Rechts-populistische attituden over sociaal burgerschap bij Europese migranten en verklaringen voor deze attituden

Abstract

Goal: The aim of this qualitative study is to explore the attitudes of right-wing populists about European migrants and their social citizenship in the Netherlands. Explanations for these attitudes are also explored. Methods: Fourteen semi-structured interviews with voters for Dutch right-wing populist party ‘Forum voor Democratie’ were conducted to collect data. Results: Participants showed a relatively positive attitude towards European migrants in comparison to non-western migrants. However, participants appeared to think that European migrants had less social citizenship than Dutch citizens without a migration background. European migrants had to meet certain criteria before they could become Dutch, after which migrants deserved it to use the Dutch welfare state. The criteria were mostly social-culturally, in which the migrants had to form a social network, and merit based, in which European migrants had to contribute to the welfare state before they could use it. Explanations for these attitudes were traditionalism, conservatism, nationalism, distrust to politics and their surroundings. Discussion: Right-wing populists found European migrants to have less social citizenship. This corresponds to existing literature about right-wing populists’ attitudes towards non-western migrants, while also making a contribution to the ‘deserving rank order’-theory (van Oorschot, 2006).