Hanneke Felten, project leader for knowledge platform on integration and society KIS, has called for new scientific-based research to combat racism in the Netherlands. She states such research is needed as open racism is a growing phenomenon and “science focuses primarily on more subtle, unconscious prejudices, less on extreme, open racism”.
The research call is to hone in on the rising threat of right-wing extremism as current research strongly focuses on the threat of jihadism. Yet, “the seriousness and complexity of the problems in the Netherlands” in regards to the extreme right-wing remain largely unexplored.
It is still unclear exactly what form this research will take but past work from KIS has yielded such results as personal contact as the best remedy for prejudices. Still, without further knowledge as to the driving forces behind racism and prejudices, even simple contact can turn into an unpleasant experience.
Featured Image: Henry Be henry_be [CC0]
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