Restoration or Regression? A Case Study of the Role of Public Officers After Violence to Citizens

Summary

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In this paper, I reflect on a rather traumatic experience. I analyze my personal experience with violence with the help of concepts that I use in my work as a consultant and researcher. My aim is to lend new perspectives to the actions of public authorities. After a description of the context and some theoretical orientations, my analysis focuses on the traumatic experience and the process of recovery. In reflection, I come up with some ideas for the improvement of the "system" aspects of government. The main result of my reflection is the proposal to create a new professional practice to support people who need to have their sense of citizenship restored after invasions of violence.

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Extract

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Restoration or Regression? A Case Study of the Role of Public Officers After Violence to Citizens

MY SPACE

I live in an early twentieth century neighborhood in Amsterdam. It is a nice street, made up of mainly middle-class people. Around the block live immigrants from Turkey, Morocco, and the Netherlands Antilles. I work as director of studies and an academic consultant. I work quite hard, I am interested in society, and I see myself as a responsible citizen. I travel daily by train to Utrecht, about 30 kilometers away. In town, I am used to cycling, as are my three kids and wife. Of course, I know very well that some areas are risky, especially for women and girls. Like the park a few blocks away or a dark and hardly lit road nearby. Just five minutes further on is the spot where Theo van Gogh was murdered in 2002. But generally speaking, the public space in town is open to me. I do not need the harness of a car, although I own one.

THEORETICAL PUZZLES

One of my favorite research topics is "trust." Trust can be defined as the expectation that the other will not harm...

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