1st Edition
Polder Politics The Re-Invention of Consensus Democracy in the Netherlands
By F. Hendriks
Copyright 2001
322 Pages
by
Routledge
This title was first published in 2001: Under the name of the "polder model", the Dutch model of democracy has received favourable attention from journalists, administrators and political leaders. This book presents a thorough analysis of Dutch democracy as a specimen of consensus democracy. The Dutch administrative tradition of consensus, consultation and compromise is reflected in current trends towards networks and new interactive technologies. This insightful account is an excellent resource for courses on European studies, comparative politics, public policy and administration.
Contents: Introduction and General Observations: Introduction: towards an institutional analysis of Dutch consensualism, F. Hendriks and Th.A.J. Toonen; Polder politics in The Netherlands: the viscous state revisited, F. Hendriks; Dutch administrative culture in a historical perspective, N. Randeraad and D.J. Wolffram; Consensus democracy in a post-modern perspective, P.H.A. Frissen; Local politics: the not-in-my-back-yard syndrome revisited, P.W. Tops. Observations in Policy Domains: The Dutch negotiating economy: learning through concertation, A.C. Hemerijck; Infrastructure planning: balancing between fixation and enrichment, G.R. Teisman; Water management in The Netherlands: the re-invention of incremental policy, V.J.J.M. Bekkers and A.M.B. Lips; Breakthroughs in the polder: institutional sclerosis and polder politics, J.F.M. Koppenjan; The struggle for greenscape: power and decision-making about rural area policy, C.E. Peters; Criminal investigations in the Dutch constitutional state: viscosity or decisiveness?, E.R. Muller and A.H. Pieterse. Comparative Observations: The flexibility of viscosity: new social movements in a comparative perspective, J.W. Duyvendak; The low countries between divergence and convergence, M. Brans and R. Maes; Explaining the paradox of the polder model: warts and all, R.H. Cox; Modell Deutschland going Dutch: the Dutch polder from a German perspective, R. Kleinfeld; The embarrassment of success: institutional underpinning of polder politics, Th.A.J. Toonen and F. Hendriks; Bibliography.
’The authors of this volume demonstrate the existence of a number of interesting paradoxes in the success of the Dutch economy and polity. Identifying paradoxes and contradictions is a useful means of approaching a complex and multi-faceted problem, and the papers included here point out how expectations are often shattered by the complex realities of the political and social world. The Dutch case is indeed a complex one but one that can serve not so much as a model for other countries as proof that no single model is required to govern effectively. As such, this book deserves to be read widely by academics and practitioners interested in governing, economic policy and civil society.’ Benjamin Guy Peters ’Hendricks and Toonen have assembled an invaluable set of insights on contemporary Dutch politics.’ West European Politics
