of the study is to assess the key features of the crisis and changes in the electoral systems of the Benelux countries and to characterize the factors that prevent their destabilization. The paper identifies several features that could be considered key characteristics of the electoral systems of these countries. These include traditions of consociational democracy, a relatively high level of political participation, fragmentation of the party landscape, etc. It can be said that within these systems, symptoms of a rather serious crisis have emerged, including a gradual decline in satisfaction with democracy, a decline in trust in key institutions, the growing influence of right-wing populist forces, a rather serious and at the same time “new†polarization, and so on. Political-economic factors play a significant role in the formation of these symptoms: the growing influence of economic issues in the political process, the peculiarities of shaping rational political choice in new conditions, and imbalances between supply and demand in the political market. Despite these problems, the political systems of the Benelux countries have so far demonstrated a high degree of resilience. Key elements include the flexibility of political culture and the de facto formation of a “mass political consumer society,†continued high trust in elections, the institutionalized segmentation of the Belgian system, and the ability of traditional mechanisms to contain new dividing lines. Thus, despite the growing crisis phenomena and “new fault cleavages†in the political systems of the Benelux, their resilience has not yet been significantly undermined.