“Meedoen” in society: a matter of economic participation or sharing cultural norms?: Civic integration policy in the Netherlands through the lense of nationalism

Migrant integration has become a pressing policy concern ever since governments perceived an economic, political, and social distance between the migrant groups and native citizens, which resulted in a backlash against multicultural approaches. In Western Europe, this has led to a civic integration approach, which aims to hand civic tools to migrants in order to emancipate them to participate within the receiving society. Through integration procedures, courses and contracts the policies aim to establish social inclusion of immigrants. These civic integration policies often share the demand of the adoption of values rooted in liberal, democratic principles but at the same time take on different shapes depending on the political and historical context. While scholars largely agree on the existence and differing shapes of civic integration policies, only few consider it as a form of nationalism. This research interrogates what notions of national identity and the role of immigrants in...Show moreMigrant integration has become a pressing policy concern ever since governments perceived an economic, political, and social distance between the migrant groups and native citizens, which resulted in a backlash against multicultural approaches. In Western Europe, this has led to a civic integration approach, which aims to hand civic tools to migrants in order to emancipate them to participate within the receiving society. Through integration procedures, courses and contracts the policies aim to establish social inclusion of immigrants. These civic integration policies often share the demand of the adoption of values rooted in liberal, democratic principles but at the same time take on different shapes depending on the political and historical context. While scholars largely agree on the existence and differing shapes of civic integration policies, only few consider it as a form of nationalism. This research interrogates what notions of national identity and the role of immigrants in society are apparent in both civic integration policies as well as related political discourses. Exploring how, in what context, and by whom notions of the Dutch identity and integration are discursively deployed in parliamentary debates, this research aims to shed light on the relationship between liberal values and nationalist narratives. I argue that references to moral universal and liberal principles within the debate of integration policy can be understood as a part of a broader civic nationalist narrative and sometimes shows aspects of cultural nationalism. This thesis considers the distinction between civic and cultural nationalism as ambiguous and illustrates that the intertwinedness of the two concepts can explain the transition from multiculturalism to a rejection of this approach. This research finds that civic and cultural nationalist narratives can coexist.Show less

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“Meedoen” in society: a matter of economic participation or sharing cultural norms? Civic integration policy in the Netherlands through the lense of nationalism