Browsing by Author "Toonen, Theo A. J."

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Good Governance for the Wadden: The Organisation of Decision-Making for Sustainability
(2009) Toonen, Theo A. J.
"In this essay we will place the problems surrounding the governance of the Wadden Sea in the theoretical perspective of the governance of the Commons (section 2). Working on this basis, we will formulate a number of assumptions to evaluate good governance for the Wadden (section 3). We will then apply these assumptions to a short analysis based on both the information from the file of the Adviesgroep Waddenzeebeleid (AGW) [Advisory Group for the Governance of the Wadden Sea] and on our own observations and experience (section 4). Conclusions and recommendations derived from theory and research of commons management will be given in section 5."
Modernity and the Challenge of Metropolitan Governance: Failure of Structural Solutions and the Polycentric Alternative
(1999) Raadschelders, Jos C. N.; Toonen, Theo A. J.
"It will come as no surprise that throughout the 20th century various avenues have been proposed,and some experimented with, to 'solve' the problem of metropolitan governance once and for all. Our thesis in this paper is that the 'solutions' advanced so far,as idea or as experiment, aimed at being permanent. By the nature of, at least: Dutch, thinking about government, the solution to metropolitan problems was usually found in structural arrangements rather than through process-approaches. A permanent structural solution in the Netherlands focuses on redefining jurisdictions, on developing legal means to further voluntary or mandatory joint provisions, or on establishing a fourth tier of government. The idea that solutions could depart from a process angle, e.g. arrangements for decision making and consultation, is only toyed with in academic pursuits and rather weakly applied in covenants. We will argue that a real solution to the problems of metropolitan governance is only possible if it establishes flexible arrangements for governance, and hence are a combination of structural and processual approaches. It is in this combination that the polycentric perspective offers a 'global age' alternative to the structural modernistic approach."
Modernization and Reform of Dutch Waterboards: Resilience or Change?
(2004) Toonen, Theo A. J.; Dijkstra, Gerrit S. A.; van der Meer, F. M.
"Given its geographical conditions water management has always been a vital precondition of life in the Netherlands. This in particular pertains to the issues of water quantity (waterkwantiteit), water quality (waterkwaliteit) and water containment(waterkering). Water and water management in all its manifestations certainly in the Netherlands may be considered as 'Commons' in more than one way. Commons consists of natural (water, fisheries, and nature areas) or cultural (man-made) resources (dykes; polders, markets; institutional designs, institutions; safety, protection, trust). Specific institutional arrangements – sometimes ‘commons’ in themselves - are needed to guarantee the durability and sustainability of the use of these resources."
Representatives and Bureaucracy in the Netherlands
(1990) van der Meer, F. M.; Raadschelders, Jos C. N.; Roborgh, L. J.; Toonen, Theo A. J.
"Representativeness of bureaucracy has been a topic of research and discussion ever since it became a political issue. For The Netherlands this has been the case from the beginning of the 20th Century, more strongly however since the Second World War. This advent of an issue coincided with a marked increase in tasks taken up by local and central government respectively. Overall, government permeated society to a degree that was hitherto unknown. Related to this economic growth (industrialization) and political emancipation of non-involved Citizens (lower income groups, Catholics) made the larger public more aware of the importance of representative bureaucracy. Al l this is not to say that representation had not been important untill the late 19th Century. Indeed, applicants for political-administrative posts were discrimitated up to this time on political and (mostly) religious grounds."