Drawing on the CBS survey ‘Social Cohesion and Well-being’ and register data covering the entire Dutch population, he shows how trust, participation and integration have developed since 2012.

The book covers mutual trust, trust in institutions, social contacts, mutual support, volunteering, associational membership and political engagement. It also examines where population groups are converging and where polarisation is increasing, and how social cohesion relates to happiness, life satisfaction and prosocial behaviour, including charitable donations and organ donation.

Crises, polarisation and resilience

Schmeets places the data in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, economic uncertainty, political crises and international developments. He shows how periods of crisis affect trust in politics and institutions, how citizens relate to government, and how social discontent manifests itself in participation, protest and voting behaviour.

The book pays particular attention to differences between population groups — by age, level of education, income, socio-economic position, migration background, religion and political preference. The result is a nuanced picture of a society in which both resilience and tensions are clearly visible.

Essential for policy, research and education

Sociale cohesie en veerkracht in Nederland provides policy-makers in local authorities, ministries and civil society organisations with an empirical basis for well-informed decision-making. For researchers and students in sociology, political science, demography, public administration and the social sciences, it offers a current and methodologically solid reference work. Journalists and commentators seeking to assess the social condition of the Netherlands will also find reliable, accessible data here.

Why open access at Maastricht University Press?

A study on social cohesion, trust and societal resilience speaks directly to core questions of democracy and public justice. Debates about polarisation and declining institutional trust unfold not only within academia, but also in politics, policy-making and the wider public debate.

By publishing this book as an open-access title, Maastricht University Press lowers the threshold for use in education, research and policy. From students to administrators, from local policy-makers to journalists — anyone with an interest in the social condition of the Netherlands can freely consult, reuse and apply the analyses in their own work.

With his meticulous analyses and strong societal engagement, Hans Schmeets has produced an essential reference point for everyone working on trust, participation and resilience in Dutch society.

 

Sociale cohesie en veerkracht in Nederland: Mythen, beeldvorming en feiten is available under an open-access license from Maastricht University Press.

🔗 Read online, download, or order your print copy here: https://doi.org/10.26481/mup.2604 

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