The Rise and Fall of Multiculturalism: The Case of the Netherlands

Abstract

Wake up any expert on immigrant integration in the middle of the night and ask that person to name a country known for its multiculturalism. Ten to one that the answer will be Canada, Australia or the Netherlands. In recent years, however, multiculturalism has come increasingly under fire in all three, but probably most of all in the Netherlands. In this chapter I will first analyze the rise and fall of Dutch multiculturalist policies for immigrants. I will then place the recent turnaround in the perspective of the current debate on citizenship and multiculturalism, the general theme of this book. Can public policy in the Netherlands indeed be seen as an example of a renewed emphasis on citizenship and shared values in response to earlier tendencies towards postnationalism and multiculturalism? If so, what are the reasons for this change, what arguments have been put forward by different sides, and how are current trends likely to evolve further?