Governing a consensus democracy: The interplay of pillarisation and administration

Apart from a static structure of institutional blocks erected for a certain purpose, pillarisation might also be viewed as a dynamic process accommoda ting not only different cultural groupings, but also varying regional, loca l and historical circumstances. Apart from being a sociological, political and cultural structure, pillarisation for a long time fulfilled important p ublic administrative and executive functions within and for Dutch society. Apart from being a top-down vehicle for separation and social control, pill arisation can also be seen as a polycentric or 'bottom-up' institutional st ructure ill which a variety of executive agencies, quangos, and other funct ional professional, local and regional institutions are being co-ordinated, integrated, guided and controlled By seeing 'pillarisation' as a dynamic f orm of network management, the question arises how 'depillarisation' affect s the development system of intergovernmental governance in the Netherlands . More, rather than less historical knowledge of pillarisation is needed, n ot for understanding historical questions, bur for grasping the complexitie s of contemporary institutional developments.