Politics of the Low Countries

✨ Today we are clearing the stage for our latest publication, titled ‘Descriptive Representation from the Perspective of Mothers Facing Socio-economic Precarity in Brussels’. ✨

🛣️ Political actors were viewed by many participants to hold the authority to make decisions, allocate resources and thus influence their living conditions. Despite high levels of distrust and dissatisfaction, they thus were considered the only “truly viable avenue for representation”.

✨ Today we are clearing the stage for our latest publication, titled ‘Descriptive Representation from the Perspective of Mothers Facing Socio-economic Precarity in Brussels’. ✨

In this article, Kenza Amara Hammou (@dfuturevub.bsky.social) draws on participatory research with women with migration backgrounds who face socio-economic precarity to uncover how these women define/evaluate representation. Using an intersectional lens, her study shows that:

🔔 New publication alert! 🔔 In her research note, Zahra Runderkamp systematically documents the current formally active women's and diversity networks within political parties in the Netherlands by drawing on internal documentation and organisational contacts. As her work shows:

🧱 The effectiveness of diversity networks, however, also strongly depends on their embeddedness in their political parties. Although diversity networks can play a powerful role in increasing diversity and inclusion, they require external support to break down more systemic barriers within parties.

🔔 New publication alert! 🔔 In her research note, Zahra Runderkamp systematically documents the current formally active women's and diversity networks within political parties in the Netherlands by drawing on internal documentation and organisational contacts. As her work shows:

🔎 Intersectional networks are on the rise, yet the single-axes representative networks continue to play a role. Progressive and centrist parties tend to have networks on ethnicity, gender, and sexuality. Far right and populist parties usually only have youth factions.

❓ Do parties change what they discuss when they are in government versus when they belong to the opposition? ❓

✍ A shift in role stresses parties’ need to both adjust to the competitive situation in which they find themselves (be that the coalition’s need for stability and internal harmony, or the opposition vote-seeking behaviour) and maintain ownership over the issues they are most closely connected to.

❓ Do parties change what they discuss when they are in government versus when they belong to the opposition? ❓

This question forms the basis of Vittorio Poppe’s longitudinal research note ‘Role-Switching and Thematic Reallocation in Belgian Parliamentary Committees’, out now! Relying on an analysis of francophone parties’ interventions in Belgian federal Interior and Justice committees, he shows that:

😷 Seeing as the Dutch parliamentary inquiry into the COVID-19 pandemic concluded its final hearings a few weeks ago, we here at Politics of the Low Countries figured it was a good idea to shed the light on our very own special issue on politics in pandemic times one final time. 😷

✊ Parties within the mainstream opposition balanced support and criticism as they saw opportunities for political gain and vote-seeking behaviour, whereas challenger parties were more deliberately opposing the government in line with their usual political style.

😷 Seeing as the Dutch parliamentary inquiry into the COVID-19 pandemic concluded its final hearings a few weeks ago, we here at Politics of the Low Countries figured it was a good idea to shed the light on our very own special issue on politics in pandemic times one final time. 😷

Back in 2021, we published an article by @brittvandewalle.bsky.social, Wouter Wolfs and @stevenvanhecke.bsky.social (@io-pgi-kuleuven.bsky.social) on the dynamics of opposition/government relations in times of the corona crisis. They found that:

🤔 Do the Netherlands and Belgium still pass as consociational democracies? 🤔

💡 In short, Gramsci’s work not only connects to many existing criticisms of Lijphart, it also provides several additional relevant concepts to help us better understand political conflict.

🤔 Do the Netherlands and Belgium still pass as consociational democracies? 🤔

🔍 Whereas consociationalist analyses tend to focus on accommodative practices or downplay socio-political struggles and stalemates, the use of a Gramscian lens can increase attentivity to ideological, cultural and social factors that can impact both political stability and change.

🤔 Do the Netherlands and Belgium still pass as consociational democracies? 🤔

🌟 SPECIAL ISSUE ALERT 🌟 We are happy to showcase the latest publication from our special issue on local politics.

📒 Municipal councils actively rely on population surveys to account for citizens’ expectations. Most vacancy profiles explicitly reference citizens’ input, be that through direct quotes or otherwise. Full version: plc-journal.eu/article/view... Full special issue: plc-journal.eu/issue/view/1...

🌟 SPECIAL ISSUE ALERT 🌟 We are happy to showcase the latest publication from our special issue on local politics.

🤔 Expectations of mayors differ greatly between citizens. When it comes to leadership style, for example, 45% of citizens prefer their mayor to be a stable factor, whereas 48% stress the need for someone who is more future-oriented in their approach.

🌟 SPECIAL ISSUE ALERT 🌟 We are happy to showcase the latest publication from our special issue on local politics.

🗓️ Why do political parties sometimes plan a parliamentary debate, only to end up cancelling it? 🗓️

✍ Parties are more likely to keep a debate on the parliamentary agenda if it focuses on an issue from their manifestoes! 🔦 Larger parties are more likely to cancel their debates. For smaller ones, minority debates can be valuable in increasing attention for them or the issues they advocate for.

🗓️ Why do political parties sometimes plan a parliamentary debate, only to end up cancelling it? 🗓️

In their article, @simonotjes.bsky.social (@polscileiden.bsky.social) and Roy Doedens investigate when political party groups choose to cancel/maintain minority debates (30/150 MPs needed) in the Dutch House of Representatives. Their article teaches us that:

🗓️ Why do political parties sometimes plan a parliamentary debate, only to end up cancelling it? 🗓️

❓ Do citizens with a lower level of political representation evaluate political actors more negatively? ❓

🔎 Contrary to previous studies, no evidence was found to support the role of education as a moderating influence on this relationship between political opinion congruence and trust in parliament.

❓ Do citizens with a lower level of political representation evaluate political actors more negatively? ❓

Join us and learn that: 📈 Congruence between the political opinion of citizens and legislators leads to higher levels of trust in parliament. This effect persists even among citizens who declare to have zero interest in politics.

❓ Do citizens with a lower level of political representation evaluate political actors more negatively? ❓

👋 Are you interested in learning which factors explain the membership of MPs of specialised committees of the Dutch and Belgian chambers of representatives? 👋

⚖️ At the same time, there is no indication that MPs at the top of their parliamentary party group’s list are disproportionately more likely to be assigned to committees that are more salient than those further down the line. The same goes for ideological closeness or parliamentary seniority.

👋 Are you interested in learning which factors explain the membership of MPs of specialised committees of the Dutch and Belgian chambers of representatives? 👋

Join us as we take another close look at the article ‘The Determinants of Committee Membership in Belgium and the Netherlands’ by Tim Mickler (@polscileiden.bsky.social). Originally published in 2021, it remains a frequently visited article. This overview of the key findings might tell you why: