Taking Care of Society: Shaping Social Participation in Friesland

Abstract

This thesis discusses how social participation is framed, influenced and shaped by governmental institutions, civil society organisations and citizens in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands. It discusses how power is exercised over the concept of social participation with the use of the concept of governmentality , coined by Foucault. Governmentality is about how citizens are conducted and shaped towards certain definitions of citizenship. It argues that the idea of a participation society in the Netherlands is a way of exercising governmentality from state and non-state actors, wishing to create good and sustainable , i.e. responsible, active and communal, citizens in the context of a neoliberal state. In the context of Friesland this thesis reviews whether and how these desirable forms of citizenship refer to social cohesion specific for Friesland, coined by the term mienskip (community/solidarity) and what role cultural politics play in shaping social participation.