The goal of citizens participation increases the moments of contact between politicians, policy makers, welfare professionals and citizens. The shared responsibility for local decision making is not an easy task. Often conflicts emerge between parties with opposing needs and interests. Citizens oppose decisions or organize protest. These moments do not only challenge the goal of participation, they also jeopardize the quality of democracy. The democratic value of contentious moments, however, is often neglected. How can public professionals deal with the dilemma’s and chances that emerge during interactions that happen unexpectedly at the street-level? I answer that question by applying the agonistic approach to democracy to the action repertoire of public professionals dealing with conflict. A dramaturgical analysis of contentious interactions provides insights in how we can recognize and acknowledge contentious citizenship. |
Vrij artikel |
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Tijdschrift | Bestuurskunde, Aflevering 4 2019 |
Trefwoorden | citizen participation, democratic legitimacy, street-level interactions, informal citizenship, contestation |
Auteurs | Dr. Nanke Verloo |
SamenvattingAuteursinformatie |
Vrij artikel |
Burgerparticipatie: ontwikkelingstypen van bewonersverbandenInteractie tussen participatieprofessionals en bewonersverbanden in beeld |
Tijdschrift | Bestuurskunde, Aflevering 3 2019 |
Trefwoorden | citizen participation, self-organisation, public participation professionals, community enterprises, Amsterdam |
Auteurs | Dr. ir. Anna de Zeeuw, Eelco van Wijk MSc en Dr. Alex Straathof |
Samenvatting |
Local authorities expect citizens to fulfil an increasing number of public services. In that context, citizen-based networks are emerging as means to fulfil a variety of public tasks, varying from supporting young entrepreneurs and strengthening social cohesion, to providing local care. In this article, we address the following questions: Which phases do community enterprises pass through in their efforts towards realising a sustainable contribution and how do participation professionals support these phases? To respond to this question, researchers followed seven community enterprises based in Amsterdam over a two-year period. We identified a typology of four development phases, with particular attention to the interaction between external participation professionals and the key persons of community enterprises. The study has practical relevance for governance of citizen participation and also raises important follow-up questions about the role of the local government. |
Thema-artikel ‘Uitgesproken Bestuurskunde’ |
Van wie is de verzorgingsstaat?Bestuurskunde als zelfbestuurskunde |
Tijdschrift | Bestuurskunde, Aflevering 2 2019 |
Trefwoorden | institutional analysis, common-pool resources, welfare state, self-governance |
Auteurs | Prof. dr. Menno Fenger |
Samenvatting |
The work of Elinor Ostrom suggests that under certain conditions local communities are better able to sustainably manage so-called common pool resources than an external party such as government. In this article I explore whether and to what extent those conditions also apply to the governance of the Dutch welfare state. I show that in the current participation society there are numerous examples in which self-governance seems to be successful and in which Ostrom’s conditions seem to play an important role. On that basis, I come to the conclusion that citizens – under certain institutional conditions – may be better able to resolve social problems among themselves than through external interventions. This requires a shift from public administration to self-administration. |
Vanuit de VB |
Juryrapport Van Poelje Jaarprijs 2017 |
Tijdschrift | Bestuurskunde, Aflevering 1 2019 |
Vrij artikel |
Transparantie in de EU-RaadOnvermijdelijk en onmisbaar? Onverzadelijk en onuitvoerbaar? |
Tijdschrift | Bestuurskunde, Aflevering 1 2019 |
Trefwoorden | transparency, Council of the EU, access to documents, democratic legitimacy |
Auteurs | Dr. Maarten Hillebrandt |
Samenvatting |
The democratic deficit is generally observed to be one of the largest challenges facing the European Union. This is in spite of the fact that the member states introduced transparency in 1992 to address this legitimacy problem. This article asks why, after several decades, the transparency policy has still not delivered on its promise. In doing so, it bases itself on new empirical data that was collected in the context of a recently presented dissertation (Hillebrandt, 2017), while drawing a strict distinction between the empirical policy change question and the normative desirability question. From a longitudinal comparative analysis, a differentiated empirical image arises. On the one hand, a clear enhancement of legislative transparency can be discerned; on the other hand, a plurality of transparency-evasive practices has emerged in the area of non-legislative decision-making. This equivocal image supports contrasting normative responses, according to which transparency is respectively cast as an indispensable ideal, a fiction, or a solution in search of a problem. |