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On 9 September, Diplomademocratie (Diploma Democracy) by Mark Bovens and  came out, the fully revised edition of this pioneering book from 2011 (Dutch edition). In it, the authors state that degree programmes are the new pillarisation. The academically educated and practically educated live in separate worlds. They have different concerns and beliefs about the big issues of our time. But in politics, the academics come out on top. The Kingdom of the Netherlands is a 'diploma democracy' – a country in which the highest degrees call the shots. This unequal representation is a source of political distrust and forms a big threat to our democracy.

This is a fully revised edition of the pioneering (Dutch) book from 2011. Based on much new material, it shows how much the dividing lines between the academically schooled and the practically schooled have deepened.

In some new chapters, Bovens and Wille showcase well how education is the new pillarisation in the twenty-first century. Thanks to the education revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, the number of academically schooled people in our country rose spectacularly. The academically schooled and the practically schooled marry within their own circles, live in different neighbourhoods and send their children to different schools. And just like in the ‘old’ pillarisation, they also have different beliefs and vote for different political parties.

The dividing line is education

By now, this has also been translated politically. The most important political dividing line in our country is the cultural dividing line and is about immigration, integration and identity. This dividing line is also a pre-eminent dividing line in education. The academically schooled are for open borders and diversity, the practically schooled put much more value in national identity and community. More and more issues, such as climate and the democratic rule of law, but also political style, become connected to this cultural dividing line. The political landscape has changed drastically, with socio-liberal parties on the one hand and nationalist parties on the other hand. One flank mostly attracts the academically schooled, the other flank mostly the practically schooled.

We also show how the degree democracy has deepened further. These days, the academically schooled dominate not only the Binnenhof, but also decentralised governance, the middle field, the advisory organisations and the bureaucracy. By now, there is plenty of evidence that this degree democracy results in lopsided political agendas and blind spots in policy. The academically schooled get their way much more often, especially when it comes to cultural themes (climate, migration). This results in rancour and resentment among the more practically schooled voters. All of this means that the rise of the degree democracy has already stopped being just an academic issue long ago, but is instead a threat to democracy itself. 

Over de auteurs

Mark Bovens is a political philosopher, governance expert and Emeritus Professor of Public Administration at Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ.

is a political scientist, governance expert and Professor of Transitions in the Public Sector at Leiden ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ.

More information

Visit the website of the publishing company Prometheus for more information.