The nation and its enemies: Religious, populist and racial nativism in contemporary Europe

• In Event: 3207 - Nations/Nationalisms I

Abstract

The right-wing discourses surrounding identity in Europe’s present-day politics and public spheres are often academically analysed in terms of populism, Islamophobia and racism. While acknowledging those concepts’ validity, this study proposes that populism, Islamophobia and racism are actually all subtypes of nativism. As its empirical evidence, the study analyses right-wing discourses in the Netherlands that have swirled over the last decade. They are a radical case of a much broader trend in Europe. Relative to other European nativisms, the Dutch variant has been propagated by a wider range of political affiliations, all supporting the idea that ‘Dutchness’ is based on progressive views on gender and sexuality, notably homosexuality. Dutch nativism offers uniquely valuable insights because it is at odds with a persistent image of the country, from inside and outside, as tolerant and non-nationalistic. The article opens with a conceptual description of nativism, which we define as opposition and/or hostility to an internal minority that is seen as a threat to the nation as a cultural entity. This is followed by analyses of discourses through the lenses of religious nativism, problematizing Islam and Muslims; populist nativism, problematizing ‘native’ elites; and racial nativism problematizing black anti-racism. This Dutch case study illustrates that nativism proffers the advantages of both precision and scope.

Authors

• Jan Willem Duyvendak, Universtiy of Amsterdam

• Josip Kesic, University of Amsterdam