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

civil society
On top of this, the character of civil society has changed radically in recent
decades. Under pressure from various political, economic and social developments,
it has become more heterogeneous in terms of its profile, working
methods and relations to the government and citizens (wrr 2002). The
field of activity has expanded to policy sectors outside the welfare state.
Meanwhile, civil society organisations have become increasingly professionalised
and, as a result of ‘depillarisation’ (the erosion of the ideological
and religious lines which traditionally divided Dutch society into a collection
of ‘pillars’), a growing number of informal and ad hoc manifestations
of civil society have arisen. These trends influenced the relationship
between the government and civil society, leading to growing horizontalisation
and interconnectedness (wrr 2002). In addition to the vertical
relations between government and society (in which the government, in
its regulating and ordering role, occupies a hierarchical position above
society), a perspective has arisen in which the government and society
stand side by side in their pursuit of solutions to social problems. All in all,
the mutual relationships between government and civil society are not
only very close but, due to the segmentation and horizontalisation of the
government, simultaneously very complex.
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5.2.2 civil society and its relationship to citizens
Although civil society is a direct product of citizen initiatives, the question
of representativeness remains relevant. Participation in collective
provisions (schools, sports clubs and health care institutions) is high in
the Netherlands compared to other countries (Burger and Dekker 2001)
but, as observed earlier, the eu plays an insignificant role in these very
domains. Other areas closer to the activities of the eu tend to be dominated
by large organisations such as the Royal Dutch Touring Club
(anwb) or the Society for the Preservation of Nature Reserves (Natuurmonumenten).
Within these organisations, however, the number of
‘donor members’ exceeds the number of active members many times over.
Obradovic and Vizciano (2006) came to the conclusion that the criterion
of ‘representativeness’ still applies for the more ‘traditional’ interest
groups, but for many newer ngos, this is no longer a consideration.
Upscaling and professionalisation can also put pressure on ties with the
‘rank and file’. The internal decision making process within ngos is highly
centralised and professionalised, so that ordinary members no longer
play a role in policy formulation, and are increasingly seen as ‘customers’
and consumers of services. Ordinary members are, in fact, often not
even aware of the organisation’s activities, and they understand very little
about them so that accountability mechanisms are out of the question
(Obradovic and Vizciano 2006: 1075). This is even more the case with