Give Politicians’ Power the Counter-power it Deserves

The recent Dutch elections are a reminder that building a better society requires us to look beyond governments, parties and the politics of politics. It’s time to be inspired by the transformative, inclusive power of citizen-led movements from the past and present, next door and around the world.

"We have to make new choices. How can we ensure that power and counter-power are in balance with each other once again?" These were the thoughtful words of Dutch Christian Union party leader Gert-Jan Segers in the wake of the political scandals that both preceded and followed the Netherlands' national elections in March this year. Lack of transparency, lies by elected politicians and attempts to curb Parliament’s role in critical oversight had not only eroded citizens’ trust in government, and particularly in Prime Minister Mark Rutte, but also eroded the trust among political parties. In the midst of negotiations over the building of a governing coalition , Segers' words came as he said his party would, upon reflection, rule out joining a new cabinet headed by Rutte.

Segers' words also have a broader resonance beyond their immediate context. They echo what many people have come to feel, namely that politics should be about more than deal-making and power struggles among political parties. It is time to look at new, more inclusive choices for our society, and to reflect on whose voices are being heard as important decisions are made.

The Netherlands is a country that prides itself on its democracy, its stability, and above all on its “polder model” of dialogue-based politics built around coalition-building and compromise. On the surface, it looks like a good strategy for balanced decision-making. But the Netherlands is also a country whose most recent government, led by Rutte, stepped down in January of this year over a tax scandal in which thousands of citizens – many of whom came from migrant and minority communities - were wrongly accused of fraud, where recent elections have shown growing fragmentation and support for extreme right parties, and where the Prime Minister admitted to lying to Parliament and media about his attempts to sideline a critical MP.

Five months on, the Netherlands is still without a government, and all eyes are on the protracted and fractious coalition-building negotiations. Yet, the solutions to the problems facing the country are unlikely to come from The Hague. Not because (reliable) politics and government are not important, but because power does not change without counter-power. And counter-power doesn't start in the House of Representatives. Counter-power starts with citizens.

For everyone who, like us, has looked on with dismay at unaccountable and exclusionary political leadership – not only in recent months, but for many years – the idea that citizens can and should be at the heart of power is a source of hope. Social progress has always been the result of the work of ordinary people. Think of the women who fought for self-determination and the right to vote; think of the Black Americans of the civil rights movement who refused to be treated as second-class citizens; and think, more recently, of the young people in countless countries calling for action on the climate emergency. Even though media and the establishment frequently express surprise at the seemingly sudden power of social movements, the people who are part of these movements know: this is where real change begins.

Mark and Paul Engler illustrate this powerful force beautifully in their recent book This is an Uprising: How Nonviolent Revolt is Shaping the 21st Century, in which they draw lessons from many different eras and actors, ranging from American civil rights campaigns to the Otpor movement in Serbia whose activism, laced with humour, helped lead to the fall of Slobodan Milosevic. However diverse these examples, many of the Englers’ lessons touch on universal concepts, and are strongly relevant for the Netherlands today. These examples are reminders that even the best leaders need pressure from outside politics to do the right thing. They are reminders, too, that a sense of urgency and hope, combined with systems critique, can connect people in a broad movement – and that this is a prerequisite for effective counter-power.

In recent years in the Netherlands, we have seen more and more citizens organising. In Groningen, the government finally committed to phasing out gas extraction after years of determined action by environmental groups and local citizens affected by earthquakes caused by the extraction. Persistent protests and educational efforts by anti-racist organisations over “Zwarte Piet” (Black Pete), the blackface character in the Dutch children’s holiday Sinterklaas, have shifted what once looked to be intractable public opinion, and made possible important steps towards a more inclusive annual celebration. None of this would have been possible without years of courageous struggle by ordinary people who were willing to come together and speak out, despite the hostility their actions often elicited. These are people whose actions speak to their determination to improve our society, and to the importance of counter-power, too.

Both of us will admit that over the past few months we have followed TV and newspaper reports on the coalition negotiations in The Hague as if it were a soap opera. It is easy to get caught up in the politics of politics, speculating endlessly about what horse-trading will happen next, but ultimately this is a distraction from what really matters. The problems facing the Netherlands lie much deeper: inequality, social and economic exclusion, and a widespread a lack of confidence in our democracy’s core institutions. Not to mention the all too frequent inhumanity of the policies targeting migrants and refugees, and the lack of concerted action on the climate emergency.

Segers was right about the need for a new balance between power and counter-power. But to achieve it, we need to look beyond the walls of Parliament, the corridors of government, and the arena of electoral politics. For anyone who wants to be a part of building a more just and inclusive society we say: be inspired by experiences from elsewhere, and from the past. Find like-minded people and organise beyond your own bubble. Build a new story about a country that works for everyone, and is built on a healthy balance of power and trust. Help Parliament fulfil its role the very best it can, and help leaders make new and better choices. Give power the counter-power it deserves. For the love of democracy.

An earlier Dutch-language version of this article was previously published in the Dutch newspaper Trouw.

The views expressed in this post are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Atlantic Fellows for Social and Economic Equity programme, the International Inequalities Institute, or the London School of Economics and Political Science.