The Assimilationist Approach to Migrant Integration at the National Level in the Netherlands is Reflected in the Rhetoric and Policies at the Local Level
Open AccessSeveral scholars have written on the relationship between local and national approaches to integration in the Netherlands. These authors have concluded that while the Dutch national government has become more assimilationist in its approach to migrant groups, local governments have remained more multicultural. The point of this paper is to look at several integration policy memos at both the national and local levels to see if these documents support this conclusion. By looking at the national integration policy memos, the assimilationist tone of the national government becomes apparent. However, the local integration policy memos use the same rhetoric and touch on the same themes as the national government, including a focus on individuals rather than ethnic groups, the importance of active citizenship, and the responsibility of migrants to ensure their own integration. In only a few cases is there a delay in that municipalities took longer to adopt terminology in line with the national government's view of integration. Poppelaars and Scholten argue that the local level is more multicultural in practice than in official discourse and support this conclusion by looking at, among other things, local governments' work with migrant groups. In my opinion, the government condones this approach by continuing to allow for specific policies focused on Moroccan and Antillean groups. Also, while it appears some municipalities continue to work with migrant groups, others are gradually cutting off funding to these organizations and coming more in line with the national government.
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