BOOKS: Rise of the Dutch New Right

Join us for an evening of BOOKS, delving into ‘The Rise of the Dutch New Right’ by sociologist Merijn Oudenampsen; in conversation with curator and critic Edwin Nasr and co-presented together with the Erasmus University of Rotterdam.

Previous editions of BOOKS in 2022 have explored Indigenous knowledge, Queer histories, and the Caribbean art scene. In this edition of BOOKS, we turn our attention to an in-depth focus on the cultural politics and social climate of the Netherlands following the radical ‘rightward shift’ of the early 2000s. A shift that continues to shape the broader conditions of artistic production to this day.

In his celebrated book ‘The Rise of the Dutch New Right’, Merijn Oudenampsen argues that the Dutch New Right upsurge is not just a ‘political style’, but rather a set of economic ideas.

Meticulously researched and argued, Oudenampsen embeds the radical events of the early 2000s in the Netherlands. Including the meteoric rise and early death of the Rotterdam politician Pim Fortuyn—within the unique Dutch experience of the post-war New Left- and following vigorous rightwing ideological campaigns from the 1990s.

Rather than reactionary dissent, Oudenampsen finds instead an intellectual project in restructuring Dutch society. His book traces; “the revolt of the mind rather than of the underbelly”.