Good Governance in ‘The West’ – Institutional and social constraints of good governance in the Caribbean parts of the Dutch Kingdom

Good governance, which responsibilities does the Netherlands have towards its former colonies in the West? And vice versa?

From a legal stance the Dutch are responsible for good governance in the West. “The Statute, which unites the Netherlands, Aruba, Curacao and Saint Marten as a federation, [article 43 section 2] imposes this task on the Dutch government. In my opinion the Dutch should take that responsibility since good governance is a very important pre condition for the improvement of the social and economic situation on the islands. The policy making process which aims for this improvements is a local affair. As long as the principles of good governance are obeyed in the West the Dutch should refrain from interference.”

Caribbean proof, the need for interference is still present

Reason for this research was the imminent reshuffling of the public administration of the Caribbean parts of the Kingdom and the wish of the Dutch to improve the performance of the public administration in the West. The reshuffling in 2010 has not been used to make the public administration and the rules of the democratic game more ‘Caribbean proof’. This is regrettable since the islands in the West continue to be very susceptible to political patronage (the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that the Dutch Caribbean islands get from the Netherlands) and nepotism (favouritism granted to relatives or friends regardless of merit). Hence the need for Dutch interference is still present.

Depoliticize politicians who do not act according to the norms of conduct

For every country one should closely look at the legislation that set out the public administration and the rules of the democratic game. What norms of conduct are codified in this legislation? Are these norms reflecting the norms of conduct which are common in the society where the public administration is applied to? If not one should recognise non-obedience of the law by politicians. To maintain their position, political leaders depend on electoral support. Therefore they should act according to the norms of conduct that are generally accepted within their society. When democratic rules of governance are conflicting with the norms of the dominant political culture an incentive for politicians is manifest to act contrary to the appropriate line of conduct. Every time this occurs one should examine if it is possible to depoliticize the competence.

Within the current economic crisis some European countries are also being questioned about their style of governance. Which lessons can be learned from your research in Europe?

It is not realistic to compare a European country such as Greece with Curacao. Greece inhabits over 10 million people whereas Curacao has less than 140.000 inhabitants. Therefore the number of appropriate candidates for the civil service in Greece is enough to carry out all the tasks of the state. Due to the size of its population it will always be difficult for Curacao to have good governance without external supervision/interference. However, looking at political culture and its mismatch with the norms of conduct that are codified in the rules of the democratic game there is a strong similarity between both countries. If you read the constitution of Greece and you assume that the rule of law is obeyed you should expect good governance to be flourishing. However, the opposite is true, since Greek politicians are acting according to the national norms of conduct and not those that are codified in the law. “For Greece I would though that they can govern themselves properly. Its economic potential is much more fertile than that of Curacao. But as in Curacao the Greek rules of the democratic game have to be adjusted in the sense that its political system will become much less susceptible to political patronage.”

How about other European countries with former colonies in the West? What can they learn from this research?

The Dutch are captured in a political traditions which originate from the time they tried to retain Indonesia in a common federation (1948). In order to please this colony they created a draft Statute in which the intended federation partners (Indonesia, Suriname and Dutch Antilles) were granted comprehensive autonomy. Moreover, the negotiations with the countries were framed in a discourse of mutual equivalency. When Indonesia rejected a common future with the Netherlands the need for their splendid gesture was gone. However, the draft Statute and the political discourse were set forth. In fact this discourse has never changed since then, even though no economic or political need is left to continue the relationship within the Kingdom in this manner.

In conclusion: In a poor country such as Curacao, can we expect there to ever be good governance if social mobility hardly moves upward?

If social mobility hardly moves upwards then you cannot expect good governance to arise spontaneously. But I disagree with the statement that social mobility is not possible in Curacao. Barbados provides an example of the opposite. But a lot has to be done before Curacao can escape from its past.

EUKN, Elizabeth Winkel