Beyond Dutch Borders: Transnational Politics Among Colonial Migrants, Guest Workers and the Second Generation

264 Pages·2010·1.549 MB·English

by  Liza Mügge

imiscoe
research
Beyond Dutch Borders
Transnational Politics among
Colonial Migrants, Guest Workers
and the Second Generation
liza mgge
amsterdam Universit y Press
Beyond Dutch Borders
IMISCOE
International Migration, Integration and Social Cohesion inEurope
The IMISCOE Research Network unites researchers from, at present, 28 institutes
specialising in studies of international migration, integration and social cohesion in
Europe. What began in 2004 as a Network of Excellence sponsored by the Sixth
Framework Programme oftheEuropeanCommission hasbecome,asof April2009,an
independentself-fundingendeavouropentoqualifiedresearchersandresearchinstitutes
worldwide. From the start, IMISCOE has promoted integrated, multidisciplinary and
globally comparative research led by scholars from various branches of the economic
and social sciences, the humanities and law. The Network furthers existing studies and
pioneersnewscholarshiponmigrationandmigrantintegration. Encouraginginnovative
linesofinquirykeytoEuropeanpolicymakingandgovernanceisalsoapriority.
The IMISCOE-Amsterdam University Press Series makes the Network’s findings and
results available to researchers, policymakers and practitioners, the media and other
interested stakeholders. High-quality manuscripts authored by Network members and
cooperating partners areevaluated byexternal peerreviewsandtheIMISCOE Editorial
Committee.TheCommitteecomprisesthefollowingmembers:
TizianaCaponio,DepartmentofPoliticalStudies,UniversityofTurin/Forumfor
InternationalandEuropeanResearchonImmigration(FIERI),Turin,Italy
MichaelCollyer,SussexCentreforMigrationResearch(SCMR),UniversityofSussex,
UnitedKingdom
RositaFibbi,SwissForumforMigrationandPopulationStudies(SFM),Universityof
Neuchâtel/InstituteofSocialSciences,UniversityofLausanne,Switzerland
AgataGórny,CentreofMigrationResearch(CMR)/FacultyofEconomicSciences,
UniversityofWarsaw,Poland
AlbertKraler,InternationalCentreforMigrationPolicyDevelopment(ICMPD),Vienna,
Austria
LeoLucassen,InstituteofHistory,LeidenUniversity,TheNetherlands
JorgeMalheiros,CentreofGeographicalStudies(CEG),UniversityofLisbon,Portugal
MarcoMartiniello,NationalFundforScientificResearch(FNRS),Brussels/Centerfor
EthnicandMigrationStudies(CEDEM),UniversityofLiège,Belgium
PatrickSimon,NationalDemographicInstitute(INED),Paris,France
MiriSong,SchoolofSocialPolicyandSociology,UniversityofKent,UnitedKingdom
MoreinformationonIMISCOEandhowtojointheNetworkcanbefoundat
www.imiscoe.org.
Beyond Dutch Borders
Transnational Politics among Colonial Migrants,
Guest Workers and the Second Generation
Liza Mügge
IMISCOE Research
Cover illustration: No Title(from the series Kabul) 2009, oil and airbrush
on canvas, 30(cid:1) 30 cm
Artist: Aquil Copier (1973) lives and works inAmsterdam
www.aquilcopier.nl
Cover design:Studio Jande Boer BNO, Amsterdam
Layout: The DocWorkers, Almere
ISBN 978 90 89642448
e-ISBN 978 90 48512829
NUR 741 /763
©Liza Mügge /Amsterdam University Press, Amsterdam 2010
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved
above,nopart ofthisbookmay bereproduced,storedinorintroduced into
a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the written
permission ofboth thecopyrightownerandthe author of thebook.
For Daniel, Kolja and Romy

Contents
Tables 9
Figures 11
Abbreviations 13
Acknowledgements 19
1 Introduction 21
Transnationalism inmigration studies 22
The emergence and evolution oftransnational politics 29
Transnational actors, activities and ties 33
Surinamese, Turkishand Kurdish migrants intheNetherlands 41
2 Individual transnationalists 47
Respondents’ backgrounds 47
Interest inDutch and homelandpolitics 49
Societalparticipation 55
Electoral sympathies 64
From mother todaughter, fatherto son? 76
Opportunities inthe Netherlands 79
Conclusion 81
3 Migrant organisations and transnational politics 83
Civil society,networks and politicalparticipation 83
Surinamese organisational networks inthe Netherlands 88
Turkish and Kurdish organisational networks in theNetherlands 104
Conclusion 121
4 Surinam: Studentactivism totransnationalparty politics 125
Political history 125
Returnees 133
Militaryrule 136
Post-colonial democracy 139
Conclusion 146
5 Turkey: Labourmigration totransnational partypolitics 149
The political landscape 149
Transnational party politics 155
8
Diş Türkler(‘Turks abroad’) 172
Turkish-Dutch politicians 176
Conclusion 178
6 Kurdish diasporapolitics 181
The rise of Kurdish nationalism 181
Illegal Kurdish parties 183
Pro-Kurdish and Kurdish parties 184
PKK mobilisation inEurope 186
Kurdish parties inthe Netherlands 190
Conclusion 191
7 Conclusion: Lookingbothways 193
Surinamese 194
Turks 195
Kurds 196
Explaining transnational politics 197
Appendices 203
Appendix A: Methodology 203
Appendix B: Surinamese political parties 211
Appendix C: Familytrees of Turkish and Kurdish
politicalparties,1920s-2005 213
Notes 215
References 225
Index 247
Tables
Table 1.1 Transnationalactivitiesand their degree of
institutionalisation 37
Table 1.2 Typology of transnational politicalactivities 37
Table 1.3 Differentiation between ties 40
Table 2.1 Overview ofsurvey respondents 48
Table 2.2 Transnationalcontacts and discussing politics 52
Table 2.3 Organisational membership and homeland-directed
activities 55
Table 2.4 Electoralactivities: politicalparties 65
Table 2.5 Possiblevoting in elections and homeland voting
advice 73
Table 2.6 Political party preferences 74
Table 3.1 Voting percentages of Surinamese/Antilleans and
Turks in municipal elections 84
Table 3.2 Number of Surinamese and Turkish municipal
councillors, 1998 and 2002 84
Table 3.3 Number and density of Surinamese and Turkish
organisations 85
Table 3.4 Isolated and connectedSurinamese and Turkish
organisations 85
Table 3.5 Types of Surinamese organisations included in the
network analysis 88
Table 3.6 Types of Turkish organisationsincludedin the network
analysis 88
Table 3.7 Relevance of specific types of ties 124
Table 7.1 Dominant directions of transnational politics 194
Table A.1 SPVA sampleprovided byISEO 204
Table A.2 Samplebysex and country oforigin/ethnicity 205
Table A.3 Issuesdiscussedin the interviews 206
Table A.4 Interviews with representatives oforganisations 207