'Als we hier met milde hand optreden, is het hek van de dam'. Emotie als strategie in het asieldebat: 1938-1999

Samenvatting

'If We Treat Them Lavishly, Things Will Get Out of Hand'. Emotion as a Strategy in the Asylum Debate: 1938-99. In this chapter, the way in which politicians make strategic use of emotions in the asylum debate is analyzed. For this purpose, three debates that took place in the Dutch Parliament between 1938 and 1999 were selected. The cases were studied on the basis of four questions: In what ways do politicians try to achieve their goals in the asylum debate? Do they deploy any emotions, and if so, how do they use them? What similarities and differences can be distinguished? To what extent is the position that the politician occupies on the political stage relevant? It was found that opposition parties usually react in a more emotional manner than do government parties; and that the number of debates about asylum has increased and has become more and more legalistic. Furthermore, it is striking that although the economic, political, and international situation has changed considerably, the arguments for a restrictive policy remain constant. Finally, the emotions seem to be employed strategically in the asylum debate in advancing the case for both a 'mild' and a 'sober' policy. 18 References. Adapted from the source document.