On 28 December 1943, the then Minister of Foreign Affairs Eelco van Kleffens announced in a speech he delivered for Radio Orange that the Netherlands would be pursuing an ‘active’ foreign policy. The idea that an active approach of the Netherlands in international politics is absolutely essential for a small open society whose scope for action is co-dependent on others has been the core of Dutch foreign policy ever since. An active approach has become the trademark of the Netherlands abroad: we are represented at virtually every table and we participate in virtually everything.

The upheavals of 1989 have not changed any of this. More than ever, the Dutch government is convinced that an active foreign policy is a vital necessity for a country like the Netherlands, as witnessed, amongst other things, in many references to the government's active approach on the international stage in the Queen's speeches, government declarations, Explanatory Statements, and addresses:

Developments in the post-1989 world, meanwhile, have thrown up obstacles to the government. The global context in which policymaking takes place has changed to such an extent that the tried and trusted international policymaking frameworks (see Voorhoeve 1979) have become outdated. An alternative framework, at the same time, is lacking, making it increasingly difficult in practice to decide what the Dutch position should be or what role the Netherlands should play in specific cases. The choice for pursuing an active policy, therefore, often amounts to little more than an attitude of ‘if it fails to do some good, it won't do any harm’ rather than a manifestation of a goal-oriented strategy aiming to achieve a specific goal or at least bring it a little closer.