Ethnic minorities such as the Roma in Romania and the Indigenous peoples in Canada have struggled for centuries, suffering from discrimination and patronization by both their governments and society. In fact, they continue suffering from poor treatment. In order to address this, minority policies have …

Citizen participation in local renewable energy projects is often promoted as many suppose it to be a panacea for the difficulties that are involved in the energy transition process. Quite evidently, it is not; there is a wide variety of visions, ideologies and interests related to an ‘energy transition’. …

BACKGROUND: The INHERIT (INtersectoral Health and Environment Research for InnovaTion) project has evaluated intersectoral cooperation (IC) in 12 European case studies attempting to promote health, environmental sustainability, and equity through behavior and lifestyle changes. These factors are the …

Dutch citizens collaborate more and more together, and the number of (small) initiatives are increasing. Due to this increasing number of initiatives, the relationship between citizens’ initiatives and the (local) government becomes more necessary and creates new possibilities and opportunities. The …

To achieve the “well below 2 degrees” targets, a new ecosystem needs to be defined where citizens become more active, co-managing with relevant stakeholders, the government, and third parties. This means moving from the traditional concept of citizens-as-consumers towards energy citizenship. Positive …

Population decline, welfare state reforms and austerity measures pressurise the liveability of rural areas in the Netherlands and call upon local governments and communities to adapt and renew their mode of governance. This paper reports on three Dutch experimental governance arrangements which are analysed …

Background Refugees encounter texts such as course books, pamphlets and exams during mandatory integration in the Netherlands. Texts present explicit or implicit messages to refugees on “successful” integration and citizenship. The What’s the Problem Represented to Be? (WPR) approach from Carol Bacchi, …

Across European cities local entrepreneurs are joining forces in new ways, forming collectives to stimulate business growth and innovation and to create a more attractive business environment. The value of such collectives is increasingly recognized by local governments and policy measures to stimulate …

"In recent years, the former Dutch welfare state has been transformed into a participation society [1]. As support from the government decreases, citizens are increasingly expected to be self-managing. Since not everyone is able to be self-managing, there is an increasing demand for help offered by volunteers. …

In recent years, the threat of Islamic terrorism became visible in several European countries. The terrorist attacks that occurred in France, Belgium, the United Kingdom, etc. shocked the European society. Especially the phenomenon of home-grown terrorists, individuals who radicalised in European countries, …