A Tiny Spot on the Earth

by Piet de Rooy, Vivien Collingwood (Translator)

In this survey of the Dutch political culture of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Piet de Rooy reveals that the 'polder model' often used to describe economic and social policymaking based on consensus is a myth. Instead, modern political culture in the Dutch Low Countries began with a revolution and is rife with rivalries among political and ideological factions. De Rooy argues that because of its extremely open economy, the country is vulnerable to external political, cultural, and economic pressures, and Dutch politics is a balancing act between profiting from international developments and maintaining sovereignty. The sudden rise of populism and Euroscepticism at the turn of the millennium, then, indicated a loss of this balance. Shining new light on the political culture of the Netherlands, this book provides insights into the polder model and the principles of pillarization in Dutch society.

The Dutch edition of this book, Ons stipje op de wereldkaart , was awarded the Prinsjesboekenprijs for the best book on Dutch national politics in 2014.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

406 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Anne Kamsteeg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Studieboek wat moet dat moet

[Elisa Hendriks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good introduction to the history of the Netherlands. It makes a dutchmen more humble and shows how not everything happend with a good reason. The language is perfect with nice quotes here and there. But the book tries to do to many things at once for that reason it loses some important points. De rooy wants to focus on the great movements in Europe that influenced the Netherlands while at the same time show which people made this changes happen. The transnational scope and the humans he wants to pay attention to don’t fit in this book. Also he ignores some important historical actors en movements. Women don’t fit into his work.

[Juud10 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interessant, maar taai om te lezen. Een handreiking naar de lezer die niet thuis is in de Nederlandse politieke cultuur zou fijn zijn geweest. Wat lucht tussen de zinnen ook.