This article traces the redefinition of citizenship that Dutch governments have tried to accomplish through legislation and various policy initiatives. The classical liberal notion of citizenship is said to provide insufficient social cohesion. More emphasis on integration into the typically Dutch culture is offered as a remedy. Newcomers are only accepted as full citizens after they have been introduced and trained in the essential elements of this culture. Criticisms of this policy are presented. Lately the government itself seems to have second thoughts on the definition of citizenship.

Municipalities expect that outsourcing, autonomization and privatization will reduce costs or even create revenues. Such decisions also have costs. An analysis of 38 reports by local audit offices shows that municipalities are not aware or unable to calculate these costs. Based on thirteen cases of autonomization and privatization in a large Dutch municipality, this article shows for example that personnel costs can be very high. Municipalities should therefore make better informed decisions, based on managerial considerations, rather than political reasons.

In this article, we introduce the concept of 'policy alienation'. We define policy alienation as a general cognitive state of psychological disconnection from the policy program being implemented, here by a public professional who regularly interacts directly with clients. By introducing policy alienation, we want to contribute to the contemporary debate on the role of public professionals. According to some authors, professionals are experiencing increasing pressures, as managers have turned their backs to work floors and primarily opt for results, efficiency, and transparency. Conversely, other scholars note that it is questionable whether managers can be blamed for all perceived problems at work floors and in service delivery. We are able to examine these opposing claims using the policy alienation perspective, as this perspective not only takes into account the role of management, but also the influence of policy makers and politicians, as well as the claims of the more emancipated clients. After conceptualizing policy alienation, we use a case of insurance physicians and labor experts to illustrate how the concept can be researched empirically.

This article examines conflicts in public space in terms of the underlying 'symbolic order'. Using the case of the wild fires on New Year's eve in the city of The Hague it explores the role of the local government in managing the latest manifestation of this 'tradition' of fires in the neighbourhoods. The analysis illuminates a framing in terms of 'old' and 'new' fires in which the earlier fires were well understood as relating to a neighbourhood culture and the new fires, attributed to young migrant youths, are not. It is pointed out that there is a wide variety of attributions that now inform the response of local government. As an alternative it is suggested to invest in understanding the symbolics of fire setting and appreciate the fact that the 'parochial' sphere that was characteristic for neighbourhoods some decades ago, can no longer be assumed. It is suggested that the fact that different actors hold distinct frames is crucial for understanding the conflict.