Here you find an overview of our publications (in Dutch and English) about Dutch culture wars in journals, columns, and newspapers.
Diepgaande gesprekken met lager opgeleide burgers leggen diepgewortelde gevoelens van afstand tot politici bloot. Deze afstand blijkt een belangrijke reden voor hun politiek wantrouwen.
Photo: Minister-President Rutte (Flickr Creative Commons)
Peer-reviewed journal article in British Journal of Sociology (December 27, 2020)
Abstract
Why is discontent with politicians highest among less‐educated citizens? Supplementing explanations concerning a lack of resources and knowledge, we examine the cultural distance to many a politician perceived by this group. Inspired by qualitative studies mapping the worldviews of people from the lower social strata, we explore less‐educated citizens’ perceptions of politicians using in‐depth (group) interviews carried out in various regions of the Netherlands (n = 26). Our analysis indicates that this group regards politicians as culturally distant “others” and that this perception goes hand in hand with specific negative evaluations of politicians. This improves our understanding of the much‐reported political discontent of these citizens. In moving beyond the often mentioned unspecific divide between the “people” and the “elite”, our analysis reveals that our interviewees: (i) consider politicians to be insensitive to the lived experiences of the “common” people, and therefore, question their legitimacy and the policies they propose; (ii) resent their communication styles, which they describe as “beating about the bush” and perceive to be emblematic of indecisiveness and a lack of integrity; and (iii) accuse them of superiority signaling, inspiring feelings of misrecognition and opposition. We conclude with detailing the implications of our findings for (future) research.
Vaak wordt opgemerkt dat er in Nederland veel vertrouwen in de politiek is. Maar onder veel lager opgeleiden leeft juist wantrouwen. Diepgaande gesprekken bieden inzicht in deze kloof tussen burgers en politiek.
Photo: Sokin (Flickr Creative Commons)
Photo: Bas van der Schot (Erasmus Magazine)
How do you prevent a heated discussion with your uncle during Christmas dinner? Cultural sociologist Willem de Koster explains how you can safely navigate between the cliffs in these times of polarisation.
Het wantrouwen in politici wordt niet enkel gevoed door wat politici vinden, maar ook door de culturele superioriteit die zij zichzelf met name volgens lageropgeleiden toedichten met hun progressieve culturele opvattingen.
Photo: Mike Andrews (Flickr Creative Commons)
Peer-reviewed journal article in The Sociological Quarterly (April 3, 2019)
Abstract
Much of the educational gradient in trust in politicians remains unexplained by prevailing theories on material resources and institutional knowledge. Our novel explanation theorizes that: in its relationship with trust in politicians, education is a status indicator; and the lower trust in politicians among the less educated reflects the latter’s opposition to the former’s status signaling. Analyses of representative Dutch survey data (n = 1,296) demonstrate that indicators of affinity with elite culture do indeed largely underlie the association between the level of education and trust in politicians. We discuss the relevance of our findings for debates on “culture wars.”