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The Dutch Parliament claims to be one of the oldest, if not the oldest parliament still in function today, with roots tracing back to the ‘States-General’ of 17 provinces in the Low Countries that assembled for the first time in 1464. Historiography also tends to stress the remarkable continuity and stability of the Dutch Parliament, with rules, practices and traditions handed over from one generation to another – seemingly irrespective of regime changes. Continuity indeed is a significant aspect of Dutch parliamentary culture. This article will show that this is a result of an ongoing historical process of adaptation and re-negotiation, and by no means has it been self-evident. Confronted with internal and external challenges of the established (working) order, the Dutch Parliament throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries sought to reconciliate ‘the old’ with ‘new’ ideas on how to put parliamentarism, representation, and deliberative democracy into daily practice. In fact, this has been at the heart of every discussion on parliamentary procedure.
