Governance And Politics Of The Netherlands, Second Edition (comparative Government And Politics (hardcover))

The assassination of Pim Fortuyn and his party's dramatic gains in the May 2002 general election made Dutch politics front page news around the world. The collapse of the party he founded, however, was as rapid as its rise, leading to equally dramatic changes in 2003. This revised and updated new edition of the leading text looks behind the headlines to provide a comprehensive introduction to governance and politics in the Netherlands. The authors explore the causes, impact and advantages and disadvantages of the quest for consensus, which remains its most striking characteristic, and provide full coverage of recent developments and events. Cover......Page 1 Contents......Page 8 List of Maps, Boxes, Figures and Tables......Page 12 Preface to the Second Edition......Page 14 Preface to the First Edition......Page 16 A 'small' country......Page 18 The struggle against the water......Page 20 The boundaries of language and religion......Page 22 The political boundary......Page 23 Constitutional development......Page 26 Minorities......Page 36 Two cleavages......Page 39 Pillarization......Page 40 Consociational democracy......Page 45 Alternative interpretations......Page 50 Depillarization......Page 53 The absence of new cleavages......Page 56 The consequences of depillarization......Page 58 Parties and consociational democracy......Page 62 The numerical criterion......Page 63 Party families......Page 65 Christian Democrats......Page 66 Socialists......Page 68 Liberals......Page 70 A particular shade of Green......Page 71 Populist/extreme right......Page 72 Other parties......Page 73 Dimensionality......Page 74 Party organization......Page 79 Party membership......Page 82 Party finances......Page 84 Campaign finance......Page 87 A decline of parties?......Page 88 Political participation......Page 91 Few shall be chosen......Page 94 The simple act of voting......Page 95 Absence of geographical representation......Page 97 Extreme proportionality......Page 99 Reforming the electoral system......Page 100 Candidate selection......Page 105 Campaigning......Page 109 Television and election campaigns......Page 111 From a structured to an open model......Page 114 Ideology and issues......Page 117 Economy......Page 122 Party leaders......Page 123 The (wo)man or the message?......Page 125 Conclusion......Page 126 Building the governing coalition......Page 127 Procedures of cabinet formation......Page 128 Critique and attempts at reform......Page 132 Coalition theory and Dutch cabinets......Page 135 The position of prime minister......Page 139 The politicization of the core executive......Page 142 Separation of powers within a parliamentary system......Page 147 The structure of parliament......Page 149 Parliamentary procedures......Page 153 From institution to arena......Page 156 Parliament as a marketplace......Page 159 The coexistence of institution, arena and marketplace......Page 160 Parliament and the people......Page 164 Corporatism......Page 166 Organized interests......Page 167 PBO and advisory councils......Page 169 Changes in corporatism......Page 171 The sources of corporatism......Page 173 The bureaucracy......Page 176 Judicial policy-making......Page 181 Conclusion......Page 187 Provincial government......Page 189 Local government......Page 191 Europeanization......Page 196 Strengthening coordination......Page 197 Strengthening the core executive......Page 201 A double democratic deficit......Page 203 Between Dutch disease and Dutch miracle......Page 204 Open economy......Page 205 The Dutch disease......Page 208 The Dutch miracle......Page 213 Reducing wage costs and creating jobs......Page 214 Other curative measures......Page 216 New challenges......Page 218 Conclusion......Page 221 The constants of Dutch foreign policy......Page 222 Farewell to Atlanticism?......Page 223 European integration vs Atlantic orientation?......Page 227 Interests vs idealism?......Page 232 The ambitions of a small player......Page 235 Fragmentation and horizontal coordination......Page 237 The consequences of consensus......Page 239 Public confidence in the political system......Page 242 Attempts at reform......Page 245 The future of consensus government......Page 249 Further Reading......Page 253 Bibliography......Page 257 B......Page 271 C......Page 272 D......Page 273 F......Page 274 I......Page 275 L......Page 276 O......Page 277 P......Page 278 S......Page 279 V......Page 280 Z......Page 281 Long a paragon of political stability, the Netherlands was jolted by the sudden emergence of the populist politician Pim Fortuyn and his assassination in 2002.In this fully revised and updated new edition of this leading text, Rudy B. Andeweg and Galen A. Irwin discuss both the causes and the consequences of 'the long year of 2002', as well as the many proposals for reform that ensued and the key challenges facing Dutch consensus politics in the future.The authors start by providing a historical perspective on the events and processes which helped mould a 'country of minorities' divided into an array of religious and class segments into a stable system of what Arend Lijphart called 'consociational democracy'. They assess Lijphart's model in the light of developments since the 1960s providing a broad overview of the present Dutch political system. Particular attention is paid to the complicated process of Cabinet formation and to the relationship between Cabinet and Parliament and between parties and citizens. The authors also discuss the pendulum swings of the economy between the 'Dutch miracle' and the 'Dutch disease', focusing on the corporatist structures of socio-economic policy-making that constitute the so-called 'polder model'. The pragmatic approach of Dutch society to issues such as euthanasia and drugs, as well as the uneasy combination of Atlanticism and EU membership in Dutch foreign policy, are also given full coverage.Clearly and accessibly written, Governance and Politics of the Netherlands provides a comprehensive and reliable introduction to a country whose small size belies its importance in comparative political analysis. The assassination of Pim Fortuyn and his party's dramatic gains in the May 2002 general election made Dutch politics front page news around the world. The collapse of the party he founded, however, was as rapid as its rise leading to equally dramatic changes in 2003. This revised and updated new edition of this marketleading text looks behind the headlines to provide a comprehensive introduction to governance and politics in The Netherlands. The authors explore the causes, impact and advantages and disadvantages of the quest for consensus, which remains its most striking characteristic, and pr Providing a comprehensive introduction to governance and politics in the Netherlands, this work includes accounts of the management of the economy and the liberalization of euthanasia The Netherlands comprises an area of land with a surface area of some 42000 square kilometres located on the North Sea around the Rhine/Meuse estuary. Rudy B. Andeweg And Galen A. Irwin. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 236-253) And Index.