Pillarisation

Pillarisation (a calque from the ) is a form of voluntary social segregation in which a society becomes arranged into several self-contained communities, or "pillars" ( ), associated with specific political or confessional identities. The phenomenon is most closely associated with the Netherlands and Belgium in the 19th and 20th centuries. In a pillarized society, a "pillar" is characterised by a self-contained network of institutions and social organisations which exist entirely separately from those of other "pillars". These have historically included trade unions, social clubs, farmers' associations, savings banks, co-operative shops, schools, hospitals, mutual organisations, universities, scouting groups, sports clubs and newspapers as well as political parties. It therefore limits interaction between members of different pillars even without significant residential segregation. Social relationships, including marriage, between people within different pillars were generally discouraged. Society in the Netherlands was historically divided into four main pillars: Catholic, Protestant, socialist, and liberal. Belgium, by contrast, only Catholic, socialist, and liberal pillars emerged. The system allowed each community to maintain its own institutions and lifestyle, minimising conflict among groups.…

Pillarisation (a calque from the ) is a form of voluntary social segregation in which a society becomes arranged into several self-contained communities, or "pillars" ( ), associated with specific political or confessional identities. The phenomenon is most closely associated with the Netherlands and Belgium in the 19th and 20th centuries. In a pillarized society, a "pillar" is characterised by a self-contained network of institutions and social organisations which exist entirely separately from those of other "pillars". These have historically included trade unions, social clubs, farmers' associations, savings banks, co-operative shops, schools, hospitals, mutual organisations, universities, scouting groups, sports clubs and newspapers as well as political parties. It therefore limits interaction between members of different pillars even without significant residential segregation. Social relationships, including marriage, between people within different pillars were generally discouraged. Society in the Netherlands was historically divided into four main pillars: Catholic, Protestant, socialist, and liberal. Belgium, by contrast, only Catholic, socialist, and liberal pillars emerged. The system allowed each community to maintain its own institutions and lifestyle, minimising conflict among groups. Pillarisation in both countries began to decline in the 1960s and 1970s through the weakening of social and political barriers. However, traces of pillarisation remain visible in contemporary Dutch political parties, media institutions, and in certain conservative religious communities, such as those in the Dutch Bible Belt. Comparable systems of social segmentation have been identified in other countries, including Northern Ireland, Switzerland, Austria, Cyprus, Lebanon, and Malaysia. ==See also== Balkanization Confessionalism (politics) Consociationalism Identity politics Millet (Ottoman Empire) National Pact, Lebanon Political particularism Sectarianism Social environment Social stratification Sui iuris Test Act ==References== ==Further reading== . Classical study on pillarisation in the Netherlands. Christophe de Voogd: "Histoire des Pays-Bas des origines à nos jours", Fayard, Paris, 2004 Wintle, M. "Pillarisation, Consociation, and Vertical Pluralism in the Netherlands Revisited: A European View", West European Politics, XXIII, 2000, 3, pp. 139–152.

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1376479195 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.