Belgian Parliamentary Negotiations on the Colonial Past

Abstract This article investigates the negotiation process initiated by the establishment of a Special Commission within the Belgian Parliament in 2020, tasked with addressing the country’s colonial past. Based on two and a half years of fieldwork conducted within the Commission, the article traces how extensive negotiations, hearings, and meetings—both national and international—led to the signature of an ambitious pre-agreement, before the process ultimately collapsed in a complete and wholly unexpected failure. The analysis underscores how Belgium’s deeply rooted societal cleavages—left/right, Francophone/Dutch-speaking, Catholic/secular, monarchist/republican—shaped the process into a distributive and highly emotional conflict.