Citizenship and the intertwined educational subject of civic education are highly contested, as the notion of citizenship is strongly dependent on the type of government with its specific political...Show moreCitizenship and the intertwined educational subject of civic education are highly contested, as the notion of citizenship is strongly dependent on the type of government with its specific political system and the cultural-historical development of a nation. The Russian Federation as the multinational successor state of the Soviet Union (SU) faced major struggles concerning notions of citizenship during the 1990s. After the collapse of the SU and leaving the notion of citizenship as ‘the builder of communism’ behind, the main focus of Russia was on democratization, but this changed after 2000, when patriotism was getting more prominent. A way to get access to Russia's conceptions of civic education is examining high school textbooks. An analysis of their content can provide a deeper understanding of how civic education is approached and practised in nowadays Russia, in shaping its next generation. This analysis applied three general conceptions of citizenship, namely liberal individualism, republicanism and communitarianism and argues that Russia fits the the communitarian approach the most.Show less
Politics should be brought closer to the citizens and democracy will improve as a result. This is a widely shared opinion among Dutch political parties. Another widely shared opinion is that the...Show morePolitics should be brought closer to the citizens and democracy will improve as a result. This is a widely shared opinion among Dutch political parties. Another widely shared opinion is that the municipality is closest to the citizens. From these notions political parties draw the logical conclusion that decentralizing roles and powers to municipalities enhances democracy. Central in this thesis is the question whether the political parties are right and that from the perspective of democracy local politics are closest to the citizen indeed. Political parties differ in their interpretations of the word ‘closer’. By combining these interpretations with different perspectives on democracy I have identified three aspects by which the central research question can be investigated: representation, political involvement and responsiveness. On these three aspects I have compared local politics to national and provincial politics. For this comparison I have used evidence from existing surveys and inquiries and actual data. I have found little evidence that local politics are closer to the citizens than national politics. The Dutch Lower House is more representative than the average municipal council, except for the point of education. Citizens themselves believe national politics to be more important and they are more interested in national politics. National politics play a larger role in the municipal elections than local politcs do. The turnout in local elections is lower than in national elections. The knowledge of local politics is probably lower than the knowledge of national politics. However citizens are satisfied with their local authority, especially when it comes to services.Show less
