Rediscovering Europe in the Netherlands - St Antony's College ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

civil society 1. Representation of societal interests and views. This requires, among other things, a society which is sufficiently independent and diverse to guarantee a balanced input into Dutch eu policy; it also requires that the European dimension forms an integral part of the activities of civil society organisations and that they focus on the national actors in the European decision making process (and not purely on the European Commission, for example). The representativeness of civil society organisations is also important here. 2. Demanding accountability from politicians and government officials. This requires that civil society organisations operate at some distance from politicians and government officials. For example, are they able to force politicians and government officials to explain and defend their positions? 3. Helping to determine the content of Dutch eu policy. This requires a certain degree of openness on the part of politicians and government officials to influence the views held in civil society, but it also requires that civil society organisations make an effort not only to articulate positions but also to ensure that they are actually reflected in policy. This may mean, for example, that coalitions with other organisations are sought that share particular positions in order to ensure that their own voices are better and more often heard. 121 A number of characteristics of and developments in Dutch civil society are discussed in the next section (5.2), with attention given to the relationship, firstly, with its politicians and government officials and, secondly, with its citizens. The impact these factors have on the involvement of civil society and Dutch eu policy is then discussed (section 5.3), followed by an exploration of the perspectives for politicians and government officials in the future (section 5.4). Finally, the conclusion discusses the contribution that civil society has made with regard to eu policy legitimisation in the Netherlands from the perspective of the four aspects of legitimacy adopted in this study: representation, accountability, results and identification. 5.2 civil society and its relationship to politicians, government officials and citizens 5.2.1 civil society in relation to politicians and government officials A number of terms and definitions are generally used to describe the social relationships and structures which are the central focus of this chapter. 2 Concepts such as ‘civil society’, ‘civil society organisations’ and ‘third
ediscovering europe in the netherlands sector’ 3 are terms that are used to describe more or less the same phenomenon, though sometimes with a slightly different scope or accent. For the purposes of this chapter, however, an open approach is more appropriate for exploring the possibilities for improving eu policy legitimisation in the Netherlands. This also matches the current social reality, in which it is not only more difficult to distinguish these relationships from the government, but also from ‘the market’ (for example through the commercialisation of civil society institutions) and the private sector (due to the blurring of the boundary between ‘private’ and ‘public’). In this chapter, the term ‘civil society’ is used to describe a wide range of organisations and structures, such as trade unions, human rights and development organisations, environmental groups, consumer organisations and more informal relationships. Separate attention will be given to the media in the next chapter, in view of the specific logic of the action of the involved actors in that domain. 122 Some years ago the wrr, in its report on the future of the constitutional state (De toekomst van de nationale rechtsstaat), analysed the changes that Dutch civil society has undergone (wrr 2002). What emerged is that Dutch civil society organisations, especially since the 1960s and 70s, have focused primarily on socio-economic policy and consequently were active mainly in the various sectors of the welfare state (education, housing, welfare, etc.). This has to do with the specific structure of the Dutch political system of interest representation. 4 The Netherlands has traditionally been characterised by its corporatist ‘polder model’, in which the representation of interests and government advice in relation to socio-economic policy takes place mainly within a tripartite consultation structure involving the government and the two sides of industry (the ‘social partners’). Civil society organisations operating within the policy sectors related to the welfare state are thus closely involved in the formal decision making process, and generally also play a crucial role in the implementation policy. A key consequence of this is that civil society organisations are organised along rather strict sectoral lines which segregate them from one another. This implies that civil society in the Netherlands is not a single homogenous entity, but rather a collection of individual civil societies in the various sectors. In this respect, the Dutch situation is unique when compared to other member states (Dekker and Brandsen 2007). Civil society organisations are consequently generally well integrated into the policy columns in their own specific sector, but generally have little or no connection with civil society organisations from other sectors. This leads to sectoral segmentation, or even fragmentation of civil society.
Page 1 and 2:
Rediscovering Europe in the Netherl
Page 3 and 4:
The Netherlands Scientific Council
Page 5 and 6:
Cover illustration : © wrr Cover d
Page 7 and 8:
ediscovering europe in the netherla
Page 9 and 10:
8 rediscovering europe in the nethe
Page 11 and 12:
Page 13 and 14:
Page 15 and 16:
Page 17 and 18:
Page 19 and 20:
Page 21 and 22:
Page 23 and 24:
Page 25 and 26:
Page 27 and 28:
26 rediscovering europe in the neth
Page 29 and 30:
Page 31 and 32:
Page 33 and 34:
Page 35 and 36:
Page 37 and 38:
Page 39 and 40:
Page 41 and 42:
Page 43 and 44:
Page 45 and 46:
Page 47 and 48:
Page 49 and 50:
Page 51 and 52:
Page 53 and 54:
Page 55 and 56:
Page 57 and 58:
Page 59 and 60:
Page 61 and 62:
Page 63 and 64:
Page 65 and 66:
Page 67 and 68:
Page 69 and 70:
Page 71 and 72: ediscovering europe in the netherla
Page 73 and 74: 72 rediscovering europe in the neth
Page 91 and 92: 90 rediscovering europe in the neth
Page 121: ediscovering europe in the netherla
Page 137 and 138: 136 rediscovering europe in the net
Page 151 and 152: 150 rediscovering europe in the net
Page 173 and 174:
Page 175 and 176:
Page 177 and 178:
Page 179 and 180:
Page 181:
Following the negative 2005 referen
show all

Rediscovering Europe in the Netherlands - St Antony's College ...

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?