Description
The focus of this MA thesis seminar is on consociational politics in the Netherlands. Consociationalism has been considered a defining characteristic of the Netherlands. Consensus-seeking at elite-level and subgroups’ autonomy were means to cope with the potential divisive consequences of socio-political cleavages in the period of pillarisation (1920s-1960s). However, the relatively short period of pillarisation took place in an increasingly distant past. De-pillarisation, polarisation, European integration, globalisation, and decentralisation may have changed the Dutch way of doing politics fundamentally. The main question of the MA thesis seminar is therefore whether the consociationalism still is a defining characteristic of Dutch politics in a national, but also local, provincial, European and global context.
Study material
(January 2009) – Andeweg, R.B. (1999), ‘Parties, Pillars and the Politics of Accommodation: Weak or Weakening Linkages? The Case of Dutch Consociationalism’, in K.R. Luther & K. Deschouwer (eds.), Party Elites in Divided Societies: Political Parties in Consociational Democracies. London/ New York: Routledge. 108-133.
-Andeweg, R.B. (2000), ‘Consociational Democracy’, in Annual Review of Political Science. Vol. 3, 509-536.
-Andeweg, R.B. & Irwin, G.A. (2005),_ Governance and Politics of the Netherlands, second edition_. Houndmills/New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
-Daalder, H. (1966), ‘The Netherlands: Opposition in a Segmented Society’, in R.A. Dahl (ed.), Political Oppositions in Western Democracies. New Haven/ London: Yale University Press. 188-236.
<del>Koole, R. & Daalder, H. (2002), -The Consociational Model and the Netherlands: Ambivalent Allies?</del>, in Acta Politica. Vol. 37, no 1/2, 23-43.
-Lijphart, A. (1975), The Politics of Accommodation: Pluralism and Democracy in the Netherlands. Second edition. Berkeley: University of California Press.
-Mair, P. (1994), ‘The Correlates of Consensus Democracy and the Puzzle of Dutch Politics’, in West European Politics. Vol. 17, no. 4, 97-123.
-Wintle, M. (2000), ‘Pillarisation, Consocation and Vertical Pluralism in the Netherlands revisited: A European View’, in West European Politics. Vol. 23, no. 3, 139-152.
Examination
Research proposal; Master thesis
Course requirements/recommendations
Proficiency in Dutch is required, because students should be able to exercise empirical research on Dutch politics.
Time table
Tuesday February 3, till March 24, 11.00 a.m. -13.00 p.m. in 1A22 and
Thursday February 5, till March 26, 11.00 a.m. -13.00 p.m. in SA35