This paper examines contemporary racism in the Netherlands, and in particular the Dutch denial of racism, by looking at the debate surrounding the controversial statues of Jan Pieterszoon Coen and...Show moreThis paper examines contemporary racism in the Netherlands, and in particular the Dutch denial of racism, by looking at the debate surrounding the controversial statues of Jan Pieterszoon Coen and Joannes van Heutsz. By applying critical discourse analysis in the examination of newspaper articles from the moment that the statues were placed to the contemporary debate and their perceived solutions, this paper illustrates how the manner through which the Netherlands commemorates its colonial past is related to the contemporary denial of racism. By doing so, I will argue that racism in the Netherlands, as well as the statue debate, are both the result of a reconstructed past that came with the establishment of the Dutch nation-state and a distinct national identity. Illustrating how the statue debate reflects, but also contributes to, understanding the general place of racism and the habit of denial in the Netherlands.Show less
