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th e n etherl ands a s ho r t in troduct io n preface thenetherlandspartof western is europe borders north and the seaon the we ste rn northerni desg erma nin theeas ta n db e lg iu mthesouth and s in y the n etherlandsis a small and dense ly -p o p u la tedat io n wit h 1 6 5 millio nnpeop le living on a surfaceof 41 5 0 0 k m2 the country lies on a delta surro unde db y t h re e ma jo r e u ro p e a nriv e rs t h e rh in e ,the maas and the s che ld t .a ro u n d 4 o o ofthe la n d lie s b e lo wsea le ve l the internationalairport s c h ip h o l,f orexa mp le is four me t re sunder sea le vel,thus one important featu re in du tchh is t o ry is it sbatt le a g a in s t w ater from the north s ea as we ll astheb ig riv e rs the lo wer parts of the country cons is to f p o ld e rs re c la ime ds wa mp s wh ic h ar e p r otected by dykes many h is t o ria n sc la im thatthebu ild in ga ndthema in tenanceof the polders hav enoton ly keptthe wa terout buthavea ls obroug ht in a form of democrac y ,co o p e ra t io nsessent ia l,s in cenobody wa cou ld build and maintain a dyk ebyh ims e lf .t heco lle c t iv ep ro c e s so fdec id in g w ho d oes-what,and who pays f o r it mu sthave le dtothetyp ic a l du t c h cultur e of deliberatÍon also calle dthe p o ld e r mo d e l in ter n ationally the netherlan d sis betterkno wn a s ho lla n d t h is is because the p r ovinceof holland divide d in t o no rt h andsouth -ho lla n d ro u n d 1 5 0 a ye a r s ago has always been d o min a n t andst ill re ma in ssototh is d a y t h e cap itala msterdam is part of ho lla n d ,a s is t h e ha g u e ,wh e re thego ve r nment administrationres id e s .ro t t e rd a m,t h e wo rld s t h ird -la rg e s tp o rt i s also part of holland.unlike ma nyothercount rie s ,t h e ne t h e rla n d sd o e s no t h ave one big metropolis.i nstead theabove -me n t io n e d it ie stogethercwi th utrecht form one agglome ra t io n .t hegeog ra p h ic afl o rm cons is t in go fari ng o f cities surroundingan ag ric u lt u ra lc e n t re le adstothete rm ra ndstad ur b a n peripherywith a green he a rt in t h e mid d le .

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h i sto ry and politics th e beginning the r epublic the s even unit e d p ro v in c e s h e p re decessorf wh a t is n o w of t o th e kingdom of the netherland s sthe re s u lt ofanup ris in g ,i nthe 1 6 t h wa ce n tury the king of s pain ruled theseso -c a lle dl owlands he beca me in ten sely hated due to the hig htaxeshe in c u rre d ,a n d h is h a rs hact io n s ag a in st the protestants who t rie dtosepa ra t et h e ms e lv e sf ro mthe ro ma n c atho licchurch.ïhe king refu s e dt osha re h is p o we r wit hthe lo calnob ilit y w ho then took up weapons.the lib e ra t io nwa rofthelowlands ,wit h wille m van o r anje and his sons at the h e lm we ntonfore Í ghtdecades .o n ly ha lfw ay through the 17thcentu ry in 1 6 4 8 s p a in re cogn iz edhe re p u b lico f t the seven united p rovinces a n in dependen tc ount ry as ïh e r epublicwas quite unique in e u ro p ea tthet ime it hadnok in g t hevanor an jes were high-rankingciv il s e rv ants no t o n ly thenob ilit y b u t we a lt h y civilia nsalso had politicalinflue n c e .ma nypeop le wh o we re p u rs u e d in t h e ir o wn countriesdue to difterent re lig io u s b e lie f sa n d v is io n s we re we lc o me d i n th e republic which in turn ledtoato le ra ntcu lt u re d ur in g the war with s pain,the ne t h e rla n d swa s a lre adybeco min ga n im p o r tant trading nation.the 1 7 t hc entu ry is oftendubbedthenat io n s g old en century the dutch fle etdo min a t e dt heoceans .i n ma n y p la c e sin asi a africa and a merica dutc h t ra d in gposts we re setupsuchas ne w am ste rdam now new y ork capeto wn andbatav ia n owjaka rt a t h e united east-indiancompany voc de verenigde oost-indische compagnie a m on opolistic trading company beca me t h e wo rld s f irs t mu lt in a t io n a lo f wh ich shares were traded on th e a ms t e rd amstockexchange .f o r a lo n g tim e amsterdam was able to c a ll it s e lf thecent re o f wo rld t ra d e tha n ks to trade expansion,also wit h in e u ro p e ,wh ic h b ro ughtcons id e ra b le r ich n e ssto the country and its c la ssof me rc hants ,t h e ne t h e rla n d sp assed th r o u gh a period of blooming cu lt u re du tcha rt is t s re mb ra n d t ,v e rme e r an d academicshuygens,s pin o z a b e c a mef a mo u s wo rld wid e un ti l halfway into the 2oth cent u ry t h e ne t h e rla n d sh adanu mb erof colo n ies:the dutch e ast indies n owindones ia s u rin amandthe du t c h an ti l l essix islandsin the caribb e a n re g io n b e t we e n 1 9 4 5 a n d rg 4 g in d o n esiafought itself free from du tchco lo n ia lis m n d in g wit htheoft ic ia l e r eco g nitionof indonesiaas an in dependen tc ount ry s u rin ambeca me i nd e p endentin 1975 while the a n t ille sis s t ill anautono mo uspa rt ofthe kin g d om of the netherlands so m e where in the l8th century t h e re p u b licwa s g ra d u a llyo v e rs hado we db y en g la nd,its big competitor e ng la n dre p la c e dt h e ne t h e rla n d sa ndga in edadom in ant global naval positionb y win n in gfoursho rt wa rs anda ls o c lin cheda nu m ber of coloniesfrom its co mp e t it o r in c lu d in gne w y o rk ghana s ri

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l a n ka and later s outh a frica asaconsequencethe du tchecono my su fte r ed a slump from which it o n ly re cupe ra t e da ftertheindust ria l r evo lutionin 1870 a t the end ofthe 1 9 nc entu ry c o mp a n ie sh a d ris e n wit h in th e ki ngdom includingp hilips ,s h e ll wh ic h is h a lf b rit is handha lf du t c h u nile ver also a nglo-dutch he in e k e na ndthecu rre ntakzo no belandi ng ba n k so m e y ears after the french re v o lu t io n1 7 8 9 t h e ne t h e rla n d swe re o ccu p iedby frenchtroops and a b ro therof na p o le o nb e c a me thef irs t k in gofh olla nd.when napoleonwas de feated in 1 8 1 3 t h e ne t h e rla n d sre ma in e d a ki ng d om under the v an oranje s .t h is is s t ill thecase a lt houghthepo we r o f th e m onarchy now is mainly of a s y mb o lic natu re th e 19th century in th e 19th century the ideas oftheen lig hten me n tb e c a me in c re a s in g ly h e t no r m in large parts of e urope ,in c lu d in gin t h e ne t h e rla n d s hebe lie fthatt po liti calpower is given by god tothoseho ld in g it wa s b y -a n d -b y re p la c e db y i de a s of people-power and demo c ra c y .g ra d u a lly ,t hepo we r o Í t h e mo n a rc h y w as limited and replacedby rep re sentat io n ro mthepeop le ,o r p a rlia me n t f w hich in the netherlandshas theoff ic ia ln a me o f sfafengene ra a l the constitutionof 1b 4b is of c ru c ia l imp o rt ance .no t o n ly does it p ro c la im the separationof church and state b u t it a ls o limit sthe ro le ofthe mo n a rc h y an d p uts the ministerson the h ig hest ra n k s t h e la ttera re re spons ib le towa r ds p arliament,which in tu rn cana ls o d is mis st h e min is t e rs par lia mentconsistsof the upp e r ho useandthelo we r ho u s e ,wit hthe la tterbe in g the most important instit u t io n .p a rlia me n th o ld stheh ig hestpo lit ic a l po we r also becauseit determin e st hegove rn me n t sb udget th e politicalrole divisionsince 1 8 4 8 is asfo llo ws thegove rn me nthas exe cu tive power and consistso fthe mo n a rc h t h e k in gorqueen andthe cab in et the ministers the mo n a rc hastheheadofstateno lo ngerho ld s an y substantialpower pa r lia mentdetermines laws w h ic h a re usua lly basedonp ro posa lsf ro mthe go ve r nment but can do so on it s o wn in it ia t iv ea s we ll i t a ls ocont ro lst h e go ve r nment wheneverthe gov e rn me n t c la s h e swit hthe ma jo rit y o f pa r lia ment,the latter generallyg a in stheupperhand in th e beginningof the 2oth n t u ry n e w la ws statedthatadu lt me nand ce wo m e n had the right to vote pa rlia me n t a ry le c t io n sa re gene ra llyh e ld e eve r y four years ïhe 1 9thcentury brought a lot o f imp o rt antchanges in thecount ry andnot ju st o n the politicalfront the conceptofhu ma n rig htsga in e d a lo tofi nfl ue nceon the countrv s law a n d re q u la t io n s .un d e r lib e ra l le a d e rs h ip

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fr e e d om of speech,with the ex cept io no f b la sphe mya n d in s u lt in gt hehead of sta te and gathering were le g a liz e d s we ll a s f re edomtofo rm a or g a n izations lavery in the c o lo n ie sa ndthedeathpena lt y we re s r e sp e ctively scrappedin respe c t iv e ly1 8 6 3 a n d 1 8 7 0 ïh e r ise of big industriesin the ne t h e rla n d sle dtoanappa llin gs it u a t io no f th e w orking class the so-call e ds o c ia lis s u e la b o u re rsme n wo me nand child r en were hired for a pittan c e .t h e y liv e d c ra mme d in s ma ll housesor cella r swithout sanitation in o rd erto in c re a s ef a mily in c o me ma nych ild re n w er e kept from school and sent tofacto rie s .l abou re rsh adno rig h t s in t h e ir fa ctor iesand worked all day an doftenn ig h t s many of the followersof k arl m a rx thesoc ia lis tsndtheco mmu n is t s tookaup the se socialissues.they pro teste da g a in stabus iv econd it io n s ,a nddema nded more politicalsuch asvot in g rig h t s andsoc ia l p ro tect iv ela ws un io n s rights this battle for thee ma n c ip a t io no f wo rk e rs rig h t s wa s ce r tainly not fought by the work e rs a lo n e ma n y p ro g re s s iv eeache rs t la wye rs doctors and journalis t sa ls o p a rt ic ip a t e din thep ro cess .f o llo win g th is pr essure,the catholicand p ro testan tc h u rc h e sjo in edthe re g u la t io no f the fate of their workers thus newsoc ia lla ws c a me in tobe in g suchasou tl awing child labour the eig h t -h o u r wo rk d a y a n d ma ndato ry schoo lin gf o r ch ild r en however,another typic a l du tchpheno me n o na ls o a ro s e t h e ver zu ílíng which can roughly b e t ra n s la t e da sthest ra t if ic a t io n lo ngsoc io a po liti c allines in the 19 ncentu ry andab ig p a rt ofthe 2 0 ncentu ry then ethe rlandswas a stratifiedcou n t ry t h is me antthatsoc ia lis t s e ra ls lib ca tho licsand p rotestantslived p a ra lle lf ro meachother eachg ro upfo rmin g its own politicalparties unions c a re in s t it u t io n s ,s choo ls ,me d ia organ izations and even its own s p o rt c lu bsandgoat -b re e d in gf a rms the 20th century ar ound 1900 e uropewas at th e b rin k o f in c re a s in g ly ie rc e p o lit ic a la ndfe co n o mic competitionamong t h e ma jo r e u ro p e a np o we rs suchasf ra n c e g er m any great b ritain,the aust ro -hu n g a ria n mp ire a n d ru s s ia .e achena ti on tried to be richer and mo re p o we rf u lt hantheothe rs andatthee xp e n seof its competitors.this c u lmin a t e din t h e g re a t wa r orthef irs t wor ld war of 7914 1918 wh ile theso ld ie rso fthe ma jo r p o we rs sla u g hteredeach other by the hund re d so fthousands ,t h e ne t h e rla ndsm an a ged to remain neutral at thatt ime ho we v e r,it d id notsuccee dt odoso in th e s econdworld w ar 1939 l 9 4 5 hit le r sg e rma n t ro opsdefeate dt h e n ethe rlandswithin a mere five days in ma y 1 9 4 0 du r in g the gradually harsher g e rma noccupat io n irt u a lly t h e wh o le ofthev populatio nwa ssentofftoconcent ra t io nc a mp s over ne the rlands jewish 10 0 ,000 of them perished,whic hconst it u t e da lmo stha lf ofthetotal du t c h wa r vi ctims and three-quarte rso fthetotalnu mb erofje wis hpeop le liv in g in th e n etherlands.in this country andth ro ughoutthe wo rld theteenageg irl

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ann e f rank who died in a con cent ra t io nc a mp beca me t h e ic onofje wis hper se cution the g erman occupation,the ge n o c id eo nthe du tchje ws theendofthe co lo n ialera in a sia and the occ upat io no feaste rne u ro pebytheco mmu n is t u ssrled to the netherlandsg iv in g u p it sneut ra l p o lit ic a ls tance t h e co u n try chose for a close coope ra t io nwit h it s n e ig hbou rin gc ount rie sa ndtheus among others through nat o no rt h a t la n t ic t re atyo rg a n iz a t io n a n d wh a t was to be the beginningo ftheeu ro p e a nun io n the sixties fr o m the beginningof the 196 0 s t h e ne t h e rla ndsn jo yedape rio dofg re atew elfare b y the end of the 195 0 s a la rg e a mo untofgas wa s d is cove re dunder dutch soil while the rebu ild in go fthenat io n f o llo win gt h e wa r c a me t o an e n d companiesstarted to s e c re t ly in c re a s ewa g e s in o rd erto lu re em p lo yeesfrom competitors.t h is la boursho rt a g e le dtotheent ra nceofpoor ly-educated workers dub b e d guest la b o u re rs f irs t f ro mspa in a n d italy and later in much highe r n u mb e rs f ro m t u rk eyand mo ro c c o heyt go t the jobs deemed too lowly f o r ma n y du tchpeop le .a tthesa me t ime t h e ne the rlands establisheditself as asoc ia l-we lf a re tate wit hpens io n s ,s o c ia l s secu r ity for the unemployedan dpeop le unab le t o wo rk a ma ndato ry m i nim um wage etc the i ncreasedwelfare better an d h ig hereducat io n ,a n d in t e rn a t io n a lc u lt u ra l d e ve lopmentsled to a cultural re v o lu t io nin t h e ne t h e rla n d s otun lik e in n o the r w estern countries.a utho rit y in a ll it s f o rms p a re n t s p o lic e ,t eache rs po liti c ians was challenged the in f lu e n c eo fthechu rc h e s wa s we akenedand the invention of the contra cept iv ep ill dubbed thep ill le dtothe sep a r ationbetween sex and re p ro duct io n ,mu s ic beca me wild e r mo ra ls be ca me looser and illegaldrug sbeca me a v a ila b le .i t wa sthee ra ofyouth em a ncioation but it was not just for the youn g wo me n s e ma n c ip a t io na g a in beca me ahot top ic a lthough women in the nethe rla n d sma nagedtoga in t h e rig httovotein 1 9 1 9 their social positionwa s in ma n y wa y s limit edco mp a re d t o me n i t wa s o nly in the mid 1950s that wo me n we re d e e me dtobe c o mp etent si nce fewer childrenwere born mo re wo me nbeca me a v a ila b lein t h e la oourm ar ke t and were able to have t h e ir o wn in c o me fie r cebattles were fought espe c ia llyin t h e 7 9 7 0 s in o rd erto le g a liz e ab o r ti on w hile accordingto the la wabo rt io ncou ld o n ly beca rrie doutunder ver y strict conditions,a whole newp ra c t ic es t a rt e d g ro win g afteryea rs ofpo liti calconflict,the law was a d ju stedsothatafterace rt a in p e rÍ o do f th in king time a woman is allo we dtodec id e wh ethershe wo u ld haveana bo r ti on,

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l a ter the subject of euthanasiawa s a ls otakenunderthe lo o p peop le wh o ar e suffering inhumanely and f o r wh omthe re is nohopeof re cove ryc anpo in tedlyand repeatedlyask outofthe lr o wn f re e will tohavethe ir liv e s en d e d by medicalexperts the doctor mu s t a lwa y s re p o rt t h is tothehea lt h au tho rities,ïhere is a consiste n tmis concept io n b ro adthateuthanas iain a th e n etherlandsis legalizedmu rd e r wh ic h is c e rt a in ly notthecase besid esthe emancipationmov e me ntsof wo me nandyouth mo re wa s part ofthe wo rld spopu la t io nis h o mo sexual,i e happ ening.a considerable attr a cted to the same sex durin gthe 1 9 6 0 sand 1 9 7 0 s a n in c re a s in gnumb er of dutch homosexuals c a meo utofthec lo s e t ,le dbypopu la r a rt is t s an d te levisionpersonalities gra d u a lly ,h o mo sexua lit ywa s n o lo ngerdee me d si nful indecentor abnormal ev enthough in t h e ne t h e rla n d sit is notne ce ssarily acceptedby all s in c e 2 o o i h o mo sexua ls re a llo we dt o le g a lly amarry each other in the nethe rla n d s h e f irs tcount ry in t h e wo rld wh ic h t allo wed this kind of union th e present sin ce the introductionof gene ra lvot in g rig h t s in 1 9 1 9 t h e ne t h e rla n d sh asbeena politicallyrelativelystab le n a t io n t h is is ma in ly becaus et h e du tchpopu lationlived separatelywit h in t h e ir o wn s t ra t u m z u il s in c et h e ne the rlandshas always been acount ry cons is t in go f min o rit ie s ,g o v e rn me ntsha ve been and still are formed byanu mb erofpa rt ie s ,a s o -c a lle dc o a lit io n w hich have to compromisewith eachother the cda christiandemocrat ica ppeal h a s re ma in edan imp o rt antvo ic e in d utch politicsfor the whole of t h e 2 othentu ry andbeyond o n ly in 1 9 9 4 d id c the so cialistsleftistsand libera lsrig h t is t s jo in hands le a v in gt h e ch ris t ia n d em o cratson the oppositionb enchfore ig htyea rs inthe me a n t ime t h e cda is back on centre stage n eve r theless some things hav e s h if t e d a g ro win g n u mb erofpeop lea re willin g to change their politicalc h o ic e f ro monepa rt ytoanother insteadof be in g stratified many are now f lo a t in g vote rs insteadof lo o k in ga t a pa r ty s programme,voters oft enconcent ra t emo re onthepe rs o n so fthe po liti c ians this was clear to se e in thebeg in n in go f t h is centu ry outofthe blu e came the anti politicianpim f o rt u y n he p a rt ic u la rlys pokeofthe un so lvedproblemsof non-wes t e rnmin o rit ie sin thecount ry n a me ly youthofm or o ccandescent,the media lo vedfo rt u y n h e wa sopen ly h o mo sexual pr o vo cativeand a sharp public speaker he knewhowtotu rn p o lit ic sin t o a da ily c onversation topic and qu ic k ly ro s e in popu la rit y ,nin edaysbefo re ge n e r al electionsin 2002 fort u y n wa sshotdeadbyanenv iro n me ntal acti vi st.this was the first polit ic a la ssass in a t io nh e ne t h e rla n d ss a w in t h re e t cen turies,and emotions ran hi g h the g eneral picture of dutch p o lit ic sa tthe mo me n t is thattheestab lis hedpar ti es the christiandemocra t scda thesoc ia lde mo c ra t sp v d a a n d

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th e lib eralsv v d are losing g ro u n d thefars id esonthe le f t t hesoc ia lis t par ty s p and on the right ri tave rd o n k acont ro v e rs ia f o rme r min is terl wh o became famous for her an t i-immig ra t io ne f f o rt s andgee rt wild e rs ,a fer ve nt critic of islam seem to bega in in g a lo tofpopu la rit y for e ign policy while the netherlandshas its own f o re ig n p o lic y it is in fact mo re a f o llo we r o f l ar ger entities it has been a lo y a l me mb erof na t os in cetheo rg a n iz a t io n wa s founded in l948 the n etherlands a country o f t ra d e hasa ls obeenoneofthe mo s t as fer ve nt supportersof a united e u ro p e ,a lre adys in c e t 9 5 2 we s t e rn e u ro p e i n the form of the e uropeanunio n e u in ma n y wa ysfo rmu la t e st h e e co n o mic policiesof its member states theeunoton ly d e c id e st here la ti onshipamong member st ates buta ls ohowthesecount rie sre la tetoo the r states outside the e u lik edeve lo p in gc ount rie s while the netherlands channe lsa lo t o f it s f in a n c ia ls uppo rt fordeve lo p in g cou n triesthrough multi-nationa lin s t it u t io n ss uchasthe un un it e d na t io n s i t do e s have its own policieson t h is s u b je c t t h e ne t h e rla n d sis oneofthe few countriesin the world which hascons is tent lyp ro mis e dt ospendat le asto.7o /o its gdp gross domes t ic p ro duct todeve lo p me n t a la id .du tcha id is of co n ce ntratedon some 40 coun t rie s .mo stofthem in a f ric a t h e ne t h e rla ndsm ain tains bilateralrelationswit hthesecount rie s ,a ll o f wh ic h mu sthavea proven effort for fighting poverty.

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dutch economy the d utch economy is depende n t ,t o a n imp o rt antextent o n t ra d e wit h o the r e uropeancountries.the ne t h e rla n d sis oneofthe la rg estt ra nspo rt hubs of the continent,with ro t t e rd ambe in gbyfartheb ig gestpo rt forkeyi nd u striesin neighboringcoun t rie ss uchasge rma n y t h e ne t h e rla n d sis anim po r tant world player among expo rt e rso f a g ric u lt u ra lp ro ducts thef lo we r e xch a nge in a alsmeeris the la rg e s t in t h e wo rld t h e du tcha ls oexpo rt sgas tho u g h in decreasingvolumes the m ajority of the dutch pop u la t io n s o me 7 5 o o is e mp lo y e d in t h e -se r vice sector in the private bra nchesb a n k in g in s u ra n c e ,ma in tenance a s we ll as collectiveones health educat io n ,c iv il s e rv ic e wh ile t h e ne the rlandsdo producegoods ma s s in dust ria le mp lo y me nthas la rg e ly m o ve d to low income countrie s du e to a long-term gradual inc re a s ein wa g e s in f la t io nh asbeen limit edand wo r ke rs enjoy good benefits a 3 8 -h o u r wo rk we e k 2 5 vacat io ndaysannua lly paid vacations,vacat io n mo n e y pens io np re miu ms e t c s o c ia lse cu r ity measuressuch as pay me ntforthes ic k u n e mp lo y e da n d d is a b le darew ell organized.ïhe averag e g ro ssannualsa la ry is ju stabovee ur 30 ,00 0 the dutch economy has been in c re a s in g ly f lu ence db ytheeu andthe in co u n try has profitedfrom this thebo rd e rs b e t we e n me mb ercount rie sh a v e be e n virtually torn down when it c o me stogoods s e rv ic e s ,e mp lo y e e sa n d ca p ital o ne important hurdle for the fu t u re is theg ra y in gpopu la t io n :t henu mb erofe ld e r ly people in need of care hasgoneand will goupcons id e ra b let h is c a re m ust be provided by a shrinkin gpopu la t io no fyoungerpeop le .

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rule of law ï h e n eth e rl a n dis a co u n tryr uledby law.this m eansthat per sons sincludingon -d u tch ti ze n s n residing the countr y e tr eatedequally ci in ar unde rth elaw a rti cl e1 o f th e constitution guiltyin pe o p le re d e e me di n n o ce n u ntil pr oven,lawfully a t and convincingly court .no bodynbea rre ste d bitr ar ily the police ca must showthat an ar and arres tis n e ce ssa ry su sp e ct a alwayshasthe r ightto be accom panied a by p a i dfo r b y the stateshould lawyer,w howillbe the suspect unable do be to so judge,who is ï hecen tra fi g u rei n th ejudi cialpoweris the independent lappoi nte drli fea nddoe sn o t haveto wor r ythat his ver dicts fo wouldconflict withthepoli ti calle a d e rsh i p .he judge listento the accusations ought t br rabou tby p ro se cu toa n d to th e suspects lawyer based those on informa ti o n s ejudge ma kes his or her ver dicts th the heaviest sentenc eislife -l o n gn ca rce ra ti o n tedout for ser ious imessuchas multiple i me cr murd ers r te rro ra tta cks h e nether lands physical o t doesnot r ecognize punis hme na n d th edea thp e nalty t be s i d es mi nalaw ,th e n e ther lands hascivillaw whichhandles cri also confli cts e tw e e n si d e n ts re b suchas pr oper ty matter sor divor ces d u et o th e th re a to f so -ca lled inter national r or ism and to tougher ter condi ti o n is so ci e ty n u mb erof lawshavebeenintr oduced r ecentyear s n a in whic hl i mi t ci ti ze n s i n d i vi d ualeedom or eand m or e places e secur ed fr m ar withc ame ra s ndpeoplen be sear ched a pr eventive a ca measur e as since ye a rs,re si d e n ts re requir ed car r yidentity dson them i.e sever al a to car every on en publi cp l a ce s chas schools i su hospitals gover nm ent and buildings st ca rryth e i r id car dswith them mu

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p. 10

cu ltu re as a r ule it can still be said tha tthe ne t h e rla n d sis a t o le ra ntandopen socie ty p eoplewith vast differe n c e sin o u t lo o k liv etogether in a limit e d spa ce without constantly bickerin g ,le t a lo nehav in g v io le ntconf lic t s ,p e o p le l et the ir fellow citizen largely go t h e ir o wn wa y a s lo ngastheya re nottoo bo the rsomefor their environm e n t the popular/commercialcultu re is d o min a n t in t h e ne t h e rla n d s me ric a n a cultur e has a great influenceon du tchcu lt u re andeng lis hwo rd s a re found in greater numbers in e v e ry d a y du tchconve rs a t io n i ncr e a singly othe r c ultures also have an influ e n c eo nthe ne t h e rla n d s millio n so f du t c h pe o p le swarm throughout e uro p ed u rin gvacat io nt ime th e d utch kitchen which for ce n t u rie sh adon ly k n o wn thet ria dofpotatoes veg e tables-meatballs now als o in c lu d e sch in e s e ,i t a lia nanda rg e n t in e a n dish e s.thanks to the hundredso fthousand swh o mig ra tedf ro mindones iat o th e n etherlands sambal hot c h ili paste andkecap s we etsoyasauce a re no w daily condimentsin dutch househo ld s uscous a k la vaandha la l a re co b no lo n ger foreign expressions t h is count ry in in ad d ition to mass culture the ne t h e rla n d sa ls ohas it s h ig h c u lt u re pa in tersv incent van gogh and k a re lappelhavethe ir o wn mu s e u ms .t h e dutch s y mp honyo rc hest ra a ndscap in ob a lle thavec on ce rtgebouworkesf ga in e d world fame modern clas s ic a lp ie c e sb y du tchco mp o s e rsa re p la y e d by o r chestrasin b oston and s t pete rs b u rg .du tchcoutu re is a ls o wo rn in m i l an and p aris.dutch culture is in s h o rt a n in t e g ra l p a rt oftheove ra ll m elti ng pot of w estern culture t u lip s c lo gsand win d millsa re actua lly o n ly for th e foreign tourists on e considerable dutch cultura lpheno me n o nis t h e imp o rt a n c eo fspo rt s th e g r eatest interest goes to soccer,t henu mb e r-o nepeop le ss p o rt ifthed utch team named oranje ora n g e afte rt hena me ofthe mo n a rc h y pla ys against a foreign team w h o le s t re etsa re bathed in o ra ngef la gsand pa r a p hernalia lthough the net h e rla n d sh ason ly ever wo none imp o rt anta tou r n a ment the e uropeancu p in 1 9 b b theexpectat io n sru n a lwa y s h ig h i n th e c ountry which has produc e dle genda ryp la y e rss uchasjohan cru ijf f r uu d gullit and marcovan b ast e n b e s id e ss occer hockey s wimmin gand ic e ska ti ng count among the real fo lk s y s p o rt a c t iv it ie s ,in wh ic hthe du tcha thle tes score well in internati o n a lc o mo e t it io n s t0

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p. 11

m ed ia th e dutch broadcasting syste m is u n iq u e in t h e wo rld i t wa sdeve lo peddur in g the dutch years of stra t if ic a t io n ndthusp ro testant lib e ra l acatho lic a n d socialistbroadcasters were f o rme d theyst ill e x is t eventhoughthe ir or ig inal beliefscould no ronge rbeasce rt a in e d ro mthe ir p ro g ru n rl f on p u b lic broadcaster the nos p ro v id e st heda ily n e ws andspo rt p ro g ra ms o n r ad io and television however n e it herthegove rn me ntnorpa rlia mà n t has an y i nfluenceon what nos bro adcast sin it i p ro g ra ms sin ce the 1980s the netherlan d sa ls ohasco mme rc ia lb ro adcaste rs wh ic h a re fÍna n ced by advertisÍng.thes e b ro adcaste rswit htheexcept io n ofthe la rg e eur o peancompany rtl,prod uceve ry fewne ws p ro g ra ms a n d ma in ry ru re the public with movies series andente rt a in me n ts h o ws the developmentin radio mea n wh ile ,h a s ro u g h ly f o llo we dthesa me path many more stations,lots of ent e rt a in me n ts h o ws anda lo t mo re com mercial cu r r e ntly the netherlandshas ahandfulofnat io nalne ws pape rs and amono polistícdaily for each reg io n ,ï h e ma in n a t io nalpape rs a re the te le g raafpopulistand right win g a d p o p u la r,h eavyonspo rt s n e it herri gh t nor left v olkskrant mo d e ra t e t yt e f t nrc ha n d e ls b la d lib e ra l a n d tr o u w christianand leftist re g io n a lly o me 1 5 d a ilie sa re in s c irc u lá iio n in th e past years there has bee n s t ro n g g ro wt h Í ntheso -c a lle dnew me d ia inter n et cabling is virtuaily pres e n t in t t rè wh o le count ry wh ic h ma k e s it e a sy for everybodyto get on t h e we bandseek in f o rma t io n .t h is a ls ohasanega tive influenceon the trad it io n a lme d ia suchasda ilie s ,ra d io and tele vision.consequenily man y me d ia o rg a n iz a t io nsaveatte mp tedh to i nteg r ate new media wíthÍn the ir a c t iv it ie i andbeco me c ro s s -me d Í a co m p anies ii

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