The changing landscape of Dutch politics since the 1970s: A comparative exploration

The main question of this article is when, how and why the political system of the Netherlands has changed from a typical consensus democracy towards a more adversarial-driven system. We examine the change in Dutch politics across time with a special focus on the dynamics of the party system and type of coalition governments emerging after the 1970s. Our analysis indicates that Dutch politics has indeed become less consensus driven and party behaviour in particular tends to a more adversarial modus. In addition, our comparative analysis demonstrates that the Dutch political system has moved in a different direction than most others. Using Lijphart's indicators of Consensus Democracy we find that the direction of change is mainly towards less adversarial politics, whereas the Netherlands moved in an opposite direction. This change, occurring mainly after 1990, persists as a 'pendulum consociationalism', strengthening and weakening over time. Apparently, adjustment and flexible response to a changing electoral climate and related party behaviour results in a cyclical movement as regards to party interactions between the established parties and successful 'newcomers'.