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

在动荡年代寻求稳定。荷兰首相扬·彼得·巴尔克嫩德（Jan Peter Balkenende, 2002-2010）。直到20世纪末，荷兰人自己和外国观察家都认为荷兰是一个政治稳定、宽容和亲欧的国家。政治上的少数民族和移民被视为以模范的方式融合在一起，政治文化似乎被在关键社会问题上寻求共识的努力所主导，而不是被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·福图恩（Pim Fortuyn， 2002年）被谋杀，电影制作人西奥·梵高（Theo van Gogh， 2004年）被出于政治动机暗杀，以及关于移民融合的两极分化的公众辩论。国际问题也在前所未有的程度上引发了激烈的争议，比如日益增长的欧洲怀疑主义，以及荷兰在美国领导的伊拉克和阿富汗军事行动中所扮演的角色。这一时期由基督教民主党首相扬·彼得·巴尔克嫩德（Jan Peter Balkenende）主导，他从2002年到2010年领导了四届内阁，可以说是自1945年以来荷兰政治最动荡的阶段。到目前为止，还没有对荷兰历史上这一时期的国内、国际和社会经济发展进行全面的描述。本研究力求填补这一研究空白。最初的调查结果是有希望的，并提供了新的见解，尤其是因为可以参考一些以前无法获得的来源：总理、外交部和内政部的档案。在研究的下一阶段将查阅社会事务和劳工部以及财政部的档案。另一个独特的来源是对主要政治家的采访。到目前为止，已经有13名内阁成员和10多名政治人士和政府高层官员同意接受采访，此外还有企业和工会领袖。前总理巴尔克嫩德接受了采访，他将首次深入谈论自己作为政府首脑的角色。另外，还将利用国会辩论、调查、日报、周刊的代表性文章等资料。在9/11后的第一个十年里，研究政治、社会经济和交流领域之间错综复杂的关系，不仅适用于荷兰，因为荷兰的一些发展对其他欧洲民主国家来说并不陌生。他们也在与选举的动荡、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作斗争。因此，这项研究将为21世纪初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.