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31. Creating a Civic National Identity: Integration Through Immigrant Political Participation

Author:
Maars Beltrandy y Rudquist
Publication Date:
09-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Macalester International
Institution:
Macalester College
Abstract:
State citizenship grants the citizen many rights, but the rights most fundamental to a democracy are the right to vote and the right to run for elected office. In the traditional formulations of the nation-state, it has been clear who possesses these rights, but over the last half-century, widespread international migration has complicated the definition of the citizen and has called into question the perceived unity between the nation and the state, between citizenship and nationality, and between civic participation and national identity. In this study, I will examine these complications in the specific case of the Netherlands, a country particularly well known for its recent history of cosmopolitanism. I will examine the effect of these debates on citizenship, and national identity on the ability of migrants to become involved in the Dutch political system as well as the nature of their civic participation. From the basis of this research, I will argue that immigrant political participation is a useful measure of civic integration and that the civic integration that comes with this participation can lead to an increased tolerance of difference within society, which can help to create a new civically, rather than culturally, based national identity. Furthermore, the presence of immigrants and ethnic minorities in local and national politics helps to maintain the relevance of the Dutch state to its population in today's globalized world. For this reason, research on the subject of immigrant political integration is important for understanding both the present and future situations of countries receiving immigrants.
Political Geography:
Netherlands and Dutch

32. Trapped by Narcissism: A Disillusioned Dutch Society

Author:
Anna-Kay Brown
Publication Date:
09-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Macalester International
Institution:
Macalester College
Abstract:
The arrival of the well-celebrated and revered Sinterklaas on November 21, 2011, was marked by the brutal and cruel beating of a black man, Quinsy Gario of Curacao, who was forcefully dragged and thrown into the streets by the Dutch police for protesting the racist connotations of Black Pete. The man wore a stencilled T-shirt with the words “Zwarte Piet is racism” and, according to Dutch and Antillean newspapers and other media reports, he yelled “Zwarte Piet is racism” as the group of Black Petes passed by. The beating, videoed by a bystander and posted on YouTube, was both stomach turning and heart wrenching. It shows the police dragging Gario along the road, with the knees of two policemen pressed into his body. He cries, “It is my right to protest,” while “autochthones” Dutch stand by and watch. After all, it was they who had called the police in disgust at the protest of their beloved tradition. This image stands in stark contrast to the image of a liberal and cosmopolitan Netherlands. In particular, in the words of the director of Antidiscriminatie, Johan Dinjens, it depicts “a society in confusion,” and which I will also contend is a disillusioned society.
Political Geography:
Netherlands, Dutch, and Antilles

33. The Dutch Political Experiment: Phase Three

Author:
Omar El Zoheiry
Publication Date:
09-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Macalester International
Institution:
Macalester College
Abstract:
In the past two decades, many Western liberal democracies have undergone fundamental political transformations. Faced with the challenges of adapting to globalization and the world's increasingly interconnected financial system, many of these democracies have found it necessary to implement a technocratic form of governance. The distance between the political elite and the people was allowed to grow under these regimes in order to achieve the much-needed efficiency in policy formulation and international integration. This article utilizes the case study of the Netherlands to analyze the implications of this gap, perhaps the most significant of which being the rise of “contemporary populism.” It attempts to make sense of seemingly random and unrelated events that have recently shocked Dutch society and politics within a framework of structural change instead of treating these events as temporal occurrences. It demonstrates how such a framework is necessary in understanding the true reason behind these events and why a temporal argument might lead to superficial conclusions.
Topic:
Democratization, Government, and Politics
Political Geography:
Netherlands and Dutch

34. Seeking Global Reform: The United Nations Security Council, the International Criminal Court, and Emerging Nations

Author:
Ezequiel Jimenez
Publication Date:
09-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Macalester International
Institution:
Macalester College
Abstract:
In 1919, the Treaty of Versailles created an international tribunal in order to prosecute Kaiser Wilhelm II for initiating the First World War. However, the Kaiser sought refuge in the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Queen Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria refused to cooperate with the new tribunal or surrender her cousin to the Allied Powers. Much has changed in the Netherlands since. As a pioneer country in the advancement of human rights, the Netherlands has participated actively in the development and enforcement of multiple treaties and conferences hosted by the United Nations. Today, the city of The Hague is proud to call itself an “international city of Peace and Justice.” Indeed, The Hague is the host of multiple international courts; evidencing the Netherlands commitment to protect human rights. The International Criminal Court (ICC) is one of the most prominent institutions the Netherlands honorably hosts.
Topic:
Human Rights
Political Geography:
United Nations and Netherlands

35. The Last Frontier of Globalization: Asylum and Citizenship in the Netherlands

Author:
Danait Teklay
Publication Date:
09-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Macalester International
Institution:
Macalester College
Abstract:
Alla Sarkisyan and Ibrahim Mohammed are Dutch citizens who came to the Netherlands seeking asylum less than fifteen years ago. Today, they have accepted the Netherlands as their new home and their adopted country. Yet, indicative of their transnational journey, they continue to harbor strong feelings for their places of origin and culture. As Alla most poignantly stated, “the Netherlands is my home, but Russia and Armenia are in my blood.” Her sentiment reflects the shift towards a transnational conception of identity and moreover illustrates the changing nature of citizenship within this era of globalization. The mixed identity that she and countless others express poses a challenge to the traditional notion of citizenship espoused by the Dutch state. Alla and Ibrahim are just two examples of the thousands of recently arrived refugees and asylees who are reshaping the political and social landscape of the Netherlands. The stories of their integration into Dutch society exemplify the challenges and achievements of redefining citizenship in this time of globalization.
Topic:
Globalization
Political Geography:
Russia, Armenia, Netherlands, and Dutch

37. What if Europe Fails?

Author:
Thomas Wright
Publication Date:
07-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Washington Quarterly
Institution:
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:
The European Union is engaged in a ferocious political, diplomatic, and economic struggle to preserve the future of the single currency, the Euro, and the viability of what has become known simply as ''the project,'' namely the process of integration that has been the bedrock of Western European politics for over half a century. It is distinctly possible that its members' efforts may fail, either in the short or long term, and give way to an era of disintegration. Some have sounded the alarm: German Chancellor Angela Merkel famously remarked, ''If the Euro fails, Europe fails.'' Former president Nicolas Sarkozy of France predicted, ''If the euro explodes, Europe would explode. It's the guarantee of peace in a continent where there were terrible wars.'' Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski warned the Euro's collapse could cause an ''apocalyptic'' crisis. Harvard economist Dani Rodrik cautioned ''the nightmare scenario would . . . be a 1930's-style victory for political extremism.'' After all, ''fascism, Nazism, and communism were children of a backlash against globalization.'' The erosion of democracy in Hungary and the rise in support for populist parties in Greece, the Netherlands, Finland, and France appears to some to be the beginning of the end.
Political Geography:
Europe, Finland, Greece, France, Germany, and Netherlands

38. Integrating Approaches to Food, Water, Energy, and the Environment

Author:
Katherine E. Bliss and Katryn F. Bowe
Publication Date:
05-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:
On October 27, 2010, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and the federal Subcommittee on Water Availability and Quality (SWAQ) cohosted a participatory workshop on domestic and international water issues entitled “Bridging Knowledge Gaps in Water Management.” The event convened federal agency experts and influential thinkers from academia, nonprofit organizations, and local communities to share insights across sectors and develop practical, actionable recommendations regarding the management of and access to food, water, and energy both domestically and abroad. A keynote address, two expert panels, and a break-out session structured the day's discussion. David Zetland, senior water economist at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, delivered the keynote address. In his remarks, Zetland critiqued the political process through which water and other resources are managed in the United States. His speech set the stage for a rigorous assessment of the challenges in conserving and using water resources efficiently. The first panel focused on identifying research and education gaps that pertain to water, as it relates to food, energy, and the environment. Allan Hoffman of the U.S. Department of Energy moderated the session, which featured speakers Piet Klop of World Resources Institute (WRI), David Reed of World Wildlife Fund (WWF), and Ed Link of the University of Maryland. On the second panel, representatives of the energy industry, academia, and think tanks shared their perspectives on bridging the knowledge gaps identified during the first session. Katherine Bliss of CSIS moderated the second panel, which included Reagan Waskom of Colorado State University, Kirsten Thorne of Chevron, and Paul Faeth of CNA.
Topic:
Security, Agriculture, Energy Policy, Environment, Natural Resources, and Food
Political Geography:
United States, Netherlands, and Colorado

39. The European Union: A Schumpeterian Model of Democracy?

Author:
Markus Pausch
Publication Date:
05-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:
Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:
One of the most discussed aspects of the so called democratic deficit of the EU is the lack of a European public sphere. The Union's democracy is perceived by its citizens as Schumpeterian in nature and this perception corresponds to a large extent to reality. Schumpeter described democracy as the rule of the politician, who gains decision making power in the free competition over votes. The parliament's role is of minor importance; it decides more by acceptance than by initiative. Citizens can neither bring up the issues nor decide them. The European Union is indeed an ideal platform for such a model, be - cause it is elitist, technocratic and rather complicated for the ordinary citizens. European integration was and still is an elite-dominated project, where citizens do not have many possibilities to intervene during legislation-periods. Over many years, the consensual behaviour of the political elites hindered the emergence of broad debate and of conflict in a European public sphere. As a consequence, scepticism towards the integration process became stronger in the Member States. At the beginning of the new millennium, politicians tried to turn the table by stressing the importance of the involvement of the citizens. A convention was installed to work out a Constitutional Treaty. But once again, the debate remained elite-dominated. The heads of governments finally signed another elitist compromise without the broad involvement of the citizens. The rejection of the Constitutional Treaty in France and the Netherlands in 2005 can thus be considered as the result of an elitist and Schumpeterian model of democracy which is perpetuated by the new reform treaty of Lisbon. Thus, the claim for a European public sphere remains relevant, although scholars differently define such a sphere. The argument of this paper is that besides the often claimed Europeanization and transnationalisation of European debate, the notion of broad conflict is of high importance for the emergence of a European public sphere.
Political Geography:
Europe, France, and Netherlands

40. The new politics of protection? Côte d'Ivoire, Libya and the responsibility to protect

Author:
Alex J Bellamy and Paul D Williams
Publication Date:
07-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Chatham House
Abstract:
The international responses to recent crises in Côte d'Ivoire and Libya reveal a great deal about the UN Security Council's approach to human protection. The Council has long authorized peacekeepers to use 'all necessary means' to protect civilians, in contexts including Haiti, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Sudan, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Burundi and Côte d'Ivoire. But Resolution 1973 (17 March 2011) on the situation in Libya marked the first time the Council had authorized the use of force for human protection purposes against the wishes of a functioning state. The closest it had come to crossing this line previously was in Resolutions 794 (1992) and 929 (1994). In Resolution 794, the Council authorized the Unified Task Force to enter Somalia to ease the humanitarian crisis there, but this was in the absence of a central government rather than against one—a point made at the time by several Council members. In Resolution 929 (1994), the Security Council authorized the French-led Operation Turquoise to protect victims and targets of the genocide then under way in Rwanda; this mission enjoyed the consent of the interim government in Rwanda as well as its armed forces. In passing Resolution 1973, the Council showed that it will not be inhibited as a matter of principle from authorizing enforcement for protection purposes by the absence of host state consent. Although its response in Libya broke new ground, it grew out of attitudes and processes evident well before this particular crisis. Most notably, the Council had already accepted—in Resolutions 1674 (2006) and 1894 (2009)—that it had a responsibility to protect civilians from grave crimes, and this was evident in a shift in the terms of its debates from questions about whether to act to protect civilians to questions about how to engage.
Topic:
Security, Government, and Politics
Political Geography:
Paris, Libya, United Nations, Balkans, Netherlands, Rwanda, Alabama, Ninewa, and Lower Dir