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Article In: Linguistics in the Netherlands 2026
Edited by Remco Knooihuizen, Marloes Oomen and Alex Reuneker
[Nota Bene 3:2] 2026
► pp. 1–

Affect and discourses of migration in the Netherlands

National identity construction through discursive Othering

 | University of Groningen
This content is being prepared for publication; it may be subject to changes.
Abstract
This research focuses on how two terms used to refer to migrants and their children in the Netherlands, allochtoon and migratieachtergrond, participate in discourses of migration. The data analyzed are from Dutch national newspapers and Dutch-language X from 2005 to 2023. For both terms, over time and across platforms, the dominant discourse is an Othering discourse, which positions people of migration background as intrinsically different from the majority and often a negative factor in Dutch society. The analysis focuses on the characteristics attributed to people referred to with these terms, and how this in turn constructs national identity. The imagined non-migration background majority is constructed as the legitimate keeper of the culture, hard-working and tolerant, and potentially under threat from migration. Despite a counter discourse which notes social exclusion of people of migration background, the migration discourses overwhelmingly serve to appeal to the affective comfort of the majority.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Theoretical background
  • 3.Discourses of migration
  • 4.Terms for migrants and their children
  • 5.Data and methodology
  • 6.Analysis and discussion
    • 6.1Othering discourses: Ownership, fear, and resentment
    • 6.2Counter-hegemonic discourse
  • 7.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
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