The Canto Ostinato of Dutch Water Management and Climate Adaptation Policy

Abstract

Recent calls for “a new water narrative” suggest that Dutch climate adaptation policy requires a unifying story. This article argues that such appeals capture only part of how water and climate adaptation policy develops in the Netherlands. Rather than depending on narrative alignment, policy develops through repetition, variation, timing, and sustained coordination among diverse actors operating under long-term physical constraints. Drawing on the musical composition Canto Ostinato by Simeon ten Holt as an analytical model, the article conceptualizes Dutch water policymaking as an ensemble performance in which coherence emerges without consensus and disagreement is productively sustained. Using the emergence of meegroeien and the work of the fourth consortium of the Kennisprogramma Zeespiegelstijging as a case study, the article shows how high-quality policy performance can identify time-sensitive actions without resolving ultimate system choices. It concludes that improving the timing and coordination of policy action matters more than telling a new story.