Defending the Nation: Public Opinion and National Identity in Dutch Foreign Policy

Abstract

This chapter looks at the influence of public opinion and national identity on the diplomatic and military policies of the Netherlands between the end of the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War (1784) and the fall of Napoleon (1815). The chapter assesses policy across a series of regimes to show the influence that the Dutch public was able to exert over political decision-making. The chapter also examines how far the assumptions arising from key ideas of Dutch national identity—ideas such as trade, domestic institutions, Orangism, republicanism and religion—had the ability to influence Dutch politicians in their bid to protect the country from its predatory neighbours.