Identity, Citizenship and Identification

Abstract

Immigration policy in Sweden and the Netherlands has experienced a radical shift regarding the emphasis and preferred outcomes since it was officially recognised that the ‘new population’ was becoming permanent settlers. The shift took the direction of acknowledging cultural pluralism and the acceptance of Swedish and Dutch society as becoming more and more diverse in its ethnic demographic composition. The inflow of migrants from countries both geographically and culturally distant from the host societies put pressure on the integration regimes. This new situation led the authorities to reconsider the provision of societal support for the maintenance of cultural practice and/or a cultural identity that was considered to be different, while at the same time encouraging the integration of the new population in the social, economic and political areas of society.