1. 1 The Dutch debate on immigrant integration. From new realism to mainstreaming Islamophobia. Baukje Prins b.prins@hhs.nl The Hague University of Applied Sciences

2. 2 Policy views on immigrant integration in the Netherlands ‘Natural’ assimilation (1950s – 1982) Pillarization (1982 – 1994) Multiculturalism (1994 – 2002) New realism (2002 – 2006) Civic integration (2007 – 2010) Full integration (2010 – now)

3. 3 ‘NATURAL’ ASSIMILATION (1950s -1982) Motto : Immigrants will naturally assimilate into the wider society and become unrecognizable as an alien group. Government coalitions: Christian parties with either social- democrats (PvdA) or liberals (VVD) Opposition: government should develop policies to fight racism and exploitation, and support the empowerment and emancipation of immigrants Marxist and anti-racist activists

4. 4 PILLARIZATION ( 1982 – 1994) Motto : Integration with support for the preservation of the cultural and religious identity of ethnic minority groups Opposition: integration should be handled with ‘more guts’ Frits Bolkestein (VVD) Government coalitions : Christian democrats (CDA) with liberals (VVD) (‘82-’89) or social democrats (PvdA) (’89 – ’94)

5. 5 Discourse of new realism - early 1990s of the conservative-liberal kind (Frits Bolkestein) 1. Have the guts to face the facts ( in solving the problem of integration there is no room for taboos) 2. Speak for the ordinary people ( many people talk about minorities, but few talk about the indigenous minorities in poor neighbourhoods) 3. Frank speech ( I take them seriously, so I quarrel ) 4. Challenge the progressive elite and its cultural relativism ( we have to defend the achievements of our own culture ) 5. Focus on issues of gender and sexuality ( The way women are treated in the world of Islam casts a slur on the reputation of that civilization)

6. 6 MULTICULTURALISM (1994 – 2002) ‘Purple’ government coalitions : social democrats (PvdA) with liberals (VVD, D’66) Motto: stimulate socio-economic integration of individuals; accept cultural and religious diversity Opposition : about the imminence of a ‘multicultural drama’ Paul Scheffer (2000) about the imminent ‘islamization’ of society Pim Fortuyn (2002)

7. 7 Discourse of new realism - 2000 of the social-democratic kind (Paul Scheffer) 1. Have the guts to face the facts ( rates of unemployment, criminality, and school drop-out among ethnic minorities are extremely high) 2. Speak for the ordinary people ( stories beneath the surface remain unseen and unheard) 3. Frank speech ( immigration entails loss; immigrants need to be educated in Dutch language, history and culture) 4. Challenge the progressive elite and its cultural relativism ( who ignore an ever widening gap between a wealthy majority and the deprivation of (second generation) immigrants ) 5. Little focus on issues of gender and sexuality

8. 8 Discourse of new realism - 2002 of the populist kind (Pim Fortuyn) 1. Have the guts to face the facts ( I am a man who says what he thinks and does what he says ) 2. Speak for the ordinary people (the poor [..] are just like us: emancipated, individualized, independent citizens) 3. Frank speech (I consider Islam to be an extraordinary threat, I am in favour of a cold war against Islam) 4. Challenge the progressive elite and its cultural relativism (the political elite has become an incestuous circle) 5. Focus on issues of gender and sexuality ( F. was openly homosexual; he claimed that headscarfs limit women’s freedom, but also that many jobs are not suitable for women because they keep them from being at home for the kids… )

9. 9 NEW REALISM realized (2002 – 2006) Motto : integration has failed; immigrants should show loyalty to Dutch society, culture and values Government coalitions : christian-democrats (CDA) and liberals (VVD) with List Pim Fortuyn (2002), social liberals (D’66) (2002- 2006) Opposition: Islam is bad for women, we need a ‘liberal jihad’ against Islam Ayaan Hirsi Ali & Geert Wilders

10. 10 Discourse of new realism (2002 – 2006) of the neo-conservative kind (Ayaan Hirsi Ali & Geert Wilders ) 1. Have the guts to face the facts ( marrying off is arranged rape approved by the family 2. Speak for the ordinary people ( by denying reality, you do not take citizens seriously ) 3. Frank speech (‘the right to insult’) ( Mohammed was a pervert and a pedophile ) 4. Challenge the progressive elite and its cultural relativism ( the time to drink tea and subsidize is over ) 5. Focus on issues of gender and sexuality (the Islamic vision is a society ruled by sharia law — in which women who have sex before marriage are stoned to death, and homosexuals are beaten up)

11. 11 CIVIC INTEGRATION (2006 – 2010) Motto : Shared citizenship: ‘Working together, living together’ Government coalition : christian-democrats (CDA), social democrats (PvdA) and orthodox christians (CU) Opposition: Islam is not a religion but a dangerous political ideology, Muslims can never be reliable Dutch citizens. Geert Wilders, Freedom Party

12. 12 Discourse of new realism (2006 – 2009) of the national populist kind (Geert Wilders) 1. Have the guts to face the facts ( Take a walk down the street and see where this is going. You no longer feel like you are living in your own country.) 2. Speak for the ordinary people ( Henk and Ingrid are paying for Ali and Fatima ) 3. Blunt speech ( Our streets are being ravaged by scum ) 4. Challenge the progressive elite and its cultural relativism ( The elites have bargained away all that is dear to us) 5. Focus on issues of gender and sexuality ( Ban the burqa, put a tax on headscarfs )

13. 13 FULL INTEGRATION (2010 – today) Motto’s ‘Freedom and responsibility’; ‘What matters is not your origin, but your future’. Subtext : the PVV remains free to say whatever it wants about Islam; immigrants should fully embrace Dutch culture and values Government coalition: liberals (VVD) and christian democrats (CDA) supported by a ‘toleration pact’ with the national populists (PVV) on issues of integration, immigration, safety and healthcare Opposition : government demands full integration, but by shifting all responsibility to the immigrants themselves it simultaneously undermines the integration process.

14. 14 Main sources Baukje Prins, The Nerve to Break Taboos. New Realism in the Dutch Discourse on Multiculturalism, in JIMI 3 (3&4), 2002, pp. 363-379 Baukje Prins, Beyond Innocence. The Genre of New Realism and its Contenders, in: R.Braidotti, Ch. Esche & M..Hlavajova (Eds.), Citizens and Subjects: The Netherlands, for example, Critical Reader for the 52nd Venice Biennale, 2007, pp. 253-264. Baukje Prins & Sawitri Saharso, From Toleration to Repression. The Backlash against Multiculturalism in the Netherlands, in S. Vertovec & S. Wessendorf (eds), The Multiculturalism Backlash: European discourses,policies and practices. London: Routledge 2010, pp. 72-91. Baukje Prins, How to face reality. Genres of discourse within Dutch minorities research, in M. Bommes & D. Thränhardt (eds). National Paradigms of Migration Research. Göttingen: V&R unipress 2010, pp. 81-108. Koen Vossen, Vom konservativen Liberalen zum Nationalpopulisten. Die ideologische Entwicklung des Geert Wilders, in Wielinga, F. & Hartleb, F., Populismus in der modernen Demokratie. Münster: Waxmann, pp. 77-103.