Dit is mijn samenvatting van chapter 2 The Politics of the Netherlands. Hier staat alle belangrijke informatie in die je moet kennen. Het is 22 pagina's lang met allemaal overzichtelijke tabellen, plaatjes, mindmaps, kleuren en stroomdiagrammen. Als je goed visueel leert met veel plaatjes en mindma...
Democratic Election
Proportional representation system Regional system
• The country is one large electoral • Parliament or President is chosen
constituency through geographical constituencies:
• The proportion of votes a party wins the majority of votes in a particular
decides how many members of constituency (=electoral region) will
parliament the party has in parliament deliver that seat for the winning
• Pros candidate or party in parliament or
− Every vote counts equally → fairer Congress or Assembly
− Relatively easy for small parties to • Candidates represent a specific area
enter parliament in a parliament or congress
• Con: representatives are more distant • Pros
+ disconnected from the people they − National politics closer to the local
represent issues of the people
• Governments are made up of − Representatives closer to people
coalitions of parties with conflicting • Con: Unequal voting weight
interests: no one single party can win • 1 party wins an outright majority
an election outright
• Some countries (I.e. Germany) use a combination of both systems: some members elected
via proportional + others via regional representation
• Concessions to regionalism in Dutch system
− Voters can vote for parties + individual politicians (‘list-puller’ or other)
Dutch proportionalism
• Dutch system is one of the most extreme proportional systems in Europe
• Complications
1. Country officially divided into constituencies
2. Since 1970 compulsory voting abolished → system where the weight of each vote cast is
proportional to the number of votes cast (ipv number eligible voters)
Central government
• Before 20th century
− Governments not highly political
− Only privileged men could hold office or vote
− Made up of people not from party political backgrounds: selected to hold office on basis
of their expertise
e.g. people from business background, university background etc…
• From beginning 20th century
− Power in most democracies shifts to an increasingly powerful government + weakened
parliament
− Government becomes politicised with cabinet posts filled by people from political parties
• Contributing factors (power shift)
1. Introduction universal suffrage: ends age of privileged men controlling parliament
2. Increasing complexity of society → government needed effective + decisive power to
carry out expanded tasks
, E.g. post, transport, communications, health etc…
3. Parliament lacks expertise + knowledge that government were developing (complex
societies)
4. Parliament = old-fashioned institution based on debate + discussion: slow form of
decision making (compared to gov: faster)
5. Rise of political + universal suffrage → ends age of strong willed + privileged
parliamentarians acting alone
6. Parties have to appeal to voters to be elected (be united + effective + harmonious) →
weakens independence parliament
7. Parties in parliament are obedient to party in power (in government) or opposition →
weakens independence parliament
• After 2nd half 20th century powerful governments begin to lose power to new actors:
bureaucracies, local government, the media, political parties, lobbies and voters
Decentralisation
• Central government in The Hague gave power away (tasks + responsibilities) to provincial,
city and town councils = giving power away to lower layers government
• Centralization= gaining power by national government
• Reasons
1. Central governments become too powerful + got overburdened→ need to get rid of some
tasks + responsibilities
2. Dutch voters were losing interest in politics after 1970s → more power to local + regional
+ municipal governments → brings politics closer to the people
Decentralised government Netherlands
Provincial level
• Layer of government between national government (The Hague) + local government (in
towns + cities)
• Recently lost power – central government + municipal (local) gained power
• Powers: to do with zoning, planning, infrastructure, transport, water and sometimes
overseeing work of local town and city authorities
• The 12 Dutch provinces all have their own legislative parliament: Provincial Councils
elected every 4 years
• Above plan didn’t work: voter turnout for provincial + regional government decreased even
more
• Provincial councils
− Elected every 4 years
− Size dependent on number inhabitants
− Functions
1. Oversee + supervise implementation of their policies
2. Elect members of Senate (= 1st chamber) - senate reflects makeup provincial council
− Is important for parties to do well in provincial council elections: will help them vote in
members of own party to Senate
, Municipal level
• Decentralization - Town + city municipalities become
increasingly powerful
• Problem: too many small- scale municipalities → not effective
Solution: municipalities joined together = centralizing local
power = paradox
more effective town + city councils
BUT undermines idea politics closer to people because no
more small-scale local governments who were close to people
• Conflicts between central + local government
− Central government passes laws that have to be implemented by local government BUT
often without providing enough money + personnel to implement effectively
E.g. Immigrants, cuts in elderly + handicapped care, soft drugs and smoking (see 68)
− Central government unloads controversial + painful + unpopular + difficult policies onto
local government
E.g. Volkskrant (see 68)
− Central government directives often resisted + refused
• Municipal councils (local councils)
− Elected every 4 years (on same day throughout country) Dependent on size
− 9- 41 members municipality
− Council personnel itself elects 2-9 Aldermen/women
(like a company)
− Aldermen work together with Mayor to form municipality’s executive branch
− Usually (like national) made up of coalitions of parties
− In 2002 change: Aldermen cannot be members of municipal councils anymore (like
ministers cannot be members of parliament)
Reason: make municipal councils function more like central government + parliament in
DH
− Decide on public order issues: housing, building, health, arts etc...
− Sometimes powers decided by acts of parliament
Sometimes by councils themselves
National level Municipal level
− Central government (cabinet ministers): − Alderman + mayor: propose municipal
proposes new laws + carries out laws + carries out policies
policies
− Parliament: controls + monitors central − Municipal councils: controls + monitors
gov. them
− Cabinet ministers cannot be in − Alderman cannot be in municipal
parliament council
− Cabinet ministers have portfolios (eg. − Alderman large municipalities same
Health, education etc...)
Cabinet ministers equivalent to aldermen + mayor
Voordelen van het kopen van samenvattingen bij Stuvia op een rij:
Verzekerd van kwaliteit door reviews
Stuvia-klanten hebben meer dan 700.000 samenvattingen beoordeeld. Zo weet je zeker dat je de beste documenten koopt!
Snel en makkelijk kopen
Je betaalt supersnel en eenmalig met iDeal, creditcard of Stuvia-tegoed voor de samenvatting. Zonder lidmaatschap.
Focus op de essentie
Samenvattingen worden geschreven voor en door anderen. Daarom zijn de samenvattingen altijd betrouwbaar en actueel. Zo kom je snel tot de kern!
Veelgestelde vragen
Wat krijg ik als ik dit document koop?
Je krijgt een PDF, die direct beschikbaar is na je aankoop. Het gekochte document is altijd, overal en oneindig toegankelijk via je profiel.
Tevredenheidsgarantie: hoe werkt dat?
Onze tevredenheidsgarantie zorgt ervoor dat je altijd een studiedocument vindt dat goed bij je past. Je vult een formulier in en onze klantenservice regelt de rest.
Van wie koop ik deze samenvatting?
Stuvia is een marktplaats, je koop dit document dus niet van ons, maar van verkoper ellabuskin. Stuvia faciliteert de betaling aan de verkoper.
Zit ik meteen vast aan een abonnement?
Nee, je koopt alleen deze samenvatting voor €10,49. Je zit daarna nergens aan vast.
