'Zo werkt dat hier niet' - Gevestigden en buitenstaanders in nieuwe sociale en ruimtelijke kade

Abstract

Title: ‘That’s not how things work around here’ Subtitle: New social and spatial frameworks for established and outsiders Maarten Hogenstijn Daniël van Middelkoop Conflicts about the division of power between groups can be found anywhere. Struggles can be fought out between the original and new inhabitants of a town, between Christians and non-Christians, native residents and foreigners, or between other local groups. Often one group is locally rooted and can be labelled as ‘established’. Their adversaries can then be labelled ‘outsiders’. Changes in the power relationships between established and outsider groups form the central theme researched by the authors. Established-outsider relations were researched in two towns in The Netherlands: Amerongen and Veenendaal, both in the province of Utrecht. The theoretical basis for the study is the original established-outsider theory, developed by sociologists Norbert Elias and John Scotson. They stress that division of power between groups should be central in any analysis of social divisions. Two main areas of critique made an adjustment of their theory necessary. In the original work the dynamics between groups were not sufficiently stressed and the influence of the context, in other words developments at different spatial scales, were largely ignored. Moreover, important societal changes have taken place since the theory was developed. Therefore the original theory is no longer seen as all-encompassing, but rather as a set of valuable concepts. This new approach to the theory led to a focus on conflicts. While group divisions in general seem to become more temporary and loose, people do form groups and coalitions in conflict situations. They then strive for a common goal; to keep or gain power. In order to analyse these conflicts a new analytical model was developed, which takes into account both the original established-outsider theory and the current social and spatial frameworks. This model for Analysis of Dynamics on the Power balance in Conflict Situations (ADPC model) contains four elements: the distinguishing characteristic that separates the established and the outsiders; regulations and norms; power sources; and strategies. The model was tested in Amerongen and Veenendaal and proved to be a useful analytical tool. Conflicts in both Amerongen and Veenendaal showed that the power balance can change or even turn around in favour of the outsider group. The importance of a certain power balance can also increase or decrease. Power balances are thus dynamic. The context also has a clear place in the ADPC model. A distinction between strategies within scale and strategies of jumping scale enabled careful analysis of the role of the supralocal context. Application of the model showed that local conflicts should be analysed in terms of power differences, and not in terms of group differences such as ethnicity or religion. These differences do influence the course of a conflict, but they do not form the basis.