Leiden University Student Repository

Bosman, Diego 2019

'Are We Welcome?' The reception of Chilean refugees in the Netherlands and Ireland, 1973-1990.

Bachelor thesis | Geschiedenis (BA)

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This thesis sheds light on a largely forgotten but nonetheless important group of refugees during the Cold War. The Chilean case study represents an anomaly in the traditional Cold War narrative....Show moreThis thesis sheds light on a largely forgotten but nonetheless important group of refugees during the Cold War. The Chilean case study represents an anomaly in the traditional Cold War narrative. Instead of escaping the presumed evil of communism the Chileans fled from an undemocratic right-wing military regime ultimately becoming the first major non-European refugees to apply for asylum in Western Europe after the Second World War. The Netherlands accepted around 1502 Chilean refugees whereas Ireland only admitted 107 Chilean refugees. Both countries had different approaches towards the reception of these refugees. This raises the following question: Why was the reception of Chilean refugees in the Netherlands so vastly different from the reception in Ireland, 1973-1990? This study adopts Karen Jacobsen’s analytical framework that identifies four key categories of factors that influence refugee policies. However, some adaptations were made in order to fit the individual context of both countries: 1) legal bureaucratic response; 2) national security considerations; 3) the treatment of refugees; 4) civil society; 5) and integration. These factors are discussed and analysed per case and its findings are based on primary sources of the National Archive of Ireland in Dublin, the National Archive of the Netherlands in the Hague, and the International Institute of Social History in Amsterdam.Show less