Nanke Verloo - (Re)politicizing Participation

Nanke Verloo Openresearch editorial board

Making Amsterdam’s democracy more inclusive through protest and dissent

Democratization is high on Amsterdam’s political agenda. Various democratization projects were implemented that engage citizens in communal activities. Although highly valuable, the post-political nature of these projects shifts the attention away from more politically sensitive issues, favoring one type of participatory activity and citizenship over others. Protest and dissent seem to have no place in the democratization agenda. Post-political theory warns for a democratic deficit that gives rise to populism when policy making avoids ‘the political’. Although public officials have the intention to listen to citizens, their repertoire is restricted to highly regulated public meetings that provide limited space for dissent. When citizens protest outside predefined ‘governance’ arrangements, their acts are rarely understood as ‘participation’. This project seeks to (re)politicize participation. In close collaboration with public officials, citizens and politicians, I ethnographically studied how citizen participation in Amsterdam can be more inclusive to dissent and protest. The participation process around redevelopment in Entreegebied Gulden Winckel in Amsterdam West was the basis for policy advice to civil servants and reflection sessions with citizens, civil servants and political leaders to improve the quality of citizen participation in Amsterdam.