European Populism and Winning the Immigration Debate

Preface by “Immigration [...] has become both a catch-all KENAN explanation for unacceptable social change MALIK and a symbol of the failure of the liberal elite author of »From Fatwa to Jihad« to understand the views of voters.” European Populism and Winning the Immigration Debate Edited by Clara Sandelind European Populism and Winning the Immigration Debate Edited by Clara Sandelind 1st edition, 1st printing Print: ScandBook, Falun 2014 Design: Tobias Persson Cover Photo: Marie-Lan Nguyen, ©Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 ISBN: 978-91-87379-22-2 © 2014 European Liberal Forum. All rights reserved This publications can be downloaded for free on www.liberalforum.eu or www.fores.se. Single copies can also be ordered in print by emailing [email protected]. Published by the European Liberal Forum asbl with the support of (member organisations’ names). Co-funded by the European Parliament. Neither the European Parliament nor the European Liberal Forum asbl are responsible for the content of this publication, or for any use that may be made of it. The views expressed herein are those of the author(s) alone. These views do not necessarily reflect those of the European Parliament and/or the European Liberal Forum asbl. About the publishers European Liberal Forum The European Liberal Forum (ELF) is the foundation of the European Liberal Democrats, the ALDE Party. A core aspect of our work consists in issuing publications on Liberalism and European public policy issues. We also provide a space for the discussion of European politics, and offer training for liberal-minded citizens. Our aim is to promote active citizenship in all of this. Our foundation is made up of a number of European think tanks, political foundations and institutes. The diversity of our membership provides us with a wealth of knowledge and is a constant source of innovation. In turn, we provide our members with the opportunity to cooperate on European projects under the ELF umbrella. We work throughout Europe as well as in the EU Neighbourhood countries. The youthful and dynamic nature of ELF allows us to be at the forefront in promoting active citizenship, getting the citizen involved with European issues and building an open, Liberal Europe. Square de Meeûs 38/40, 3rd floor, B-1000 Brussels. www.liberalforum.eu Fores – the green and liberal think tank Fores – Forum for Reforms, Entrepreneurship and Sustainability – is a green and liberal think tank. We want to renew the debate in Sweden with belief in entrepreneurship and opportunities for people to shape their own lives. Market-based solutions to climate change and other environmental challenges, the long-term benefits of migration and a welcoming society, the gains of increased levels of entrepreneurship, the need for modernization of the welfare sector and the challenges of the rapidly changing digital society – these are some of the issues we focus on. We hold seminars and roundtable discussions in town halls, parliaments and board rooms, we publish reports, books and policy papers, we put together and chair reference groups around policy issues, we participate in the media debates, and we support policy makers with relevant facts. We act as a link between curious citizens, opinion makers, entre- preneurs, policymakers and researchers, always striving for an open-minded, inclusive and thought provoking dialogue. Bellmansgatan 10, 118 20 Stockholm. Learn more about us on our website www.fores.se. Table of Contents About the study......................................................................................................................... x Preface by Kenan Malik........................................................................................................ xii Chapter 1. Introduction, editor Clara Sandelind, University of Sheffield.............. 1 Chapter 2. A Breakthrough Moment or False Dawn? The Great Recession and the Radical Right in Europe, Matthew Goodwin, University of Nottingham.................................................................................................... 15 Chapter 3. Is it getting worse? Anti-immigrants attitudes in Europe during the 21th century, Mikael Hjerm and Andrea Bohman, Umeå University...................................................................................................................... 41 Chapter 4. Not that different after all: radical right parties and voters in Western Europe, Wouter van der Brug, Meindert Fennema, Sjerdje van Heerden and Sarah de Lange, University of Amsterdam............................. 65 Chapter 5. Populism, Social Media and Democratic Strain, Jamie Bartlett, DEMOS........................................................................................................ 99 Chapter 6. The Danish People’s Party in Nørrebro, Jeppe Fuglsang Larsen, Aalborg University................................................................................................. 117 Chapter 7. The Swedish Exception and the Case of Landskrona, Clara Sandelind, University of Sheffield..................................................................... 147 Chapter 8. Responding to the Populist Radical Right: The Dutch Case, Sjoerdje van Heerden and Bram Creusen, University of Amsterdam.............. 179 Chapter 9. Acting for Immigrants’ Rights: Civil Society and Immigration Policies in Italy, Maurizio Ambrosini, University of Milan......... 213 Chapter 10. Conclusion and Reflections, editor Clara Sandelind, University of Sheffield....................................................................................................... 249 ix About the study This book is published by European Liberal Forum (ELF) in co operation with Fores. In addition to the editor, Clara Sandelind, and the authors, Anna Rehnvall, Head of Fores Migration Program, Andreas Bergström, Deputy Director Fores and member of the ELF Board of Directors, and Ulrika Stavlöt, Research Director at Fores, have worked on the project. The authors are responsible for the content of their own contribu- tions, which do not necessarily represent those of the publishers or the editor. To ensure a high scientific standard all the chapters have been peer reviewed among the authors themselves. A special thank you to Karin Zelano for the effort of gathering researchers from all over Europe to contribute to this study and to Frida Hed- ström, Nathalie Jarlsmark and Joseph Aridici Turner for proofreading. Fores migration program is founded in the belief that policy must be based on empirical evidence in order to be credible, efficient and dura- ble. To read more about Fores migration program and download other books, such as thex ELF book Labor Migration – what’s in it for us? Expe- riences from Sweden, the UK and Poland, please visit www.liberalforum. eu or www.fores.se or contact Anna Rehnvall at [email protected]. x xi Preface Kenan Malik Kenan Malik is a London-based writer, lecturer and broadcaster. His books include The Quest for a Moral Compass: A Global History of Ethics (2014), From Fatwa to Jihad: The Rushdie Affair and its Legacy (2009) and Strange Fruit: Why Both Sides are Wrong in the Race Debate (2008). xii xiii Golden Dawn in Greece. The Front National in France. UKIP in Bri- tain. Sweden Democrats. The True Finns. Throughout Europe groups once seen as fringe organizations are dominating headlines, and often setting the political agenda. The challenge that such groups pose to mainstream political parties, and the instability they have unleashed upon the mainstream political arena, has created a sense of panic about the rise of ‘populism’. But what is populism? Why is it a problem? And how should it be com- bated? What are considered populist parties comprise, in fact, very different kinds of organizations, with distinct historical roots, ideological values and networks of social support. Some, such as Golden Dawn, are openly Nazi. Others, such as the Front National are far-right organizations that in recent years have tried to rebrand themselves to become more mainstream. Yet others - UKIP for instance - have reactionary views, play to far-right themes such as race and immigration, but have never been part of the far-right tradition. What unites this disparate group is that all define themselves through a hostility to the mainstream and to what has come to be regarded as the dominant liberal consensus. Most of the populist parties combine a visceral hatred of immigration with an acerbic loathing of the EU, a viru- lent nationalism and deeply conservative views on social issues such as gay marriage and women’s rights. The emergence of such groups reveals far more, however, than merely a widespread disdain for the mainstream. It expresses also the redrawing of Europe’s political map, and the creation of a new fault- line on that map. The postwar political system, built around the divide be tween social democratic and conservative parties, is being dismant- led. Not only has this created new space for the populists, but it is also transforming the very character of political space. The broad ideological divides that characterized politics for much of the past two hundred years have, over the past three decades, been xiiii all but erased. The political sphere has narrowed; politics has become less about competing visions of the kinds of society people want than a debate about how best to manage the existing political system. Poli- tics, in this post-ideological age, has been reduced to a question more of technocratic management rather than of social transformation.

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