The Dutch nitrogen crisis has emphatically illuminated the gap between “Randstad” and “Randland”. But exactly how wide is the gap? Is there merely a struggle for money, production and nature? A story about the pain of the disappearing ‘home’.

Bettina Bock was asked by Sociologie Magazine to write an essay about farmers and rural dwellers in the context of their early 2023 issue on ‘conflict’. Together with Jolien Klok they employed the concept of restanza to reflect on current rural discontent in the Netherlands. Unfortunately it’s only available in Dutch, click here to read the essay.