Abstract

This article deals with the question why the war in Yugoslavia was hardly an issue in Belgian politics and society. We analyze how the conflict was framed in the newspapers, by opinion-leaders and by the peace movement. We also reconstruct the parliamentary debate: what parliamentary initiatives were taken and which framing of the conflict dominated the discussions. We conclude that the Belgian debate was largely dominated by the realist frame. This was probably a result of the presence of Belgian UN-soldiers in the conflict-zone, of the fact that the peace movement was divided and concentrated on other issues, and of the fact that the interventionist frame was claimed by the extreme rightwing Vlaams Blok party.