Samenvatting

According to many observers, multicultural integration policies have strongly eroded in the Netherlands since the early 1990s and particularly following the rise of Pim Fortuyn in 2002. In this view, the Netherlands now follow harsh, assimilationist policies that threaten the foundations of democracy. Policy studies on the local level have however found strong continuities. This article investigates changes and continuities in Dutch integration policies on the national level. The cross-national policy data compiled in the Migration Policy Index show that the Netherlands are in 2007 still among the European countries that offer immigrants and their descendants the largest degree of legal equality. Comparative data on accommodation policies regarding immigrant cultures and religions show that Dutch policies are still culturally pluralist compared to most other European countries, e.g., by recognizing immigrants' ethnic and religious identities and practices, subsidizing and incorporating their associations, and providing preferential access to public sector jobs. Quantitative comparative policy data are supplemented by qualitative examples of pluralist policies in the media, the police force, and nature conservation and recreation. The article concludes that in spite of rhetoric to the contrary, there is strong path dependence in Dutch integration policies, also on the national level.