Dutch immigrant policies before and after the Van Gogh murder

The murders of the Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn and the filmmaker Theo van Gogh have made headlines internationally and made readers wonder what happened in the country that used to have a reputation for tolerance and practice integration policies for immigrants that were seen as progressive in the European context. This article outlines the background of these spectacular and tragic events. Specifically it tries to assess the consequences for integration policies in the Netherlands. First an outline is given of the “Ethnic Minorities Policies” started in the Netherlands in the early 1980s, how the framing of that policy changed gradually in the 1990s to a more Republican integration policy and underwent a final change from 2002 on towards an assimilationist policy that serves restrictive and selective admission of immigrants. Secondly, as a background to these changes the public and political discourse on immigration and integration and integration is analyzed: from a depoliticized, consensus-policy in the 1980s, the gradual politicization of these topics in the 1990s, towards the populist rhetoric and policy argumentations after the turn of the century. Thirdly, the murder on Van Gogh and its interpretations by politics, media and society is specifically analysed. Finally the consequences for integration policies in the Netherlands are assessed.