Leiden University Student Repository

Samorek, Jakub (2023)

CRACKING THE ANTI-KRAAK: Review of the politics underpinning the policies of “anti-kraak” in the Netherlands

Bachelor thesis | Urban Studies (BA)

This paper examines the historical and theoretical background of the anti-kraak and its relation to the status of squatting in the Netherlands. Both phenomena underwent drastic changes throughout history, resulting in a convoluted legal system surrounding them. The uncertainty surrounding the topic raises a question: What are the political ideas, discourses, and narratives underpinning anti-kraak policies in the Netherlands? Utilizing the existing academic sources, with the methods of systematic literature review and theory-building process tracing, this study demonstrates that the political notions of conservatism, liberalism, culture wars and revanchism strongly influenced the status of anti-kraak and squatting in the Netherlands. Additionally, it argues that both of the studied phenomena are rooted in similar political and legal backgrounds, which is especially evident, given the historical development of those, over the last decades of the 20th century.

Squatting

anti-squatting

anti-kraak

housing policy

Dutch housing market

Author

Samorek, Jakub

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

Population Health Management; Crime, Criminalisation and the Right to the City

Supervisors

Alistair Kefford

ECTS Credits

15

Language

en