THE (IN)COMPATIBILITY OF INSTITUTIONAL REFORM AND INCLUSIVENESS: THE CASE OF THE NETHERLANDS

Abstract

The quest for a more democratic political system in the Netherlands since the 1960s led to emotional debates in both chambers of Parliament. Discussion, however, mainly took place in a long list of committees, beginning with expert committees in the 1970s and 1980s, committees of party leaders in the 1990s and committees of lay citizens in the first decade of this century. Different political parties, however, were committed to different types of policies. Parties on the left argued successfully for more participatory types of political arrangements such as referendums and consultative types of policy making. Women's groups were also moderately successful in their demands for the inclusion of women in politics where incremental policies and voluntary quotas in political parties preempted the need for mandatory quotas. A third type of policy, concerned with the accountability of the political system, introducing constituencies in the electoral system and direct election of mayors and other types of officeholders, was less successful. The authors argue that these debates largely evolved alongside each other, and that the question whether political reform enhances the inclusiveness of the political system in terms of gender, and even more in terms of ethnicity, has been sadly absent from the political agenda.