Responding to Anti-Institutionalism in the Netherlands: Challenges and Opportunities for (Local) Policymakers

The issue of anti-institutionalism and anti-institutional violent extremism was placed on the policy agenda in the Netherlands in June 2023 with the publication of the report on anti-institutional extremism by the General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD). In this report, we will explore the concept and phenomenon, and focus on what anti institutionalism looks like in the Netherlands. Part of the phenomenon is also the movement of sovereign citizens. They pose a challenge that increasingly more municipalities have to deal with. We question whether it makes sense to qualify anti-institutionalism as a form of (violent) extremism by referencing the academic definitional debate and by comparing the various models to study radicalisation with the way anti-institutionalism is materialising in the Netherlands. After studying the radicalisation process and the underlying push and pull factors of anti-institutionalism, we shift our focus to the national and local response mechanisms and policy frameworks. We conclude with the identification of key challenges and opportunities for prevention response mechanisms.