Migration > Aktiviteter > Migrationsinitiativets seminarer > Migration and the rise...

Migration and the rise of nationalist right-wing parties:
Confrontation, isolation or engagement?

Time and venue
11 March 2010, 10:00- 15:45

University of Copenhagen, South Campus,
Njalsgade 126, Building 23, room 23.4.39 DK-2300 Copenhagen

Agenda

09.30 - 10.00 Registration

10.00 - 11.30 Session I. Responding to the new political landscape

The growing popularity of nationalist right-wing parties is altering the
political landscape and has left mainstream parties in an ongoing search for
an adequate response. Governments in countries such as Denmark, the
Netherlands, and the UK are increasingly ‘talking tough' about migration and
experimenting with more assimilationist approaches to integration. Despite
these various attempts to accommodate the (perceived) concerns of voters,
none of the mainstream parties have so far succeeded in halting public
anxieties or the rise of nationalist right-wing parties. What are the main
challenges mainstream parties face in light of these developments, and how
have they responded so far? Faced with the growing popularity of nationalist
right-wing parties, should mainstream political parties pursue strategies of
confrontation, isolation or engagement in order to neutralise their support?

Speakers:
Jeroen Dijsselbloem, member of the Dutch parliament and immigration
spokesperson for the Labour Party (PvdA)
Astrid Krag, member of the Danish Folketinget and spokesperson on
integration for the Socialist People's Party 

11.30 - 11.45 Coffee break

11.45 - 13.15 Session II. Understanding the rise of nationalist right-wing parties

It is generally assumed that the global economic downturn has aggravated
hostility towards foreigners, who are perceived as a threat to jobs, livelihoods,
and ‘national values'. This has coincided with growing anti-Muslim sentiment,
as seen in the recent ban on minarets in Switzerland, and the fierce debate
over the use of the headscarf in France and other European countries. But is
the economic downturn the key contributing factor? Or are other factors -
including political distrust and cultural anxiety - more important
determinants? In what ways are the concerns of voters reflected in the
campaign strategies of nationalist right-wing parties, and how important is
anti-immigrant discourse in this process?

Speakers:
Montserrat Guibernau, professor of politics at Queen Mary University
London, UK
Matthew Goodwin, research fellow in the Institute of Political and Economic
Governance (IPEG) at the University of Manchester, UK
Jørgen Goul Andersen, professor of political sociology, Aarhus University,
Denmark

13.15 - 14.15 Lunch

14.15 - 15.45 Public lecture: Multiculturalism and the politics of intolerance

Tariq Ramadan, professor of contemporary Islam at the University of Oxford

Njalsgade 126, building 23, room 23.0.50

Registration and participation

For participation in the seminar, please contact Kirsten Gelting

All are welcome for the the lecture with Tariq Ramadan, please sign up here.