Leiden University has been grappling for three years with whether to allow the Groot-Nederlandse Studentenvereniging (GNSV) to set up a stall at the information market during the introduction week. There have been several protests against the association’s participation. During the most recent market in August, a protester threw a jar of foul-smelling butyric acid at the GNSV’s stall.
There have been multiple calls within the University Council to ban the association from the market. The Executive Board is opposed to this, arguing that there are no legal grounds for doing so. The Board did, however, promise to consider revising the guidelines for participation in the market.
Security service AIVD and the National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism (NCTV) are less reserved, explicitly warning of the danger posed by the GNSV in their report Behind the façade - Strategic normalisation by the far-right extremist movement, published this week.
The services classify the student association as far right. The GNSV was ‘founded by the far-right extremist Geuzenbond’. In the analysis, the student association is listed alongside extremist and, in certain cases, even neo-Nazi organisations such as White Lives Matter, the Active Club Dietsland, Wolvenrad and Voorpost.
‘WHITE SUPREMACY, RACISM, HATRED AND VIOLENCE’
The report is based on both open sources and intelligence obtained by the AIVD. The analysis shows that the unfiltered expression of ‘white supremacy, racism, hatred and violence deters’ many people. Organisations that ‘promote such messages are excluded from the mainstream public debate and therefore have less influence within society’.
That is why a number of extremist organisations have taken a different approach, ‘deliberately opting for normalisation’ and presenting their ideology in a veiled form, according to the services. ‘It is essentially façade politics: outwardly, they present themselves as moderate, while internally, they express much more extreme views.’
One important change, for example, is ‘the shift in focus in their narrative from “race” to culture and identity’. Far-right extremists latch onto topics that are already the subject of debate, such as so-called ‘Dutch traditions’ or the alleged excessive diversity and inclusion policies.
‘For example, these organisations get involved in discussions about a more neutral approach to Christian holidays. Among other things, they link this to the alleged “Islamisation” that is supposedly threatening our society. Genuine feelings of displacement among citizens are exploited to render racist and xenophobic messages more appealing.’
A WOLF IN SHEEP’S CLOTHING
The process of normalisation is reinforced by the frequent repetition of the message. ‘People who are receptive to far-right extremist ideas are more likely to adopt them when they are repeatedly exposed to them. The risk of this is greater when the ideology is presented in a veiled form.’
The AIVD and the NCTV describe the GNSV as a wolf in sheep’s clothing. The association presents itself as having ‘a “conservative-nationalist worldview” that considers Flanders and the Netherlands as a single people’. In this context, the GNSV organises ‘“nationalist” meetings and events for its members and “right-wing” students, focusing on history and culture’.
That may seem harmless, but ‘behind the scenes, it becomes clear that the actual ideology differs from the image the GNSV presents to the outside world. For example, it considers Flemish and Dutch people to be a single people, but specifically a single “white” people.’
FAÇADE POLITICS
Furthermore, ‘several (core) members express deeply racist views on Dutch identity’. The GNSV also attaches ‘importance to the “remigration” of Dutch and Flemish people with a non-Western migration background’. The association tries to present these ideas ‘in the most acceptable way possible in order to appear moderate’.
The services warn universities that they must see through this façade politics. ‘By deliberately tapping into cultural and identity issues, this association is given space on university campuses to recruit members and organise activities.’
The aim of the analysis is ‘to raise awareness of the normalisation strategy adopted by a section of Dutch far-right extremists, so that organisations, institutions and society can strengthen their resilience against it’.