Anja Van Heelsum
Biographic Data
| ID | 127121 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Anja Van Heelsum |
| GIVEN NAMES | Anja |
| FAMILY NAME | Van Heelsum |
| SIGNATURE | VAN HEELSUM A |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Amsterdam |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-4825-6323 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 19 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 184 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 19 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2002 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 7 |
Asylum-Seeker Centres in the Netherlands’ Total Institution Characteristics and their Effect on Refugees’ Sense of Belonging
Based on in-depth qualitative interviews, we investigate how asylum-seekers in the Netherlands have experienced the shelters where they first arrived. We connect this experience to what Goffman calls “total institutions”: just like hospitals and prisons, residents are isolated, restricted, and supervised in the asylum shelters (AZCs). The results show that asylum-seekers feel marginalised, are often treated disrespectfully and with prejudice, and…
Identifying and addressing stigma of return migrants: Insights from Nepal's reintegration governance actors
Stuck in a whirlpool? The role of hope and despair in dealing with risks during Afghan migration journeys
Migration journeys are full of risk, navigated not just by physical obstacles but also by emotional tides. This study explores how the fluctuation of hope and despair plays a role in dealing with risks. Drawing upon in-depth interviews with Afghans in Turkey, this paper demonstrates that hope and despair fluctuate along migration journeys contingent upon three elements: (1) empirical evidence about the future, (2) (un)certainty and potential in t…
The Poor Integration Results of the Common European Asylum System Compared to the Temporary Protection Directive: The Case of the Netherlands
Taking the case of the Netherlands, we compare integration outcomes of the traditional asylum reception system (implementing the Refugee Convention), applied to, for example, Syrians and Afghans, and the EU’s Temporary Protection Directive (TPD) which is applied to Ukrainians. We show that the TPD is not just less costly for receiving countries but also results in much faster labor market integration. While rapid integration is an important polic…
Muslim Organisations’ Response to Stigmatisation in the Media: Protest, Adaptation or Decoupling
In the heated media debate on Muslims and Islam, the role of community representatives is understudied. This article will first use original research see to what extent Muslims get the chance to speak out in newspapers in Western Europe, and then demonstrate through findings from interviews how representatives of Muslim organisations operate in the media. We build on Kerstin Rosenow-Williams’s perspectives in combining two features, namely 1) the…
The potential of immigrant parties: Insights from the Dutch case
Water privatization, hegemony and civil society: What Motivates Individuals to Protest About Water Privatization
The article takes the case of protest against water privatization in Ireland to show that protestors with high levels of instrumental motivation as opposed to ideological motivation are more likely to protest. In order to explain this we uniquely combine Klandermans’ social psychology of protest with Gramsci’s theory of hegemony. By bridging these two bodies of theory, we provide an interdisciplinary account of the reason why protestors serve to …
Unpacking” the Identity‐to‐Politics Link: The Effects of Social Identification on Voting Among Muslim Immigrants in Western Europe
The identity‐to‐politics link assumes that individuals who share a certain demographic feature also share common political pursuits. This article critically examines that presumed relationship by analyzing how voting probability is affected by social identification in combination with other elements—namely, perception of shared grievances and group resources. Tallying responses from Muslim immigrants in Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, and the Unit…
Cities’ Policies: The Work of European Cities to Counter Muslim Radicalisation
Intercultural relations might form the foundation for new developments and can stimulate energy in modern cities, but in some cases, these relations can also become the source of divergence and conflict. In the last decade, several European cities have been confronted with violent incidents related to some form of extremism. Some cities had to cope with violence by Muslim extremists, for instance Amsterdam, which dealt with the murder of Theo van…
Aspirations and frustrations: Experiences of recent refugees in the Netherlands
One year after the so-called migration crisis we investigate how refugees who arrived in these dramatic circumstances are managing their lives in the Netherlands. We choose not to employ the common approach with indicators of integration theories, since we argue that that is a destination-country perspective. Instead we choose the perspective of the refugees themselves who have migrated to fulfil certain life aspirations and who compare the start…
The relationship between media discourses and experiences of belonging: Dutch Somali perspectives
This article explores the relationship between media discourses and experiences of belonging. Studies on Muslims and the media have suggested that there is a largely negative discourse about Muslims in Western countries. As a result, the ‘othering’ processes that occur in the media may impact how Muslim citizens experience their individual attachments to society. We use excerpts from focus group interviews with Somalis in the Netherlands1 to inve…
Ascription and identity. Differences between first- and second-generation Moroccans in the way ascription influences religious, national and ethnic group identification
In this paper, we investigate the impact of ascription on the process of identity formation of first- and second-generation Moroccans in Western Europe. We look at the general discursive context and levels of perceived acceptance amongst Moroccan migrants, and see how these factors influence three relevant dimensions of identifications. We distinguish between ethnic group identity, religious identity and national identity, and use recently collec…
Why migration will continue: Aspirations and capabilities of Syrians and Ethiopians with different educational backgrounds
This paper presents the argument that the so-called migration crisis that started in the summer of 2015 was not an unexpected sudden phenomenon, and that it is likely to continue in the future. Following the framework of aspirations and capabilities that Hein de Haas' work suggested, we will investigate migration motives looking at migration from Syria and Ethiopia. While the problems in Syria continue, countries around Syria are overloaded with …
Migration and Integration Research: Filling in Penninx's Heuristic Model
Proteccin social de los inmigrantes extranjeros' , in A. Izquierdo (dir.), Inmigracin, mercado de trabajo y proteccin social en Esspaa
Discursive framing and the reproduction of integration in the public sphere: A comparative analysis of France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Germany
In this article we present a cross-national comparison of the discursive framing of political claims on Muslims and Islam in four European countries. We explore these issues empirically and relate the cross-national differences found in the data to a diverging logic in the different integration debates. We argue that persistent variations in discursive framing can be understood by looking at the unique conceptualisation of group categorisation an…
Migration and Development: The Euro–Moroccan Experience
Despite the huge output of research on Moroccan migration, particularly on the links between migration and development, comparative research between Morocco and other significant countries of emigration has been comparatively limited. We suggest two main reasons for this. First, a substantial quantity of this research is published in Morocco and receives very limited distribution elsewhere. Second, the barrier that is still posed by the French-En…
Moroccan Berber Immigrants in The Netherlands, Their Associations and Transnational Ties: A Quest for Identity and Recognition
Berbers were traditionally disregarded by the Moroccan elite and viewed as an uncivilised peripheral population. Only within the last few years has the Moroccan government, through the foundation of the Royal Institute of Amazigh culture, recognised the Berber inheritance as a valuable part of the Moroccan society. In this article we explore the orientation of the Moroccan Berber immigrants to their home country and to their countries of settleme…
Political Participation and Civic Community of Ethnic Minorities in Four Cities in the Netherlands
In this article, the political participation of Turkish, Surinamese and Moroccan immigrants in four cities in the Netherlands is related to the civic community of these groups. The usefulness of Robert Putnam's civic community perspective is tested for the immigrant communities in Dutch cities in the Netherlands. The relationship between the networks in the migrant communities and political participation found in earlier research can partly expla…
The relationship between political participation and civic community of migrants in the Netherlands
Aspirations and frustrations: Experiences of recent refugees in the Netherlands
One year after the so-called migration crisis we investigate how refugees who arrived in these dramatic circumstances are managing their lives in the Netherlands. We choose not to employ the common approach with indicators of integration theories, since we argue that that is a destination-country perspective. Instead we choose the perspective of the refugees themselves who have migrated to fulfil certain life aspirations and who compare the start…
Ascription and identity. Differences between first- and second-generation Moroccans in the way ascription influences religious, national and ethnic group identification
In this paper, we investigate the impact of ascription on the process of identity formation of first- and second-generation Moroccans in Western Europe. We look at the general discursive context and levels of perceived acceptance amongst Moroccan migrants, and see how these factors influence three relevant dimensions of identifications. We distinguish between ethnic group identity, religious identity and national identity, and use recently collec…
Unpacking” the Identity‐to‐Politics Link: The Effects of Social Identification on Voting Among Muslim Immigrants in Western Europe
The identity‐to‐politics link assumes that individuals who share a certain demographic feature also share common political pursuits. This article critically examines that presumed relationship by analyzing how voting probability is affected by social identification in combination with other elements—namely, perception of shared grievances and group resources. Tallying responses from Muslim immigrants in Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, and the Unit…
Political Participation and Civic Community of Ethnic Minorities in Four Cities in the Netherlands
In this article, the political participation of Turkish, Surinamese and Moroccan immigrants in four cities in the Netherlands is related to the civic community of these groups. The usefulness of Robert Putnam's civic community perspective is tested for the immigrant communities in Dutch cities in the Netherlands. The relationship between the networks in the migrant communities and political participation found in earlier research can partly expla…
Why migration will continue: Aspirations and capabilities of Syrians and Ethiopians with different educational backgrounds
This paper presents the argument that the so-called migration crisis that started in the summer of 2015 was not an unexpected sudden phenomenon, and that it is likely to continue in the future. Following the framework of aspirations and capabilities that Hein de Haas' work suggested, we will investigate migration motives looking at migration from Syria and Ethiopia. While the problems in Syria continue, countries around Syria are overloaded with …
The potential of immigrant parties: Insights from the Dutch case
The relationship between media discourses and experiences of belonging: Dutch Somali perspectives
This article explores the relationship between media discourses and experiences of belonging. Studies on Muslims and the media have suggested that there is a largely negative discourse about Muslims in Western countries. As a result, the ‘othering’ processes that occur in the media may impact how Muslim citizens experience their individual attachments to society. We use excerpts from focus group interviews with Somalis in the Netherlands1 to inve…
Moroccan Berber Immigrants in The Netherlands, Their Associations and Transnational Ties: A Quest for Identity and Recognition
Berbers were traditionally disregarded by the Moroccan elite and viewed as an uncivilised peripheral population. Only within the last few years has the Moroccan government, through the foundation of the Royal Institute of Amazigh culture, recognised the Berber inheritance as a valuable part of the Moroccan society. In this article we explore the orientation of the Moroccan Berber immigrants to their home country and to their countries of settleme…
Migration and Development: The Euro–Moroccan Experience
Despite the huge output of research on Moroccan migration, particularly on the links between migration and development, comparative research between Morocco and other significant countries of emigration has been comparatively limited. We suggest two main reasons for this. First, a substantial quantity of this research is published in Morocco and receives very limited distribution elsewhere. Second, the barrier that is still posed by the French-En…
Stuck in a whirlpool? The role of hope and despair in dealing with risks during Afghan migration journeys
Migration journeys are full of risk, navigated not just by physical obstacles but also by emotional tides. This study explores how the fluctuation of hope and despair plays a role in dealing with risks. Drawing upon in-depth interviews with Afghans in Turkey, this paper demonstrates that hope and despair fluctuate along migration journeys contingent upon three elements: (1) empirical evidence about the future, (2) (un)certainty and potential in t…
Discursive framing and the reproduction of integration in the public sphere: A comparative analysis of France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Germany
In this article we present a cross-national comparison of the discursive framing of political claims on Muslims and Islam in four European countries. We explore these issues empirically and relate the cross-national differences found in the data to a diverging logic in the different integration debates. We argue that persistent variations in discursive framing can be understood by looking at the unique conceptualisation of group categorisation an…
Cities’ Policies: The Work of European Cities to Counter Muslim Radicalisation
Intercultural relations might form the foundation for new developments and can stimulate energy in modern cities, but in some cases, these relations can also become the source of divergence and conflict. In the last decade, several European cities have been confronted with violent incidents related to some form of extremism. Some cities had to cope with violence by Muslim extremists, for instance Amsterdam, which dealt with the murder of Theo van…
The Poor Integration Results of the Common European Asylum System Compared to the Temporary Protection Directive: The Case of the Netherlands
Taking the case of the Netherlands, we compare integration outcomes of the traditional asylum reception system (implementing the Refugee Convention), applied to, for example, Syrians and Afghans, and the EU’s Temporary Protection Directive (TPD) which is applied to Ukrainians. We show that the TPD is not just less costly for receiving countries but also results in much faster labor market integration. While rapid integration is an important polic…
The relationship between political participation and civic community of migrants in the Netherlands
Political Participation and Civic Community of Ethnic Minorities in Four Cities in the Netherlands
In this article, the political participation of Turkish, Surinamese and Moroccan immigrants in four cities in the Netherlands is related to the civic community of these groups. The usefulness of Robert Putnam's civic community perspective is tested for the immigrant communities in Dutch cities in the Netherlands. The relationship between the networks in the migrant communities and political participation found in earlier research can partly expla…
Moroccan Berber Immigrants in The Netherlands, Their Associations and Transnational Ties: A Quest for Identity and Recognition
Berbers were traditionally disregarded by the Moroccan elite and viewed as an uncivilised peripheral population. Only within the last few years has the Moroccan government, through the foundation of the Royal Institute of Amazigh culture, recognised the Berber inheritance as a valuable part of the Moroccan society. In this article we explore the orientation of the Moroccan Berber immigrants to their home country and to their countries of settleme…
Migration and Development: The Euro–Moroccan Experience
Despite the huge output of research on Moroccan migration, particularly on the links between migration and development, comparative research between Morocco and other significant countries of emigration has been comparatively limited. We suggest two main reasons for this. First, a substantial quantity of this research is published in Morocco and receives very limited distribution elsewhere. Second, the barrier that is still posed by the French-En…
Migration and Integration Research: Filling in Penninx's Heuristic Model
Proteccin social de los inmigrantes extranjeros' , in A. Izquierdo (dir.), Inmigracin, mercado de trabajo y proteccin social en Esspaa
Discursive framing and the reproduction of integration in the public sphere: A comparative analysis of France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Germany
In this article we present a cross-national comparison of the discursive framing of political claims on Muslims and Islam in four European countries. We explore these issues empirically and relate the cross-national differences found in the data to a diverging logic in the different integration debates. We argue that persistent variations in discursive framing can be understood by looking at the unique conceptualisation of group categorisation an…
The relationship between media discourses and experiences of belonging: Dutch Somali perspectives
This article explores the relationship between media discourses and experiences of belonging. Studies on Muslims and the media have suggested that there is a largely negative discourse about Muslims in Western countries. As a result, the ‘othering’ processes that occur in the media may impact how Muslim citizens experience their individual attachments to society. We use excerpts from focus group interviews with Somalis in the Netherlands1 to inve…
Ascription and identity. Differences between first- and second-generation Moroccans in the way ascription influences religious, national and ethnic group identification
In this paper, we investigate the impact of ascription on the process of identity formation of first- and second-generation Moroccans in Western Europe. We look at the general discursive context and levels of perceived acceptance amongst Moroccan migrants, and see how these factors influence three relevant dimensions of identifications. We distinguish between ethnic group identity, religious identity and national identity, and use recently collec…
Why migration will continue: Aspirations and capabilities of Syrians and Ethiopians with different educational backgrounds
This paper presents the argument that the so-called migration crisis that started in the summer of 2015 was not an unexpected sudden phenomenon, and that it is likely to continue in the future. Following the framework of aspirations and capabilities that Hein de Haas' work suggested, we will investigate migration motives looking at migration from Syria and Ethiopia. While the problems in Syria continue, countries around Syria are overloaded with …
Aspirations and frustrations: Experiences of recent refugees in the Netherlands
One year after the so-called migration crisis we investigate how refugees who arrived in these dramatic circumstances are managing their lives in the Netherlands. We choose not to employ the common approach with indicators of integration theories, since we argue that that is a destination-country perspective. Instead we choose the perspective of the refugees themselves who have migrated to fulfil certain life aspirations and who compare the start…
Water privatization, hegemony and civil society: What Motivates Individuals to Protest About Water Privatization
The article takes the case of protest against water privatization in Ireland to show that protestors with high levels of instrumental motivation as opposed to ideological motivation are more likely to protest. In order to explain this we uniquely combine Klandermans’ social psychology of protest with Gramsci’s theory of hegemony. By bridging these two bodies of theory, we provide an interdisciplinary account of the reason why protestors serve to …
Unpacking” the Identity‐to‐Politics Link: The Effects of Social Identification on Voting Among Muslim Immigrants in Western Europe
The identity‐to‐politics link assumes that individuals who share a certain demographic feature also share common political pursuits. This article critically examines that presumed relationship by analyzing how voting probability is affected by social identification in combination with other elements—namely, perception of shared grievances and group resources. Tallying responses from Muslim immigrants in Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, and the Unit…
Cities’ Policies: The Work of European Cities to Counter Muslim Radicalisation
Intercultural relations might form the foundation for new developments and can stimulate energy in modern cities, but in some cases, these relations can also become the source of divergence and conflict. In the last decade, several European cities have been confronted with violent incidents related to some form of extremism. Some cities had to cope with violence by Muslim extremists, for instance Amsterdam, which dealt with the murder of Theo van…
Muslim Organisations’ Response to Stigmatisation in the Media: Protest, Adaptation or Decoupling
In the heated media debate on Muslims and Islam, the role of community representatives is understudied. This article will first use original research see to what extent Muslims get the chance to speak out in newspapers in Western Europe, and then demonstrate through findings from interviews how representatives of Muslim organisations operate in the media. We build on Kerstin Rosenow-Williams’s perspectives in combining two features, namely 1) the…
The potential of immigrant parties: Insights from the Dutch case
Stuck in a whirlpool? The role of hope and despair in dealing with risks during Afghan migration journeys
Migration journeys are full of risk, navigated not just by physical obstacles but also by emotional tides. This study explores how the fluctuation of hope and despair plays a role in dealing with risks. Drawing upon in-depth interviews with Afghans in Turkey, this paper demonstrates that hope and despair fluctuate along migration journeys contingent upon three elements: (1) empirical evidence about the future, (2) (un)certainty and potential in t…
The Poor Integration Results of the Common European Asylum System Compared to the Temporary Protection Directive: The Case of the Netherlands
Taking the case of the Netherlands, we compare integration outcomes of the traditional asylum reception system (implementing the Refugee Convention), applied to, for example, Syrians and Afghans, and the EU’s Temporary Protection Directive (TPD) which is applied to Ukrainians. We show that the TPD is not just less costly for receiving countries but also results in much faster labor market integration. While rapid integration is an important polic…
Asylum-Seeker Centres in the Netherlands’ Total Institution Characteristics and their Effect on Refugees’ Sense of Belonging
Based on in-depth qualitative interviews, we investigate how asylum-seekers in the Netherlands have experienced the shelters where they first arrived. We connect this experience to what Goffman calls “total institutions”: just like hospitals and prisons, residents are isolated, restricted, and supervised in the asylum shelters (AZCs). The results show that asylum-seekers feel marginalised, are often treated disrespectfully and with prejudice, and…
Identifying and addressing stigma of return migrants: Insights from Nepal's reintegration governance actors
Political science (17 works) · Sociology (15 works) · Law (14 works) · Migration, Refugees, and Integration (14 works) · Law (13 works) · Politics (9 works) · Migration and Labor Dynamics (8 works) · Gender Studies (7 works) · Gender Studies (6 works) · Geography (6 works)