University of Twente Student Theses
As of Friday, 8 August 2025, the current Student Theses repository is no longer available for thesis uploads. A new Student Theses repository will be available starting Friday, 15 August 2025.
High-Skilled, Low Impact? The Perceived Effects of Populist Narratives on Skilled Migrants in the Netherlands
Bode, L.I. de (2025) High-Skilled, Low Impact? The Perceived Effects of Populist Narratives on Skilled Migrants in the Netherlands.
|
PDF
949kB |
| Abstract: | This study examines whether there is an impact of populist narratives on high-skilled migrants, a group that is often overlooked, and if so, what the impact is and what its consequences are. This study aims to evaluate the integration experience of high-skilled migrants and to discuss whether and what impact populist narratives have on this experience. Through ten semi-structured interviews, participants living in the Netherlands for at least five years were asked about their integration experience and their awareness, and the perceived impact of political narratives. The findings show that most participants have a high sense of integration but do not feel affected by political narratives, as they do not feel targeted. Furthermore, the findings underscore the unique situation of a high-skilled migrant as they disassociate from other types of migrants. As they do not identify as the group that is targeted in narratives, they do not feel affected by right-wing political narratives. Moreover, participants solely focus on direct policy implications when talking about the possible impact of populist narratives, rather than focusing on public discourse or a change in public attitudes towards migrants. Only when the narratives lead to direct policy would high-skilled migrants feel affected. This displays the importance of crafting policies with care. Policymakers should account for the different experiences and circumstances that different types of migrants have, rather than making one policy for all types of migrants. Additionally, the participants displayed a mindset without borders, increasing the effects of migration narratives over the world on their feelings. Global developments, like the migration problem in the US, affect the feeling of safety and the level of impact of populist narratives. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Bachelor) |
| Faculty: | ITC: Faculty of Geo-information Science and Earth Observation |
| Subject: | 10 humanities in general, 70 social sciences in general, 71 sociology, 89 political science |
| Programme: | Technology and Liberal Arts & Sciences BSc (50427) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/106725 |
| Export this item as: | BibTeX EndNote HTML Citation Reference Manager |
Show download statistics for this publication
Show download statistics for this publicationRepository Staff Only: item control page