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Sociology - De huidige Nederlandse elites trekken veel negatieve aandacht. Directeuren zouden te veel verdienen, het aanzien van de politieke elites daalt, bij rechters wordt getwijfeld aan hun gezag en maatschappelijk bewustzijn, over de Nederlandse adel wordt alleen lacherig gepraat. Veel weten we over deze elites niet, want sociologisch onderzoek naar Nederlandse elites blijft schaars. Deze boekaflevering van http://www.aup.nl/do.php?a=show_visitor_catalogus&b=tijdschriften&p=827"">Mens & Maatschappij is een vervolg op een boekaflevering van het tijdschrift uit 1984, getiteld Nederlandse elites in beeld. De onderwerpen zijn divers: adel, rechterlijke macht, een koloniale economische elite, de internationalisering van de economische elite en de opkomst van een nieuwe lokale elite. Alle artikelen benadrukken zowel de verandering als de continuïteit: een adellijke titel helpt nog steeds bij het verwerven van een elitepositie bijvoorbeeld. De koloniale elite verdween niet plotseling toen Indonesië onafhankelijk werd. De komst van allochtone gemeenteraadsleden is slechts de laatste ontwikkeling in de samenstelling van raden.

Political participation of ethnic minority groups has become a key issue in the multicultural policies of many European cities & is of crucial value in the administration & legitimacy of a multicultural democracy. This chapter seeks to explain the form & extent of political participation of immigrants with particular focus on the local policies that impact the degree of participation, starting from a set of theoretical & empirical observations regarding the relationship between democracy, ethnic civic communities & political participation. The diversity & interconnectedness of ethnic civic communities has significant implications for participation & trust in a multicultural democracy. An examination of the immigrant population characteristics & immigrant policies & policy objectives in Amsterdam, Liege, & Zurich highlights the impact of the political opportunity structure on the structure of ethnic groups in these societies, & demonstrates that integration policies matter & can stimulate civic participation under certain conditions, thereby strengthening social cohesion. 6 Tables, 3 Figures, 20 References. L. Kehl

The authors try to bridge the gap between researchers who, in the wake of Almond & Verba's "civic culture," have investigated the relationship between civic culture & political participation & those primarily interest in multicultural democracy. Earlier, the authors found a correlation between political participation & political trust of ethnic minorities, on one hand, & the network of ethnic associations, on the other. Here, they treat the network of ethnic organizations as a proxy for civic community, following the assumption that voluntary associations create social trust, which can lead to political trust. Civic community building is the creation of trust among organizations. Bottom up, increased social trust may generate political trust, because citizens feel that their leaders are competent to monitor local government. Top down, interlocking directors can spread the political trust they themselves have within the ethnic community; by doing so, they act as an agent for local government. Discussed in conclusion is whether this civic community is generated by factors that stem from the political opportunity structure in the host country or to cultural factors that originated in the country of origin. 5 Tables, 46 References. Adapted from the source document.

In this article we investigate the way modern democracies can deal with extremists in public discussion. The first part of the article conceptualizes political discussion insofar as it makes a contribution to the democratic process. We focus upon the democratic process as a way of dealing with conflicts between citizens that stem from differences in moral outlook. We reflect upon this process mainly in relation to its capacity to overcome possible political deadlocks, in the perspective of collective decision making. In the second part we concentrate on the question of how public discussion in a modern democracy should look. Here, then, we take a similar perspective as Gutmann and Thompson (1996) in saying that we should try and define some central 'rules of the game' for public discussion. We make a distinction between entrance rules that are proscriptive and performative rules that are suggestive.

Strategies that modern democracies use when dealing with extremist groups in the context of the public discussion are investigated. It is contended that the public discussion format provides individuals with differing moral perspectives to overcome political deadlocks & accomplish political decision making. Informed by A. Guttman & D. Thompson's (1996) discussion of the rules for public discussion, the differences between proscriptive entrance rules & suggestive performance rules for public discussion are identified. It is asserted that mutual respect & "accountable representation" are necessary for ensuring truly democratic public discussions. Public discussions between the Front National & antiracist organizations in contemporary France are analyzed to illustrate how both parties fail to abide by the performative rules of public discussion. It is concluded that extremism must be respected in order to preserve democratic processes. 27 References. J. W. Parker