Abstract:
The feasibility of the multicultural society has increasingly become a point of discussion in recent years. There is a rise of far-right parties that perceive multiculturalism as a threat to social cohesion and local cultural values (Bloemraad, 2011). An example of such a party is the far-right Freedom Party of Dutch politician Geert Wilders. More mainstream political figures, like Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy, have expressed their doubts concerning the success of multicultural society. In the summer of 2018, Stef Blok, the Dutch minister of foreign affairs, was caught on video proclaiming that examples of successful and peaceful multicultural societies do not exist (Nu.nl, 2018, 18 July). In recent years, these positions have become more extreme and have led to conflict and violence.