1. Beschavingsoffensief: from sociological concept to moral appeal Ali de Regt University of Amsterdam

2. Central question How did the concept beschavingsoffensief in the Netherlands change from a social scientific concept to a moral term used in public discourse? And how to explain this? Method Analysis of about 1000 articles in Dutch daily and weekly newspapers that contained the word beschavingsoffensief from 1990 till 2013: news items, interviews, essays, book reviews, columns, announcements

3. Intellectual context of the social scientific concept - Historical sociology in Amsterdam Elias, Marx,Foucault, history of mentalities - Sociogenesis Group: approach and topics - Amsterdams Sociologisch Tijdschrift as disseminator

4. Concept beschavingsoffensief: theoretical considerations Is beschavingsoffensief compatible with Elias’ civilisation theory? Two possible objections to the concept: * unintended/unplanned processes vs intended ‘offensives’ * distinction vs integration/incorporation My conclusion: concept is an extension of the theory, if focused on self-control and emotion management Beschavingsoffensief versus ‘discipline’ or ‘policing’ Early 1980s: historical-sociological rivals: Marxist theories, Michel Foucault & Jacques Donzelot, Christopher Lasch. Concept beschavingsoffensief preferred - more subtle recognition on the mutual interests of civilisers/helpers and clients - distinction between strategies and effects

5. Popularisation of the concept in Dutch newspapers Dissemination of the term beschavingsoffensief as a sociological concept: * book reviews: changes in regions, towns and neighbourhoods, material culture, housing, design, theater plays, professions, leisure activities * articles on current events placed in historical perspective: carnival, fun fairs, skating, Santa Claus, Queens’s Day * articles on Art and Cultural Policy: the spread of high culture as a civilising offensive All in all: extension of the concept in time: from burgerlijk beschavingsoffensief (18th-20th century) to Ancient Greece and Rome, the Middle Ages, the early modern time

6. Popularisation of the concept in Dutch newspapers Beschavingsoffensief as a moral concept * Part of a discourse on moral decline: the problem of verhuftering (rudeness and arrogance combined) in the public sphere * Solution to this problem: an appeal to launch a beschavingsoffensief in general: the teaching of decency, polite behaviour, better manners * this appeal also voiced by political leaders from the right to the left * Mostly discussed in specific contexts: - public places - public transport - sport - ethnic minorities

7. Alternative content of the concept: Civilising offensives to teach tolerance, individual responsibility, self-relativization, uncertainty-resistance; the ideal of informalisation * ‘erotic’ beschavingsoffensief * ‘left-wing’ beschavingsoffensief Critique on the idea of a civilising offensive: paternalistic, patronizing, repressing

8. Explanation of the concept’s popularity Expression of widespread feelings of moral decline * attack on the heritage of the Sixties * cultural turn in the public debate on social problems * availability of the term as an easy catch-phrase: emotionally charged, seemingly self-evident applicable to many situations

9. Conclusion Problems with the concept beschavingsoffensief * sociological concept/moral concept * too general a concept, no link to the civilisation theory