Globally, we are seeing a decline in the democratic content of countries. In the Netherlands, too, authoritative reports have been warning for years about the limitations and problems of the democratic constitutional state in the Netherlands, including by the State Commission on the Parliamentary System (Remkes), the Advisory Committee on Strengthening the Resilience of the Democratic Constitutional State (Marcouch) and the State Commission on the Constitutional State (Kummeling). These are just a few of the numerous commissions and advisory reports that have been published on the subject.

Nevertheless, pressure on democracy appears to be increasing and reforms are not forthcoming. Apparently, the analyses do not provide sufficient momentum to answer the fundamental questions surrounding autocratisation. That is why we ask the question: What does the future hold for democracy in the Netherlands?

What we do 
Around the time of the House of Representatives elections on 29 October, Socires, with the support of the Resilient Democracy Foundation, is organising four closed-door discussions on the state of Dutch democracy. Together with key figures from our democratic system, we will examine whether there is democratic erosion in the Netherlands and what the future of our democratic system might look like.

This programme is made possible by Stichting Weerbare Democratie

Want to know more?
If you have any questions about the program Making Democracy Work, our activities or publications? Or do you want to make an appointment for a meeting or presentation? Please contact programme coordinator Paul Bosman.