David Van Reybrouck
is a Flemish writer, playwright and cultural historian based in Brussels. He is regarded as the most versatile among the younger generation of Belgian writers and his latest book Congo. A History has been awarded several prizes, including the AKO Literature Prize, Netherland's most prestigious literary award.
A longtime op-ed writer for the Flemish national newspaper De Morgen, Van Reybrouck edited a volume on the federal future of Belgium, Waar België voor staat (Facing Belgium, 2007) and the pamphlet Pleidooi voor populisme (A Plea for Populism, 2008). Van Reybrouck is also the founder of the Brussels Poetry Collective and in 2009 he initiated the Collective's most ambitious project so far: The European Constitution in Verse.
Initiator and one of the spokespersons of the democracy project G1000.
Eurozine Articles
G1000 Manifesto
If the politicians can't find a solution, let the citizens. On 11 November 2011, one thousand Belgian citizens will be brought together to discuss the future of their country. Eurozine publishes the manifesto of a pathbreaking experiment in deliberative democracy. [more]
Splitting up?
The re-nationalization of Europe
Perceived loss of sovereignty and rising hostility towards migrants are behind the nationalist revival in many EU member states. Yet in the countries of the former USSR, nationalism is associated with democratization. Can one talk in the same terms about contemporary nationalism in East and West? [more]
Is Belgium the test-bench for democracy 2.0?
Surreal rearguard state or foretaste of problems yet to come? David Van Reybrouck predicts that the underlying causes of Belgium's political crisis will repeat themselves throughout Europe as the new media call into question established democratic practices. [more]











