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In this 30th edition of the Yearbook on Poverty and Social Exclusion, we look back on 30 years of fighting poverty. How have the poverty figures evolved? We take a closer look at access to justice, education and housing. Next, we are looking for an answer to the question of what constitutes a structural poverty policy. Can the law be of any significance here? This year's theme section is dedicated to the coronapandemic and its link to poverty. Subsequently, a number of civil society organisations are given a chance to express their expertise and findings. In a final section, the Yearbook presents an overview of figures on poverty and social exclusion.

Poverty in Antwerp, Belgium, is discussed from a historical perspective, noting that the worst misery began to disappear in the latter 19th century, & indigence virtually disappeared after the establishment of social care agencies after WWI. After WWII, the ongoing need for relief agencies was quickly recognized; the Openbaar Centrum voor Maatschappelijk Welzijn ([OCMW] Public Center for Social Welfare), established in 1976, is currently one of the main social relief agencies in Flanders. Here, quantitative data concerning its clients are provided, noting that, since 1994/95, relative & absolute records for the number of people in need of financial & medical aid have been broken. This crisis is related to the increasing number of single-parent families, political refugees, drug addicts, & elderly in the inner city. The need for preventive policies is addressed, asserting that only integrated development projects can improve matters for all risk groups. 6 Tables. Adapted from the source document.

The consistency between Karl Popper's political theory & his philosophy is analyzed based on a comparison of his anti-utopianism in The Open Society and Its Enemies. Vol. I, Plato (London, 1986) & The Poverty of Historicism (London, 1960). The dependence of his model of the open society on his special understanding of deontological liberalism is discussed, with special attention to his weak rebuttal to the counterarguments of utopianists. M. Meeks

The legislation and regulations which seek to guarantee good governance in the Caribbean parts of the Dutch Kingdom are similar to the Netherlands. Nevertheless, the administrative performance in the West is significantly inferior to that of the latter. To explain this difference, this thesis highlights the fact that the legislation in the West codifies norms of conduct that are dominant in modern Western societies. However, due to the small-scale, the poverty and the stratification of the insular societies other norms of conduct are dominant in the Caribbean parts of the Dutch Kingdom. To maintain their position politicians depend on electoral support. Therefore they should act according to the norms of conduct that are generally accepted within society. As a result an incentive for politicians is manifest to act contrary to the appropriate line. In the practice of the Caribbean overseas territories this incentive results especially in political patronage. Yet, the examples of Barbados and Anguilla learn that despite the fact that small-scale, poverty and social stratification are unalterable good governance is still possible. Where, however, the high quality of governance in Barbados should especially be ascribed to the de-politicization of the distribution power of public goods of the executive branch, the high quality of governance in Anguilla is mainly due to the supervision of London. Because it should not to be expected that the administrative elite in the Caribbean parts of the Dutch Kingdom will adjust their state system on their own initiative, good governance will in the first place depend on the willingness of the Netherlands to play an active role in the local administrative affairs of the islands in the West.

During the Second World War, crime rates skyrocketed in the occupied Netherlands, particularly concerning theft and other offences against property. These crimes were committed by both those who had been convicted in the prewar period and previously 'well-behaved' citizens. Some of them felt forced to steal by the circumstances, others took advantage of the situation for their own benefit.
How did suspects justify their acts? Did they consider theft during the occupation to be a crime, or not? And how did Dutch judges pass judgement concerning property crimes? Did they have compassion for stealing compatriots, or did they consider theft in times of scarcity and increasing poverty to be a great danger, which should be severely punished? In this book, historian Jan Julia Zurné uses case files and verdicts by Dutch courts to provide insight into the lives, experiences and motivations of wartime thieves.

Noting the inequality in wealth distribution between the haves & have nots in the world today & recognizing the possibility that poverty may become a threat to world peace, Flemish foreign policies, promulgated within the Belgian federation, are outlined. It is noted that, although perceived by many as largely symbolic, the foreign policy actions carried out by the government of Flanders deliver tangible benefits in many regions of the globe & have a profound impact on the formulation & promulgation of foreign policy on the federal level. Several of such initiatives conducted in cooperation with the World Health Organization & UNESCO & targeting third world countries are listed. Recognizing the tragedy of September 11, it is argued that Europe should show solidarity & support to a country which supported the continent when it needed help. However, Europe should also work on preventing any overreaction by the American government in its retaliation. The recent foreign policy initiatives of the federal government, with Louis Michel as its foreign minister, are both appreciated & supported. Z. Dubiel

State formation is defined as the growth of power resources of the state apparatus, the growth of state autonomy, & the growth of societal regulations, sanctioned by state power resources. The relationship between state formation & economic development is investigated, using the method of historical case study. It is hypothesized that growing state regulation is to be expected in periods of acute labor shortage & economic growth. It is found that "houses of correction" were founded in times of overwhelming labor surplus & mass unemployment. The reasons for the foundations of these institutions, however, are not seen as economic, but social: they were a means to fight the social & political consequences of mass unemployment, eg, poverty, crime, & political rebellion. It is concluded that state formation can be found in times of economic prosperity as well as in times of depression, when the depression has severe political or social consequences. It is the result of social & political conflicts possibly due to economic development. Modified HA.

In the summer of 2013, the Vlaams Agentschap Onroerend Erfgoed (Flemish Immovable Heritage Agency) investigated a modest little school building in the vicinity of Ghent (Belgium). The old building proved to be a reconstruction of the model school in the Modern Village, a Belgian government pavilion of great social significance at the 1913 World's Fair in Ghent. The model school is the only surviving building from the Modern Village.Since this discovery, further investigations by the heritage agency have revealed the dearth of scholarly studies of either the Modern Village or the model school building. The great social importance of this Belgian rural model school is, however, becoming increasingly clear. This article is a critical assessment of that importance. A brief outline of the historical context in which the Modern Village and the model school came about is followed by a description of their social significance and the impact on Belgian and European society. The starting point is an analysis of the evaluation reports of the Modern Village published in book form by the then director general of the Ministry of Agriculture, Paul De Vuyst, and a member of parliament, Emile Tibbaut. The authenticity of the reconstruction of the model school is assessed based on recent construction history research. Finally, the question of the extent to which the model school design was adopted was explored during a field trip with the help of local cultural and archival agencies. The 1913 World's Fair in Ghent took place in a period of mass rural migration that resulted in poverty and social unrest in many parts of Europe. The Belgian government was keen to do something about this by building a new countryside with a better quality of life. To that end they exhibited the Modern Village – a practical and instructive embodiment of their policy – at the Ghent World's Fair. The ambition was to modernize the rural economy and beautify the villages. Via the introduction of compulsory education for children between the ages of six and fourteen, future generations would be taught the skills and techniques needed to modernize the economy and simultaneously achieve the edification of the rural population, central to which was a love of one's own region and traditions. The effects of the Modern Village on the modernization of agriculture and on the improvement of the quality of life were felt mainly after the First World War, not just in Belgium but in other countries, too, such as Hungary. The model school in the Modern Village was conceived as an affordable and easy-to-build school building that would facilitate the realization of this new rural culture. The construction survey has demonstrated the authenticity based on the specific roof shapes in stone dating from over a hundred years ago. Recent field research complements the latest investigations by the Flemish Government and strengthens the hypothesis that the model school was widely emulated and played an important role in the implementation of compulsory schooling in Belgium. Further research is necessary, not least to obtain clarity about the adoption of the new teaching methods presented in the model school and the significance of small primary school libraries for the general edification of the rural population.