This thesis focuses on the political decision-making culture of the Netherlands in the second half of the twentieth century. The dominant view of this culture has been one of compromise cooperation... Show moreThis thesis focuses on the political decision-making culture of the Netherlands in the second half of the twentieth century. The dominant view of this culture has been one of compromise cooperation and consensus. This view is strongly influenced by Lijphart’s 1968 book Politics of Accommodation. Since then, the extent to which this culture of consensus politics may have changed at the elite level is being debated. This study contributes to this debate by studying the parliamentary debates about some of the major socio-economic (social security) and ethico-religious issues (cremation, abortion and euthanasia). These debates have been characterized by studying the informal rules of the political game. Two sets of rules, corresponding to the dichotomy between consensus and majoritarian democracy, were used. An important observation is that the studied issues are difficult to position within the dichotomy of consensus and majoritarian politics. Only a few cases can be included, while most cases do not fall into either category or have characteristics of both. This leads to the main conclusion that the political elites primarily act on the basis of their own political interests, and less with regard to higher normative notions that underlie the concept of consensus politics. Show less
In order to shed light on what happens to the media when a political regime changes from an authoritarian one to a democracy, this book has investigated the biography, and the journalistic... Show moreIn order to shed light on what happens to the media when a political regime changes from an authoritarian one to a democracy, this book has investigated the biography, and the journalistic values and practices of Kompas daily newspaper: the largest and oldest national newspaper in Indonesia, with special emphasis on the newspaper’s relationship with the power holders across different political administrations. This book argues that Kompas has developed a polite, indirect and cautious style of journalism that has changed very little after the fall of Indonesia’s authoritarian regime, limiting the newspaper’s capacity to function as a critical watchdog of the power holders, and preventing it from becoming a mobilizing force in the development of Indonesian democracy. This particular style of journalism developed during the authoritarian period as a result of two different, intertwining factors which shaped the habitus of Kompas; these were both cultural and political economy factors. After the regime change, this journalistic style was preserved, because to a considerable degree the same cultural, political and economic forces continued to operate within and upon the newspaper. Show less
