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The Organization of Liberty

Dutch Liberalism as a Case of the History of European Constitutional Liberalism

Leiden University, h.te.velde{at}let.leidenuniv.nl

The historiography of European liberalism has been dominated by large countries; this contribution focuses on the successful tradition of liberalism in the Netherlands. Just like German liberalism (but unlike the British 19th-century model), the spirit of Dutch 19th-century liberalism was constitutional (in the sense of being legal and juridical). It assumed that constitutional rules in a certain sense produced liberty, because liberty was not possible without a legally guaranteed context. Today the Dutch liberal party tries to combine classical liberalism with a mild populism, but recently the Pim Fortuyn upsurge of populism has hurt the liberal party. A direct democratic style of politics has become popular among more right-wing liberals. Perhaps it is time to re-evaluate the 19th-century doctrinaire liberal traditions. Their anti-democratic ideas have been superseded, but the constitutional organization of liberty is as important as ever.

Key Words: constitutional liberalism • history • 19th and 20th centuries • political culture • the Netherlands

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