This booklet series is the result of a three year project in collaboration with the Nicis Institute on local conflicts in neighborhoods in the 4 biggest cities in the Netherlands. We identified 4 types of tensions through which conflicts mediate; crisis, controversy, disputes, and latent conflict. How do policy makers deal with moments of crisis? How do their actions relate to residents or professionals in the neighborhood? We take episodes of conflict as a context to understand social and political issues in our current society.
Each booklet contains a case description, an analysis, and a tangible policy advice. Our project team, consistent of Dutch and international professors and researchers developed several analytic insights in the dynamics of local conflict. Through this series we hope to engage you in the episodes.
The first Booklet is a theme edition in which we rethink the meaning of ‘Maakbaarheid’ (make-ability) in today’s society. Our current government emphasizes the importance of community building and social networks through bottom-up initiatives. But how can we make these initiatives part of policy developments if our discourse remains a top-down rationale of make-ability? And what does it mean for public administration if we change that perspective? This booklet offers a perspective of ‘making with’ instead of ‘making for’.