Greater Netherlands

Greater Netherlands (Dutch: Groot-Nederland) is an irredentist concept which unites the Netherlands, Flanders, and sometimes Brussels. Additionally, a Greater Netherlands state may include the annexation of the French Westhoek, Suriname, formerly Dutch-speaking areas of Germany and France, or even the ethnically Dutch and/or Afrikaans-speaking parts of South Africa, though such variants are mostly limited to far-right groups. A related proposal is the Pan-Netherlands concept, which includes Wallonia and potentially also Luxembourg.

The Greater Netherlands concept was originally developed by Pieter Geyl, who argued that the "Dutch tribe", encompassing the Flemish and Dutch people, only separated due to the Eighty Years' War against Spain in the 16th century. While Geyl—an outspoken anti-fascist—argued from a historical and cultural perspective, the fascist Verdinaso and Nazi movements built upon the idea of a Greater Netherlands during the 1930s and 1940s with a focus on ethnic nationalism, a concept still prominent among some on the far-right. Other 21st century proponents of the Greater Netherlands concept include moderates in Belgium and the Netherlands who seek to elevate the Benelux ideal to a more centralized political union.

Public support for a union of Flanders and the Netherlands is relatively small, especially in Flanders, where Flemish independence is seen as the main alternative to the Belgian state.