Dutch MPs Research Articles

Twitter and divides in the Dutch parliament: social and political segregation in the following, @-mentions and retweets networks

ABSTRACT MPs communication on Twitter with other MPs may facilitate forming cross-party solidarity networks and provide public micro deliberation but may also be segregated leading to information bubbles and political polarization. That party-based division lines are running through the online communication networks of politicians is a well-established finding in social media studies; however important knowledge gaps have remained on the complexity of Twitter’s multilayered network developments and their interrelatedness with socio-demographic segregation. Here, we integrate the online-network literature with that on the political consequences of the digital architecture of social media platforms to theorize and scrutinize the extent to which and why Twitter following, @-mentioning and retweeting networks among MPs are segregated along party lines and sex, age and ethnicity. Our unique dynamic take allows us to rigorously study network segregation, including feedback mechanisms between Twitter layers, based on descriptive network statistics and SIENA analyses for Dutch MPs at three time points. The findings show that political segregation patterns are strongest within the retweet layer and weakest for @-mentions. The interrelations between the Twitter network layers aggravate party-based segregation over time. MP Twitter networks are not consistently segregated along social dimensions.

Geographical Representation Under a Single Nationwide District: The Case of the Netherlands

Previous studies have demonstrated the common occurrence of constituency focus in parliamentary questions, which is most often attributed to electoral incentives. If an electoral system makes use of a single nationwide district, however, these district‐oriented electoral incentives do not apply. MPs may still substantively represent a geographical region, because they are motivated to stand up for a specific region for other reasons. This article explores the extent to which Dutch MPs pay attention in parliamentary questions and debates to specific regions. We find that those with stronger ties to a region, and especially MPs who reside in a region, are more likely to mention it in parliamentary questions and speeches. In addition, we find that this effect is stronger for provinces where regional attachment among residents is relatively stronger.

Homophily and Polarization in Twitter Political Networks: A Cross-Country Analysis

Homophily, the tendency of people to have ties with those who are similar, is a fundamental pattern to understand human relations. As such, the study of homophily can provide key insights into the flow of information and behaviors within political contexts. Indeed, some degree of polarization is necessary for the functioning of liberal democracies, but too much polarization can increase the adoption of extreme political positions and create democratic gridlock. The relationship between homophilous communication ties and political polarization is thus fundamental because it affects a pillar of democratic regimes: the need for public debate where divergent ideas and interests can be confronted. This research compares the degree of homophily and political polarization in Catalan MPs’ Twitter mentions network to Dutch MPs’ Twitter mentions network. Exponential random graph models were employed on a one-year sample of mentions among Dutch MPs (<em>N</em> = 7,356) and on a one-year, three-month sample of mentions among Catalan MPs (<em>N</em> = 19,507). Party polarization was measured by calculating the external–internal index of both Twitter mentions networks. Results reveal that the mentions among Catalan MPs are much more homophilous than those among the Dutch MPs. Indeed, there is a positive relationship between the degree of MPs’ homophilous communication ties and the degree of political polarization observed in each network.

Political Interaction Beyond Party Lines: Communication Ties and Party Polarization in Parliamentary Twitter Networks

A growing body of research has examined the uptake of social media by politicians, the formation of communication ties in online political networks, and the interplay between social media and political polarization. However, few studies have analyzed how social media are affecting communication in parliamentary networks. This is especially relevant in highly fragmented political systems in which collaboration between political parties is crucial to win support in parliament. Does MPs’ use of social media foster communications among parliamentarians who think differently, or does it result in like-minded clusters polarized along party lines, confining MPs to those who think alike? This study analyzes the formation of communication ties and the degree of homophily in the Dutch MPs’ @mention Twitter network. We employed exponential random graph models on a 1-year sample of all tweets in which Dutch MPs mentioned each other ( N = 7,356) to discover the network parameters (reciprocity, popularity, and brokerage) and individual attributes (seniority, participation in the parliamentary commissions, age, gender, and geographical area) that facilitate communication ties among parliamentarians. Also, we measured party polarization by calculating the external–internal index of the mentions. Dutch MPs’ communication ties arise from network dynamics (reciprocity, brokerage, and popularity) and from MPs’ participation in the parliamentary commissions, age, gender, and geographical area. Furthermore, there is a high degree of cross-party interactions in the Dutch MPs’ mentions Twitter network. Our results refute the existence of “echo chambers” in the Dutch MPs’ mentions Twitter network and support the hypothesis that social media can open up spaces for discussion among political parties. This is particularly important in fragmented consensus democracies where negotiation and coordination between parties to form coalitions is key.

Online Deliberation and the Public Sphere: Developing a Coding Manual to Assess Deliberation in Twitter Political Networks

To what extent are elements of rational-critical debate present in Twitter political networks? And to what extent are the discursive practices in these networks constitutive of a public sphere online? This research presents the different phases of a coding manual we developed to assess deliberation in Twitter political networks. To exemplify the use and value of the coding manual, we manually annotated communications (N = 3657) in the Dutch MPs’ mentions Twitter network. Our results show clear signs of positive empathy and cross-ideological interactions in the MPs’ communications, yet they also point to low levels of internal justification, reflexivity and critique. Therefore, although communications in the Dutch MPs’ mentions Twitter network exhibit important components of rational-critical debate, they cannot be considered full-fledged deliberative.

Vrouwen en gender in de politiek: er valt nog een wereld te winnen

Despite notable progress, women remain heavily underrepresented in virtually all layers of the Dutch political system. Only one in three Dutch MPs is currently female. The Minister of the Interior has recently made a number of suggestions to increase gender diversity in politics, in light of 100 years of active voting rights for women. Gender in politics is about much more than the number of women though: it is about the role and position of women in politics as well as about the uneven gendered influence of politics. This introduction discusses the importance of focusing on women and gender in politics, and introduces the four contributions to this Dossier. We specifically call for an intersectional perspective and the various dimensions of gender in and of politics.

Pathways to Power: The Role of Preparliamentary Careers and Political Human Capital in the Obtainment of Cabinet Positions

Understanding the rise to power is central to the study of politics. Yet, we still know little about the career paths of influential politicians like ministers. The literature assumes that dominant preparliamentary occupations (e.g., lawyer, local offices) predict promotion. We move beyond this potential ecological fallacy and suggest a perspective that emphasizes the role of gatekeepers and political human capital like national political experience and education. We leverage complete career data of all Dutch MPs (N = 1,263; 1945–2012) and study their (N = 4,966) opportunities to obtain a cabinet position. A sequence analysis with fuzzy clustering reveals eight career paths in both the professional and political domain. A logistic regression analysis that uses these career paths as predictors shows that prominent occupations and communicative experience do not constitute the pathway to ministerial power; a university education and preparliamentary national political experience do. Findings support the value of political human‐capital theory to understand political promotion.

De etnische politieke elite van Nederland: gewoon geworden door ongewoon te zijn?

This article compares the study and professional backgrounds of ethnic minority and native Dutch MPs in the Netherlands using self-collected data from 2010-2016. We build on previous studies and further develop and test the compensation and similarity model. We expected that ethnic minorities compensate with regard to the duration of their education and the length of their professional and pre-parliamentarian political careers. Furthermore, in line with the similarity model, we expected greater similarities between ethnic minority and Dutch MPs in terms of their educational and professional backgrounds and political experience. The results show more evidence for the similarity model than for the compensation model. We find that ethnic minority MPs have similar educational levels and types of political experience as Dutch MPs, however, contrary to the expectation they do not have more but less years of professional and pre-parliamentarian political experience.

Explaining cross-national policy diffusion in national parliaments: A longitudinal case study of plenary debates in the Dutch parliament

In parliamentary debates, members of a national parliament (MPs) often refer to the policy experiences of other countries addressing similar problems to those with which the MPs are confronted. When MPs make such references, the diffusion of policy ideas from one country context to another can occur. This article explores policy diffusion in plenary debates by answering the following questions: to what extent do references by MPs to the policies of other countries change over time and across policy areas; and what are the country- and policy-specific drivers of, respectively, the number of references to other countries and how MPs use information on policy experiences from other country contexts? The results of the analysis of Dutch Lower House debates on education and environmental policies for the period 1995–2012 show that the cross-national diffusion of policy ideas by MPs follows a punctuated equilibrium logic. Moreover, Dutch MPs refer more often to policies of larger countries and of EU member states. Finally, in policy fields with a high likelihood of externalities, the diffusion of policy ideas from the three countries most referred to by MPs occurs mainly through the mechanism of interdependence.

Vragen naar de bekende weg?

This paper analyses the information sources members of the Dutch Lower House base their questions on with regard to EU affairs in the period 1995-2013. Knowledge of the type of information sources to base questions on is vital for determining what the conditions are under which members of national parliaments can scrutinize the decisions taken by the national government at the EU level. The involvement of national parliaments in EU affairs is according to many scholars a necessary condition for closing the democratic deficit of the European Union, especially when the turnout in elections for the European Parliament remains low and for national parliaments remains stable and relatively high. An original dataset is constructed including all sets of written parliamentary questions on EU affairs asked by Dutch MPs in the period 1995-2013, categorized by different types of information sources on which the question is based. These different categories of information sources are regressed with a variable measuring the Treaty changes impacting on the intensity of contact between MPs of different national parliaments and several variables measuring the characteristics of Dutch MPs and their parties. The findings indicate that Dutch MPs base their written questions primarily on coverage on EU affairs by national newspapers. Moreover, MPs are more likely to use sources rooted in a national context for asking questions when they are a member of a party with a negative attitude towards European integration. These findings imply that parliamentary control via written questions over the decisions of the national executive at the EU level can be strengthened by increasing national media coverage on EU affairs, allowing the EU public sphere to develop further in the future.

Long-term cognitive follow-up in children treated for Maroteaux-Lamy syndrome.

BackgroundIt remains unclear to what extent the brain is affected by Maroteaux-Lamy syndrome (MPS VI), a progressive lysosomal storage disorder. While enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) elicits positive effects, the drug cannot cross the blood–brain barrier. We therefore studied cognitive development and brain abnormalities in the Dutch MPS VI patient population treated with ERT.MethodsIn a series of 11 children with MPS VI (age 2 to 20 years), we assessed cognitive functioning and brain magnetic resonance imaging prospectively at the start of ERT and at regular times thereafter up to 4.8 years. We also assessed the children’s clinical characteristics, their siblings’ cognitive development, and their parents’ educational levels.ResultsThe patients’ intelligence scores ranged from normal to mentally delayed (range test scores 52–131). In 90 %, their scores remained fairly stable during follow-up, generally lying in the same range as their siblings’ test scores (median for patients = 104, median for siblings = 88) and comparing well with the parental educational levels. Native-speaking patients had higher intelligence test scores than non-native-speaking patients. Two patients, both with high baseline glycosaminoglycan levels in their urine and severe mutations in the arylsulfatase B gene, scored clearly lower than expected. Patients with pY210C performed best. Brain abnormalities were aspecific, occurring more in patients with severe symptoms.ConclusionOur study shows that cognitive development in MPS VI patients is determined not only by familial and social-background factors, but, in patients with a severe form of the disease, also by the disease itself. Therefore in patients with severe disease presentation cognition should be monitored carefully.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10545-015-9895-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Growth in patients with mucopolysaccharidosis type III (Sanfilippo disease)

Mucopolysaccharidosis III (MPS III), known as Sanfilippo disease, is a lysosomal storage disorder mainly characterized by progressive neurodegeneration with cognitive decline and relatively attenuated somatic signs and symptoms. Although short stature is invariably present in patients with the other mucopolysaccharidoses, it has not been sufficiently addressed in MPS III. The aim of this study was to investigate growth data of a large Dutch MPS III cohort in order to construct growth charts for MPS III patients. Height, weight, head circumference (HC), and body mass index (BMI) data from 118 MPS III patients were used to construct reference curves, using the lambda, mu, sigma (LMS) method. Genotype-group comparisons for height standard deviation scores (SDS) were performed by Kruskal-Wallis analysis for different age groups. Birth weight and length were within normal ranges for gestational age and showed a significantly stunted growth from age 6years onward. Mean final heights were 169.7cm (-2.0 SDS) and 165.4cm (-0.84 SDS) for adult male and female, patients, respectively. Phenotypic severity, as assessed by genotyping, correlated with growth pattern and final height. In addition, mean BMI and HC SDS were significantly higher when compared with Dutch standards for both boys and girls. Growth in MPS III is stunted mainly in patients with the severe phenotype. We provide disease-specific growth references that can be used for clinical management of MPS III patients and may be of value for future treatment studies.

A Least Likely Case: Parliament and Citizens in the Netherlands

The Dutch parliament is a least likely case for studying relations between parliament and citizens: one House is not elected by the citizens, the number of MPs is low compared to the size of the population, and there is no territorial representation. Still, trust in parliament and in MPs is relatively high and shows no signs of decline. This paradox can be explained partially by Dutch citizens not expecting or not wanting their MPs to do constituency work, but also by the fact that Dutch MPs do take interactions with citizens seriously despite the lack of institutional incentives, as is evidenced by the number of hours spent on contacts with citizens, the large number of petitions about individual grievances or the introduction of the citizens' initiative.

Burke leeft en woont in Nederland

According to many observers, contemporary politicians too often are being swayed by the issues of the day. Elected representatives are supposed to permanently monitor public opinion in general and opinion polls in particular and to act accordingly. An analysis of in-depth interviews with Dutch MPs and a content analysis of an important, long-lasting debate in Dutch Parliament indicates, however, that this popular claim is a misconception. Elected representatives disagree on the content and manifestations of ‘public opinion’ and seldom take it into consideration in their role as representatives. Moreover, public opinion is taken seriously only if it is well-considered and based on substantive knowledge and conclusive arguments.

Good politics. Views of Dutch MPs on parliament and parliamentary culture, 1866–1940

SUMMARY The cultural influences on political history at the end of the 1980s opened up the way to a broader study of politics beyond the conventional institutional approach to a discussion of the character and role of informal aspects of parliamentary politics. This article discusses the concept of ‘good politics’ as a research tool to gain an insight into the functioning of parliaments with a particular focus on the Dutch Second Chamber. Linked to the tradition of conceptual history and using anthropological approaches, the concept is used to study the views of Dutch MPs on their own behaviour and that of parliament as a whole between 1866 and 1940. The article originates out of doctoral research on the parliamentary culture of the Dutch Second Chamber, due for completion in 2010. The Dutch Second Chamber between 1866 and 1940 underwent some major political changes. These changes, and those in society, in turn influenced parliamentary culture. In this article they are discussed in addition to the theoretical treatment of the concept of good politics and the discussion of the relevant source material. First, the advent and formation of political parties in the last quarter of the nineteenth century affected views on representation. Slowly but surely, the ideal that the MPs should present themselves as independent of their voters and of those who shared their views came to be replaced by one in which they were to associate themselves with their electorate and vote along party lines. Second, the expansion of voting rights and the development of the welfare state had their influence on what was regarded to be good politics. Being a MP came increasingly to be considered a job, instead of a vocation for well-to-do civilians. The article concludes with an example of the expansion of women's voting rights. In this way, the existence of the parliamentary culture at a certain time is demonstrated, as well as the dynamic character of what constitutes good politics.

Clinical and genetic spectrum of Sanfilippo type C (MPS IIIC) disease in The Netherlands

Mucopolysaccharidosis IIIC (MPS IIIC, Sanfilippo C syndrome) is a lysosomal storage disorder caused by deficiency of the lysosomal enzyme acetyl-CoA:α-glucosaminide N-acetyltransferase (HGSNAT). We performed a clinical study on 29 Dutch MPS IIIC patients and determined causative mutations in the recently identified HGSNAT gene. Psychomotor development was reported to be normal in all patients during the first year of life. First clinical signs were usually noted between 1 and 6 years (mean 3.5 years), and consisted of delayed psychomotor development and behavioral problems. Other symptoms included sleeping and hearing problems, recurrent infections, diarrhoea and epilepsy. Two sisters had attenuated disease and did not have symptoms until the third decade. Mean age of death was 34 years (range 25–48). Molecular analysis revealed mutations in both alleles for all patients except one. Altogether 14 different mutations were found: two splice site mutations, one frame shift mutation due to an insertion, three nonsense mutations and eight missense mutations. Two mutations, p.R344C and p.S518F, were frequent among probands of Dutch origin representing 22.0% and 29.3%, respectively, of the mutant alleles. This study demonstrates that MPS IIIC has a milder course than previously reported and that both severity and clinical course are highly variable even between sibs, complicating prediction of the clinical phenotype for individual patients. A clear phenotype–genotype correlation could not be established, except that the mutations p.G262R and p.S539C were only found in two sisters with late-onset disease and presumably convey a mild phenotype.

Sanfilippo type B syndrome (mucopolysaccharidosis III B): allelic heterogeneity corresponds to the wide spectrum of clinical phenotypes.

Sanfilippo B syndrome (mucopolysaccharidosis IIIB, MPS IIIB) is caused by a deficiency of alpha-N-acetylglucosaminidase, a lysosomal enzyme involved in the degradation of heparan sulphate. Accumulation of the substrate in lysosomes leads to degeneration of the central nervous system with progressive dementia often combined with hyperactivity and aggressive behaviour. Age of onset and rate of progression vary considerably, whilst diagnosis is often delayed due to the absence of the pronounced skeletal changes observed in other mucopolysaccharidoses. Cloning of the gene and cDNA encoding alpha-N-acetylglucosaminidase enabled a study of the molecular basis of this syndrome. We were able to identify 31 mutations, 25 of them novel, and two polymorphisms in the 40 patients mostly of Australasian and Dutch origin included in this study. The observed allellic heterogeneity reflects the wide spectrum of clinical phenotypes reported for MPS IIIB patients. The majority of changes are missense mutations; also four nonsense and nine frameshift mutations caused by insertions or deletions were identified. Only five mutations were found in more than one patient and the observed frequencies are well below those observed for the common mutations in MPS IIIA. R643C and R297X each account for around 20% of MPS IIIB alleles in the Dutch patient group, whilst R297X, P521L, R565W and R626X each have a frequency of about 6% in Australasian patients. R643C seems to be a Dutch MPS IIIB allele and clearly confers the attenuated phenotype. One region of the gene shows a higher concentration of mutations, probably reflecting the instability of this area which contains a direct repeat. Several arginine residues seem to be 'hot-spots' for mutations, being affected by two or three individual base pair exchanges.

Role specialisation or role switching? Dutch mps between electorate and executive

In studies of the Dutch Parliament, the only political roles that have been studied explicitly are the representative roles defined by Wahlke and Eulau in the context of the US presidential system. The main drawbacks of this role typology for the study of MPs in parliamentary systems is that it ignores political parties, and that the roles deal only with the interactions between MP and electorate, not with the interactions between MP and government. This article seeks to remedy this situation by defining three roles ('parliamentarian’, ‘partisan’ and ‘advocate'). Although the emphasis has shifted over the years from one role orientation to the other, all three roles seem to co‐exist. Such a co‐existence of roles can be accounted for by different MPs specialising in different roles, or by all MPs switching from one role to another in different contexts. On the basis of interview data the article reaches the conclusion that role switching may be more important, although there is also some evidence of role specialisation.

Learning from Recent Interviewing of Dutch MPs*

Learning from Recent Interviewing of Dutch MPs*

Representative Roles and Legislative Behavior in France

This article explores conceptions of the representative role among French parliamentary candidates in 1967 and 1968 and considers the implications of those conceptions for the legislative behavior of candidates elected to the Assembly. Unlike U. S. Congressmen and Dutch MPs, French deputies regard the party caucus, rather than their own conscience or constituency opinion, as the chief determinant of their vote. Variations in the importance attributed to the caucus predict deputies' defections from group discipline. Candidates' role conceptions differ from those of the voters, even after controlling for party preferences. Defections from party discipline increase congruence between deputies' votes and constituency opinion.