A double-edged sword
By: VAN KESBERGEN, Kees
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Contributor(s): KROWEL, André.
Material type: 
ArticlePublisher: Philadelphia, PA : Routledge, April 2008Journal of European Public Policy 15, 3, p. 398-414Abstract: We study the impact of the 'foreigners issue' on centre-right politics in the Netherlands. This issue concerns a complex of problems related to migration, asylum-seekers, nationalism, multiculturalism and European integration. The Dutch centre-right has moved towards hard-line and restrictive policies in these areas. By connecting issues of immigration to right-wing core issues of law and order, centre-right parties hope to win an electoral advantage and to find an answer to populist political entrepreneurs. However, the politicization of immigration issues is a double-edged sword. Centre-right parties can benefit since they own the law and order and nationalist issues. But hard-line right-wing stances on immigration and multiculturalism also go against core centre-right values and may scare away voters. Too harsh a law and order, nationalistic and anti-foreigner profile can rip the centre-right apart. The direction of Dutch immigration and integration policies partly depends on the type of solution the centre-right finds for this dilemma
We study the impact of the 'foreigners issue' on centre-right politics in the Netherlands. This issue concerns a complex of problems related to migration, asylum-seekers, nationalism, multiculturalism and European integration. The Dutch centre-right has moved towards hard-line and restrictive policies in these areas. By connecting issues of immigration to right-wing core issues of law and order, centre-right parties hope to win an electoral advantage and to find an answer to populist political entrepreneurs. However, the politicization of immigration issues is a double-edged sword. Centre-right parties can benefit since they own the law and order and nationalist issues. But hard-line right-wing stances on immigration and multiculturalism also go against core centre-right values and may scare away voters. Too harsh a law and order, nationalistic and anti-foreigner profile can rip the centre-right apart. The direction of Dutch immigration and integration policies partly depends on the type of solution the centre-right finds for this dilemma
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