Wouter Veenendaal | Leiden University (original) (raw)

Papers by Wouter Veenendaal

Handbook on the Politics of Small States, 2020

Reflecting their diminutive size and protracted existence as sovereign states, the political syst... more Reflecting their diminutive size and protracted existence as sovereign states, the political systems of the four European microstates – Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco and San Marino – contain various idiosyncratic elements, as well as some unique political institutions. The chapter offers an in-depth analysis of the political systems, international relations and economic and societal characteristics of these four European microstates. Moreover, European integration and the exploitation of niche markets have provided these very small states with great opportunities. Yet, as with other small states, such occasions are always accompanied by risks and vulnerabilities.

Books by Wouter Veenendaal

Population and Politics: The Impact of Scale, 2020

Every country, every subnational government, and every district has a designated population, and ... more Every country, every subnational government, and every district has a designated population, and this has a bearing on politics in ways most citizens and policymakers are barely aware of. Population and Politics provides a comprehensive evaluation of the political implications stemming from the size of a political unit – on social cohesion, the number of representatives, overall representativeness, particularism ('pork'), citizen engagement and participation, political trust, electoral contestation, leadership succession, professionalism in government, power concentration in the central apparatus of the state, government intervention, civil conflict, and overall political power. A multimethod approach combines field research in small states and islands with cross-country and within-country data analysis. Population and Politics will be of interest to academics, policymakers, and anyone concerned with decentralization and multilevel governance.

Why are small states statistically more likely to have a democratic political system? By addressi... more Why are small states statistically more likely to have a democratic political system? By addressing this question from a qualitative and comparative methodological angle, this book analyses the effects of a small population size on political competition and participation. By comparing the four microstates of San Marino (Europe), St. Kitts and Nevis (Caribbean), Seychelles (Africa), and Palau (Oceania), it provides fresh and stimulating insight, concluding that the political dynamics of microstates are not as democratic as commonly believed. Instead, it is found in all four cases that smallness results in personalistic politics, dominance of the political executive, patron-client relations between citizens and politicians, and the circumvention of formal political institutions. In addition, the book suggests that the study of formal institutions provides an incomplete image of microstate democracy and that informal characteristics of politics in microstates also need to be explored in order to better explain the influence of smallness on democracy.

This book will be of key interest to scholars and students of democracy, democratization, regional and decentralization studies and comparative politics.

Blog Posts by Wouter Veenendaal

Articles by Wouter Veenendaal

Government & Opposition, 2020

The personalization of politics, the decline of political parties and the weakening of political ... more The personalization of politics, the decline of political parties and the weakening of political institutions in large democracies are considered to produce instability and to undermine democratic governance. Yet despite having extremely informal and personalized systems with non-ideological parties, small states around the world maintain significantly higher levels of democracy and regime stability than large ones. This article addresses this paradox by offering a systematic literature review of 167 case study publications on personalization and informal politics in 46 small states. The analysis reveals that personalized relations between political elites translate into either fragmentation or power concentration, while pervasive patron-client linkages structure the interaction between citizens and politicians. Despite the obvious downsides of these dynamics for democratic governance, the small state system is functional in the sense that it fulfils the needs of both citizens and politicians, which explains why small states have succeeded in maintaining their political stability.

Island Studies Journal, 2020

For a great majority of former colonies, the outcome of decolonization was independence. Yet scat... more For a great majority of former colonies, the outcome of decolonization was independence. Yet scattered across the globe, remnants of former colonial empires are still non-sovereign as part of larger metropolitan states. There is little drive for independence in these territories, virtually all of which are small island nations, also known as sub-national island jurisdictions (SNIJs). Why do so many former colonial territories choose to remain non-sovereign? In this paper we attempt to answer this question by conducting a global comparative study of non-sovereign jurisdictions. We start off by analyzing their present economic, social and political conditions, after which we assess local levels of (dis)content with the contemporary political status, and their articulation in postcolonial politics. We find that levels of discontent and frustration covary with the particular demographic, socioeconomic and historical-cultural conditions of individual territories. While significant independence movements can be observed in only two or three jurisdictions, in virtually all cases there is profound dissatisfaction and frustration with the contemporary non-sovereign arrangement and its outcomes. Instead of achieving independence, the territories' real struggle nowadays is for obtaining 'true equality' with the metropolis, as well as recognition of their distinct cultural identities.

Area, 2020

From a comparative political perspective, island jurisdictions stand out as having exceptionally ... more From a comparative political perspective, island jurisdictions stand out as having
exceptionally democratic regimes in comparison with mainland or continental
polities. Irrespective of their geographical location, levels of economic development or constitutional status (sovereign or nonsovereign), with only a few exceptions, island jurisdictions around the world have democratic political institutions.
While some scholars have explained this relationship on the basis of colonial history, international political dynamics or the geographical isolation and remoteness
that stem from being an island, others have argued that the smallness of islands
explains the correlation, meaning that size is actually the causal factor that
explains the prevalence of democratic governance. In this paper, an original
account of the relationship between islandness and democracy is provided, foregrounding the informal political dynamics that can be observed in island territories around the world. To do this, the specific nature, dynamics and varieties of
democratic governance in island jurisdictions are examined. Most island nations
have adopted the political-institutional framework of former colonial powers or
metropolitan states, and these have only rarely been modified to suit the (small)
island context. Yet due to the greater social intimacy and interconnectedness of
island societies, these formal institutional frameworks are likely to be complemented or overshadowed by a set of powerful informal political dynamics, which
means that a large part of the political process is conducted outside of the official
political channels. These informal politics have mixed effects on the quality of
democratic governance, as face-to-face relations offer both opportunities and
drawbacks for democratic transparency and accountability. The last analytical section of the paper examines the interaction between formal institutional structures
and the prevalent informal political dynamics in island territories, and argues that
this interplay perhaps provides the best explanation for the survival of democratic
institutions in island territories.

Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, 2019

This analysis of nation-building and nation branding in post-colonial, multi-ethnic Suriname buil... more This analysis of nation-building and nation branding in post-colonial, multi-ethnic Suriname
builds on the notion that such policies are promising but also difficult to achieve in culturally
divided societies. We zoom in on three episodes of nation-building and nation branding in
the country and explain why and in what respects they succeeded or failed. We posit that in
Suriname’s case, nation-building and nation branding are intertwined, because the latter cannot be seen in isolation from nation-building. In the Conclusion, we discuss the effects of
colonial legacies in multi-ethnic societies on nation-building and nation branding

Ethnopolitics, 2020

Pointing to a number of informal dynamics in small societies that are supposed to enhance coopera... more Pointing to a number of informal dynamics in small societies that are supposed to
enhance cooperation and consensus, traditional studies on power-sharing posit that small states are
‘most likely’ candidates for stable, multiethnic democracy. These assumptions are, however,
challenged by the case study literature on small states which highlights a variety of informal
patterns that undermine democratic governance. Addressing this contradiction, the present paper
provides an in-depth analysis of power-sharing politics in Suriname, a small, culturally
heterogeneous country in South America that initially figured as a prominent case in consociational
theory. The analysis reveals that the smallness of Suriname strongly affects and shapes the nature
of democracy in the country. On the one hand, clientelism ensures that members of each ethnic
group included in power-sharing arrangements have access to state resources and services, thus
providing a large measure of political stability. On the other hand, clientelism undermines the
functioning of multiethnic democracy by a host of negative side effects, among which economic
and social dependency of citizens, executive dominance and authoritarian politics, endemic
corruption that goes largely unpunished, and state predation by elites. The upshot is that whereas
power-sharing arrangements in small societies might indeed be facilitated by a small population
size, there is a heavy price to pay in terms of the quality of democracy.

Political Studies, 2019

While it has long been assumed that smaller communities are more prone to particularistic politic... more While it has long been assumed that smaller communities are more prone to particularistic politics, the relationship between state size and clientelism remains strongly undertheorized. Departing from the assumption that face-to-face contacts, overlapping role relations, stronger monitoring mechanisms, and the enhanced power of single votes contribute to the emergence of patron-client linkages, this article provides an in-depth case study of clientelism in Malta, the smallest member state of the European Union. The analysis reveals not only that patron-client linkages are a ubiquitous feature of political life in Malta, but also that the smallness of Malta strongly affects the functioning of clientelism by eliminating the need for brokers and enhancing the power of clients versus patrons. In addition, clientelism is found to be related to several other characteristics of Maltese politics, among which the sharp polarization between parties, extremely high turnout rates, profound executive dominance, and the incidence of corruption scandals. "Min mhux magħna, kontra tagħna" (those who are not with us, are against us)-Dom Mintoff, prime minister of Malta

Regional & Federal Studies, 2018

Whereas political scientists tend to make binary distinctions between sovereign states and subnat... more Whereas political scientists tend to make binary distinctions between sovereign
states and subnational units, in recent decades the number of a third, hybrid
category of federacies or non-sovereign jurisdictions has strongly increased. In
this paper, we explore the benefits and downsides of non-sovereignty from
the perspective of these territories’ inhabitants. We zoom in on the six islands
of the Dutch Caribbean, which in 2010 experienced a profound change in
their political status. Using data from two large-scale opinion surveys that we
conducted in 1998 and 2015, respectively, we show that the population of
the Dutch Caribbean islands maintains a highly ambiguous attitude towards
the non-sovereign status. While many respondents appreciate the material
benefits of the enduring link with the metropolis, there are significant
emotional and ideational objections to this relationship. These findings are
embedded in broader scholarly discussions about the position of
decentralized and peripheral jurisdictions vis-à-vis their administrative core.

Foreign Policy Analysis

The position of small states in international relations is traditionally described in terms of vu... more The position of small states in international relations is traditionally described in terms of vulnerability and dependence. This dominant perspective is largely incomplete and inaccurate, because it disregards the element of exchange that characterizes the international linkages between many small and large states. In this article, I aim to outline and motivate an alternative model on the basis of which such relationships can be understood, which has been referred to as the international patron–client framework. After providing an overview of the contemporary academic literature on the role of small states in international politics, two sections follow in which I motivate the applicability of the patron–client framework to the field of international relations, and in which I explain the motives of both patron and client states. Subsequently, the accuracy and usefulness of the framework is examined on the basis of interview data gathered during field research in the three small client states of St. Kitts and Nevis, Seychelles, and Palau. The findings of this analysis indicate that the patron–client linkage offers a more fruitful model to study the relations between small and large states than the existing literature does, because it recognizes the element of exchange that such relationships entail.

Beleid & Maatschappij

Hoewel de zes Nederlandse eilanden in het Caribisch gebied allen (zeer) beperkt in omvang zijn, w... more Hoewel de zes Nederlandse eilanden in het Caribisch gebied allen (zeer) beperkt in omvang zijn, wordt bij het analyseren van politieke problemen op de eilanden zelden gerefereerd aan hun bevolkingsgrootte. Uit beschikbare wetenschappelijke literatuur blijkt dat de bevolkingsgrootte van staten een grote invloed heeft op de aanwezigheid en kwaliteit van democratisch bestuur, al verschillen wetenschappers van mening over de vraag of kleinschaligheid een voordeel of een nadeel is voor democratische ontwikkeling. Na een bespreking van deze theoretische literatuur wordt op basis van veldonderzoek in drie kleine eilandstaten (St. Kitts and Nevis, de Seychellen en Palau) in dit artikel een analyse gegeven van de politieke consequenties van een kleine bevolkingsomvang. Uit deze analyse blijkt dat een aantal effecten van kleinschaligheid in alle drie de onderzochte eilandstaten waargenomen kunnen worden, waaronder een neiging tot personalistische competitie, scherpe polarisatie tussen partijen en politici, particularistische relaties tussen kiezers en gekozenen, en een dominante positie van de uitvoerende macht ten opzichte van andere instituties. Uit een daaropvolgende analyse van de huidige politieke situatie op de Nederlandse Caribische eilanden blijkt dat de gevonden problemen ook op deze eilanden een grote rol spelen, wat aangeeft dat kleinschaligheid wellicht van groter belang is dan nu wordt verondersteld.

Commonwealth and Comparative Politics

Whereas the introduction of democratic structures in third wave-countries has generally been succ... more Whereas the introduction of democratic structures in third wave-countries has generally been successful, the legitimacy of such institutions remains restricted. Since microstates are excluded from most studies, and in consideration of theories that actually presuppose a higher level of institutional legitimacy in smaller settings, it is unclear to what extent these findings can be extended to newly democratic microstates. In the current article, this puzzle is addressed by a comparative analysis of the legitimacy of three types of institutions in the Caribbean microstate of St Kitts and Nevis. On the basis of interview data, it is found that size actually exacerbates the lack of legitimacy that has been observed in larger new democracies.

Comparative Politics

Most contemporary research on political representation is oriented toward advanced, Western democ... more Most contemporary research on political representation is oriented toward advanced, Western democracies. Classical studies in the field, such as those by Hanna F. Pitkin, Christopher Achen, and Bernard Manin, Adam Przeworski, and Susan Stokes, are aimed primarily at conceptualizing and analyzing representation in Western European and North American polities. The principal theories and models developed over the last decades are based on the characteristics of political representation in the West. 1 Although this does not render this literature inapplicable to the non-Western world, recent research on political representation in new democracies points to significant differences in both the nature and the quality of representation in Latin America and Central and Eastern Europe when compared to advanced democracies. 2 For example, political representation in new democracies is often noninstitutionalized (that is, particularistic), 3 in contrast to the predominantly ideological and programmatic linkages between voters and politicians in advanced democracies.

Democratization

In recent decades, several scholars have pointed to a statistical correlation between population ... more In recent decades, several scholars have pointed to a statistical correlation between population size and democracy. Whereas these studies have thus far failed to provide a satisfactory explanation of this link, more case-oriented and qualitative publications have primarily highlighted the democracy-undermining effects of smallness. According to such studies, the proclivity of microstates to democratic rule should be explained on the basis of other factors, which coincide with smallness. In the current article, the nature and quality of politics and democracy in the four microstates of San Marino, St Kitts and Nevis, Seychelles, and Palau is analysed on the basis of interviews with local respondents. The results indicate that microstate politics is characterized by a disparity between formally democratic institutions and a more antidemocratic political reality, and that size therefore does not directly generate a democratic political system. Instead, for the four analysed microstates the variables of colonial history, geographical location, and international relations appear to have greater explanatory value. Precisely because microstate politics is all about interpersonal relations and informal dynamics, this article contends that qualitative research is the preferable approach for studying politics and democracy in microstates.

Party Politics

Whereas the belief that political parties are necessary elements of democracy is widespread in po... more Whereas the belief that political parties are necessary elements of democracy is widespread in political science, it is in fact empirically false. Six small Pacific island democracies function without parties, and several explanations for the absence of parties in these countries have been developed. In the present article, an interview-based qualitative analysis of one of these six democracies without parties – the Republic of Palau – is offered in order to examine why parties are absent here, and how the Palauan democracy functions without parties. The findings of this case study indicate that both size and culture contribute to the non-existence of parties in Palau, and that the role of parties is in many ways fulfilled by clan
structures. In several respects the absence of parties is found to undermine the functioning of Palauan democracy,
whereas respondents paradoxically indicate that non-elected traditional leadership contributes positively to the performance of democracy in Palau.

Handbook on the Politics of Small States, 2020

Population and Politics: The Impact of Scale, 2020

This book will be of key interest to scholars and students of democracy, democratization, regional and decentralization studies and comparative politics.

Government & Opposition, 2020

Island Studies Journal, 2020

Area, 2020

Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, 2019

Ethnopolitics, 2020

Political Studies, 2019

Regional & Federal Studies, 2018

Foreign Policy Analysis

Beleid & Maatschappij

Commonwealth and Comparative Politics

Comparative Politics

Democratization

Party Politics

The Round Table

Statistics demonstrate that small states are more likely to have democratic systems of government... more Statistics demonstrate that small states are more likely to have democratic systems of government, which—based on Dahl’s conceptualisation of polyarchy—entails the presence of contestation for public office in these countries. In the absence of comparative, qualitative in-depth research on microstate politics, it is, however, largely unclear how size affects the more practical nature of political competition. In this article, the characteristics of political contestation in four microstates around the globe (two of them within the Commonwealth) are examined and compared. The results indicate that whereas the studied microstates of San Marino, St Kitts and Nevis, Seychelles, and Palau have markedly diverging political institutions (e.g. electoral systems and party systems), owing to their small size, in all four of them political contestation is essentially personalistic in nature.

Comparative Political Studies

Small states are conspicuously absent from mainstream comparative political science. There are a ... more Small states are conspicuously absent from mainstream comparative political science. There are a variety of reasons that underpin their marginal position in the established cannon, including their tiny populations, the fact that they are not considered ‘real’ states, their supposedly insignificant role in international politics, and the absence of data. In this article we argue that the discipline is much poorer for not seriously utilising small states as case studies for larger questions. To illustrate this we consider what the case study literature on politics in small states can offer debates about democratization and decentralization, and we highlight that the inclusion of small states in various ways augments or challenges the existing literature in these fields. On this basis, we argue that far from being marginal or insignificant, the intellectual payoffs to the discipline of studying small states are potentially enormous, mainly because they have been overlooked for so long.

Swiss Political Science Review

The Principality of Liechtenstein challenges the prevailing view in political science that ‘small... more The Principality of Liechtenstein challenges the prevailing view in political science that ‘small is democratic.’ Located in the heart of Western Europe, the Principality is ruled by a monarch with extensive political powers. The present article examines how the smallness of the Principality contributes to the maintenance of powerful traditional leadership, and which strategies are used to legitimize the Liechtensteiner system vis-à-vis its population. On the basis of interviews with Liechtensteiner respondents, it is found that the smallness of Liechtenstein contributes to the position of the monarchy due to (1) the lack of alternative sources of identification, (2) the perception of the Prince as a neutral arbiter standing above the quarreling political factions, and (3) the dominant cultural code that limits citizens' opportunities to criticize the monarchy. The article highlights several ways in which the Prince has sought to legitimize his own position, and to undercut the criticism against him.

Publius: The Journal of Federalism

Like their larger counterparts, even the smallest states in the world have delegated powers and c... more Like their larger counterparts, even the smallest states in the world have delegated powers and competences to subnational units. The present article aims to examine why these microstates, which are themselves smaller than the average municipalities of larger states, apparently recognized a need for political decentralization, and why their decentralized jurisdictions have remained in place. Building on the literature on the origins and persistence of federalism, the analysis reveals that the choice for decentralization in European microstates was made largely according to patterns suggested by the general literature, whereas insular identities and colonial legacies provide the strongest explanations for the origins of federalism in the African, Caribbean, and Pacific cases. On the basis of two case studies of St. Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean and Palau in Oceania, it is found that the persistence of federalism can be explained by means of both historical-institutional and rationalist arguments.

Island Studies Journal

Upon the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in 2010, the smallest islands in this federation... more Upon the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in 2010, the smallest islands in this federation – Bonaire, St. Eustatius, and Saba – became special municipalities of the Netherlands, and were hence politically and constitutionally integrated into the Dutch metropolis. The present article seeks to understand this development in the context of the broader academic literature on small, non-sovereign island jurisdictions in the Caribbean and elsewhere. After a description of the reforms and a discussion of the perceived benefits and drawbacks of the new political status, the newly created Dutch Caribbean municipalities are compared with other non-sovereign jurisdictions in the Caribbean. Whereas the choice for
political integration in itself can be compared with the French postwar policy of départementalisation, in terms of the historical significance and the direction of the reforms,
the new political situation on Bonaire, St. Eustatius, and Saba could rather be better likened to that of the British Overseas Territories and their relationship with the United Kingdom.

Foreign Policy Analysis, 2014

The position of small states in international relations is traditionally described in terms of vu... more The position of small states in international relations is traditionally described in terms of vulnerability and dependence. This dominant perspective is largely incomplete and inaccurate, because it disregards the element of exchange that characterizes the international linkages between many small and large states. In this article, I aim to outline and motivate an alternative model on the basis of which such relationships can be understood, which has been referred to as the international patron-client framework. After providing an overview of the contemporary academic literature on the role of small states in international politics, two sections follow in which I motivate the applicability of the patron-client framework to the field of international relations, and in which I explain the motives of both patron and client states. Subsequently, the accuracy and usefulness of the framework is examined on the basis of interview data gathered during field research in the three small client states of St. Kitts and Nevis, Seychelles, and Palau. The findings of this analysis indicate that the patronclient linkage offers a more fruitful model to study the relations between small and large states than the existing literature does, because it recognizes the element of exchange that such relationships entail. I thank the two anonymous reviewers for their helpful and constructive comments and suggestions, which have helped me a lot in improving this article.