Yes, our attitude towards nationalism has certainly been shaped by WW2. I’m not enough of a historian, but it may also be important to note that the Netherlands have been a rather fragmented (we prefer “tolerant”) society before WW2; that is, one’s loyalty was more to “the catholics” or “the socialists” than to the nation itself.
Although we technically still have conscription, it’s been “paused” for many years, and re-introducing it would be unpopular, to say the least. We are indeed quite active in a military sense, but the current army is all-voiunteer and rather small. Humanitarian aid and international justice are more our speed (although humanitarian aid is increasingly coming under fire for being less effective than promised.)
Football matches and the monarchy aside, I haven’t detected many traces of nationalism in the Netherlands. With our local far-right party riding high in the polls, there has been an effort to revitalize Dutch nationalism, but that hasn’t been very successful. (Xenophobia/racism/anti-islam has been much more successful in setting the debate and drawing votes.)
Yes, our attitude towards nationalism has certainly been shaped by WW2. I’m not enough of a historian, but it may also be important to note that the Netherlands have been a rather fragmented (we prefer “tolerant”) society before WW2; that is, one’s loyalty was more to “the catholics” or “the socialists” than to the nation itself.
Although we technically still have conscription, it’s been “paused” for many years, and re-introducing it would be unpopular, to say the least. We are indeed quite active in a military sense, but the current army is all-voiunteer and rather small. Humanitarian aid and international justice are more our speed (although humanitarian aid is increasingly coming under fire for being less effective than promised.)
Football matches and the monarchy aside, I haven’t detected many traces of nationalism in the Netherlands. With our local far-right party riding high in the polls, there has been an effort to revitalize Dutch nationalism, but that hasn’t been very successful. (Xenophobia/racism/anti-islam has been much more successful in setting the debate and drawing votes.)