In quest of stability in turbulent years. The Netherlands under prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende (2002-2010)

在动荡的岁月里寻求稳定。荷兰在简·彼得·巴尔克嫩德(Jan Peter Balkenende，2002-2010)首相的领导下，直到20世纪末，荷兰一直被荷兰人自己和外国观察家视为一个政治稳定、宽容和亲欧洲的国家。政治少数群体和移民被视为以模范的方式融合在一起，政治文化似乎被试图在关键社会问题上达成共识而不是相互对抗的政治所主导。2002年，这种看法开始倾斜。这一变化的标志是成功的右翼政治家皮姆·弗图恩(Pim Fortuyn)被谋杀(2002年)，出于政治动机的电影制片人西奥·梵高(Theo Van Gogh)(2004年)遇刺身亡，以及关于移民融合的公开辩论两极分化。国际问题也引发了前所未有的激烈争议，比如日益增长的欧洲怀疑论，以及荷兰在美国领导的伊拉克和阿富汗军事行动中扮演的角色。这段时期由基督教民主党首相扬·彼得·巴尔克嫩德(Jan Peter Balkenende)主导，他在2002年至2010年期间领导了四个内阁，可以说是自1945年以来荷兰政治最动荡的阶段。到目前为止，还没有对荷兰这段历史时期的国内、国际和社会经济发展情况进行透彻的说明。本研究力求填补这一研究空白。初步的发现是有希望的，并提供了新的见解，尤其是因为可以查阅一些以前无法访问的来源：首相、外交部和内政部的档案。在下一阶段的研究中，将查阅社会事务和劳动部和财政部的档案。一个独特的额外来源是对主要政治家的采访。到目前为止，提到这一时期的13名内阁成员和大约10名其他政客和政府高级官员以及商业和工会领导人已同意接受采访。前总理巴尔克嫩德接受了采访，在采访中，他将首次深入谈论他作为政府首脑的角色。其他材料将来自议会辩论、调查以及具有代表性的日报和周刊文章精选。研究9/11事件后第一个十年期间政治、社会经济和交流领域之间相互交织的关系具有超越荷兰情况的意义，因为荷兰的一些事态发展对其他欧洲民主国家来说并不陌生。他们也在努力应对选举的波动、民粹主义的兴起、关于移民和融合的激烈辩论、组建政府联盟的困难，以及日益增长的欧洲怀疑主义。因此，这项研究将为21世纪初对发达民主国家的比较视角奠定基础。

In quest of stability in turbulent years. The Netherlands under prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende (2002-2010)Until the end of the 20th century, the Netherlands was regarded as a politically stable, tolerant, and pro-European nation, both by the Dutch themselves and by foreign observers. Political minorities and immigrants were viewed as being integrated in exemplary ways, and the political culture seemed to be dominated by the attempt to find consensus on key societal issues rather than by interconfrontational politics. In 2002, this perception began to tilt. The change was marked by the murder of the successful right-wing politician Pim Fortuyn (2002), the politically motivated assassination of filmmaker Theo van Gogh (2004), and polarized public debates on the integration of immigrants. International issues, too, caused harsh controversy on a level hitherto unknown, like growing Euro-scepticism and the Dutch role in the US-led military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. This period, dominated by Christian Democrat Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, who headed four cabinets from 2002 to 2010, can be characterized as the most agitated phase of Dutch politics since 1945. So far, there is no thorough account of the domestic, international and socio-economic developments during this period of Dutch history. This study strives to fill this research lacuna. The initial findings are promising and offer new insights, not the least because a number of sources could be consulted that were not accessible before: the archives of the Prime Minister, of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and of the Home Office. The archives of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour and of the Ministry of Finance will be consulted during the next phase of the research. A unique additional source are the interviews with leading politicians. So far, 13 cabinet members of the period mentioned and around 10 other politicians and high-ranking government officials have agreed to be interviewed, as well as business and labour union leaders. Former Prime Minister Balkenende granted an interview in which he will speak in depth about his role as head of government for the first time. Additional material will be used from parliamentary debates, surveys, and a representative selection of articles in dailies and weeklies. Studying the intertwined relations between the political, socio-economic and communicative spheres during the first post-9/11 decade is relevant beyond the Dutch case, as a number of developments in the Netherlands are not foreign to other European democracies. They, too, struggle with electoral volatility, the rise of populism, heated debates on immigration and integration, difficulties in forming a government coalition, and growing Euro-scepticism. This study therefore will lay the ground for a comparative perspective on developed democracies in the early 21st century.