Prevention of Right-Wing Extremism, Xenophobia and Racism in ...

GÉ GRUBBEN
Right-Extremist Sympathies among Adolescents in the Netherlands
Introduction
After the September 11th 2001 attack on the United States and the murder of the columnist
and fi lm-maker Theo van Gogh in November 2004, the Netherlands was confronted with a
wave of violent acts directed primarily at Muslims or alleged Muslims. The primarily young
perpetrators were thought to be right-wing extremists or sympathetic to right-wing extremism.
This contribution considers this phenomenon in more more detail. The attempt is made to provide
insight into the Dutch situation by clarifying the Dutch context.
First, right-wing extremism is interpreted in its Dutch context. To this end attention is briefl y
given to the very limited politically organized right-wing extremism in the Netherlands. The
youths who make up the groups guilty of racist violence qualify as right-wing extremists and
are primarily found in the hardcore culture, currently the largest white white youth culture in the
Netherlands. After a brief presentation of the history of this youth culture, attention is given to
its geographic distribution, its causes, and the profi le of its participants.
In Strategies for combating prejudice, discrimination, racism and right-wing extremism,
the three pillars of Dutch policy are addressed: legislation, a thorough infrastructure, and the
conjuntion of a concerned government and a social midfi eld.
We then look at how various actors have reacted to the right-wing extremist boom. AttenAttention is paid to government, police, the judiciary system, the education system, anti-discrimina-
tion organizations, the hardcore scene, Lonsdale, the media, and allochtone 10 youth.
In the fi nal section attention is paid to how the educational system handles the matter.
Sucessful methods and projects are presented and a few of them are taken up in more detail.
Right-wing extremism in the Netherlands
The concepts ‘right-wing extremist’ and ‘racist’ are used interchangeably as designations of
individuals and groups. This is not a problem when it comes to political organizations because
the professional criteria for designating them as right-wing extremist or racist are virtually
iden tical. The concepts are however not synonymous. We must especially take care when
considering individuals and small groups. While right-wing extremism is a political concept,
racism is a much broader concept.
10 “Allochtoon” is a formal concept in the Netherlands for anyone either born outside of the Netherlands to
non-Dutch parents or born in the Netherlands to a not Dutch parent. A distinction is made between Western
“allochtonen” (EU citizens from the rich industrialized nations) and non-Western “alochtonen” (in particular
those from Turkey, North Africa, Surinam and South America, the Dutch Antilles, and refugees). The term is
however often used by the media and others to mark ethnic minorities. The word “autochtoon” on the other
hand stands for Dutch citizens born to Dutch parents. The term is considered synonymous with “the white,
dominant majority.”
48 Right-Extremist Sympathies among Adolescents in the Netherlands