ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the concepts discussed in this book. The book shows that local identities can play an important role in local politics. It analyses how local and regional identity discourses have changed in two municipalities and how this is related to shifts in local politics. The book explains how local identity discourses in both Katwijk and Goeree-Overflakkee were adapted to changing circumstances. It also shows the complex interrelations between identities, places, people and power. In both case studies, local identities were a major factor in the municipal amalgamation process. The diverse and changing use of local identities during municipal amalgamations can be interpreted using the distinction between primary and secondary identities. Primary local identities are relatively stable and well known by the local population and they differentiate between communities. Secondary identities, like any other types of identities, make sense of the strained and changeable relations between elements and collectives.
