The Populist Turn in Migration Laws and Policies: the Case of the Netherlands

Authors: Dr. Ricky van Oers (ricky.vanoers@ru.nl) and Dr. Karen Geertsema (karen.geertsema@ru.nl): Populist forces have been influencing migration laws and policies around the globe and the Netherlands forms no exception. After decades of strong anti-immigrant rhetorics, the extreme right ‘Freedom Party’ (PVV) won the 2024 parliamentary elections. Subsequently, the PVV for the first time took part in a coalition government as one of four coalition partners. Proposals by the minister on Asylum and Migration Faber (PVV) to limit rights of migrants – mainly refugees – to inter alia family reunification, legal assistance and humane reception have been following each other in rapid succession. These proposals have been accompanied by attempts to circumvent the parliament and, when this failed, an unusual consultation process which was much shorter than usual (one week instead of four to twelve weeks), secret instead of public and during which the Advisory Board on Migration, whose advice on proposals of law related to migration the government is legally obliged to acquire, was passed by. Whereas the above clearly demonstrates the influence of populist forces on the domain of migration , it would be a misconception to state that Dutch migration laws and policies have been immune to populism prior to the installation of the extreme right government in 2024, nor that it coincides with the rise of the PVV which was established in 2005. As a matter of fact, already at the turn of the 21st century, a ‘paradigm shift’ occurred related to the political perspectives on migration and integration (Bonjour 2009, Groenendijk 2008). In this paper, we explain why and how populism has been shaping Dutch migration laws and policies over the past decades, focusing on laws and policies related to civic integration and the rights of asylum seekers and refugees. By analyzing these specific Dutch migration laws and policies we illustrate how populist pressures challenge our understanding of democracy, human rights and rule of law.