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Policy making in the Netherlands during three post-WWII periods is examined, focusing on limits imposed by the structure of society & the intellectual climate of the time. Intellectual & political constraints in economic policy, welfare policy, physical planning, & foreign affairs are discussed. Political constraints are shifting because of changes in market assessment, planning, & coordination. An increase in consultation among government, employers organizations, & trade unions is advocated, with the government establishing macroeconomic & social guidelines. Modified HA

This article is focused on Professor Buikema's intellectual oeuvre and the relation between art and politics as it materialised in MOED (Museum of Equality and Difference). Astrid Kerchman and Rosa Wevers, MOED's former project coordinators, reflect on their collaboration with Buikema through an interview with artist Iris Kensmil on the important role of art in complex social issues relating to emancipation, representation, and resistance. Drawing on the interview with Kensmil and Buikema's Revolts in Cultural Critique (2020), Alessandra Benedicty-Kokken reflects on the meaning of feminist leadership within an institutional context.

"Legaliteit en legitimiteit" takes one of the central problems of law and jurisprudence as its point of departure: what is the law? Adopting an intermediate position between legal positivism and natural law, this book reflects on the concept of 'liberal democracy' or 'constitutional democracy'. In five chapters the book analyses: (i) the idea of higher law, (ii) liberal democracy as a legitimate model for the state, (iii) the separation of church and state or secularism as essential for the democratic state, (iv) the universality of higher law principles, (v) the history of modern political thought. This interdisciplinary approach to jurisprudence is relevant for legal scholars, philosophers, political theorists, public intellectuals, historians, and politicians.

The gender, profession, & age of local elected Flemish politicians (N = 23,465), 1946-1988, are analyzed with respect to the composition of the population as a whole, & changes in it, drawing on data from the Belgian National Instit for Statistics. It is found that women have been underrepresented in Flemish local politics throughout the era, although slight improvements are observed from 1970 onward, especially after implementation of a representation law in 1994. Higher socioeconomic strata tend to be overrepresented, especially in larger communities; whereas the number of blue-collar workers, agrarians, & employers decreased significantly, the number of intellectuals, employees, & teachers increased. Few representatives under age 35 & over age 60 tended to be elected, but a decrease of average age around 1970 is observed. Differences between representatives of the various political parties are also discussed. 2 Tables. Adapted from the source document.

Professors and octopuses have one thing in common: They both know how to use ink in order to produce clouds that hide the truth from those not supposed to see it. German professors in particular made ample use of this technique when they were required by law to implement the so-called Bolognareform, a wide-ranging overhaul of most elements of teaching 'as they knew it'. As quickly became evident, the hitch with Bologna is this: If taken seriously, it cannot but devalue essential investments, intellectual as well as habitual, individual as well as institutional, that have 'framed' the professorial way of life. Hence this new policy was considered an unreasonable demand and an intolerable intrusion. Almost everyone felt victimized, pondered inner emigration or even open resistance, and invented nobler causes for this than his own comfort. The reformers were in a position to enforce compliance with the letter, if not the spirit, of the law. In return, their opponents did what was in their power -- while adhering to the letter -- to kill its spirit. Adapted from the source document.

Why does pol'al life in the US seem to suffer from intellectual anemia? Partly at least, because historically, the US has been an Eldorado, the ideal society. For many generations of underpriveleged people all over the world, the 'Amer Dream' was simply the belief in heaven on earth. Hence the US became a messianistic society, with some overtones, on the one hand, of complacency, & on the other of fear of the Villain who would endanger the Promised Land. This mixture of self-righteousness & anxiety forms the basis for a solid conservatism, not only more widely spread than in any other country, but also more respectable-a paradox as such in the most dynamic & progressive nation of the world. Consequently, the security syndrome, if not permanent, can always easily be revived at any moment. Many groups, pol'al or others, respectable or secret, derive from it, for a variety of reasons & flourish on the suspicion of an anti-Amer conspiracy, whether inside or outside the US. Among them, the John Birch Society seems to be one of the most interesting, because the discrepancy between its modest numbers & considerable influence, expresses, by contrast, the extent to which it is representative of a basic feature of Amer soc behavior. AA.

The development of a strict methodology of observation & analysis in soc sci has always met with resistance. In the current debate on this topic in the US, 2 positions can be distinguished. There are the 'theorists,' who find their inspiration in the work of recent philosophers such as H. Marcuse & J.-P. Sartre; they rate the formation of a pol'al theory as a 1st priority. Then there are the 'behaviorists,' whose first care is for sci'fic method. This contrast is reviewed on the basis of the document, "Political Science at Berkeley, An Invitation to a Discussion," which was published anonymously by a group of students. The criticism of these students can be summarized under the headings 'commitment' & 'relevance.' As far as commitment is concerned, the critics reproach the behaviorists for not taking stands in important contemporary moral issues, & for identifying with the status quo. It is argued here that what leads to acceptance of & identification with the existing pol'al order is not behaviorist methodology as such, but rather the mood of the behaviorists. As far as 'relevance' is concerned, the critics are impatient with the futile detail analysis & data collecting of the behaviorists. The behaviorists' use of a strict methodology of explanation by generalization leads to a reduction of the scope of analysis. Then only the 'easy' aspects ('easy' to quantify, 'easy' to collect, etc) are analyzed, & discontinuous developments are neglected. The argument presented here is that the lack of a dynamic theory of the pol'al process is an impediment indeed for pol'al sci, but that, again, behaviorism as such cannot be accused of being 'conservative' or 'conformistic': the refutation of race theories, for example, was rather a radical undertaking. It is concluded that for the time being it is not necessary to lay other bounds on pol'al sci than those that follow from the claims of rational debate & intellectual honesty. HA.