From Farmland to Parliament: The Dutch Farmers' Protests and the Politics of Rural Identity

Abstract

In recent years, the Dutch farmers’ protests have sparked public debates on agricultural and climate policy, farmers’ identity and urban-based politics. Farmers were outraged at the way they were treated and portrayed by politicians and media, taking their tractors to the streets and to the cities to protest. Around the same time, in 2019, a new political party was formed, the BoerBurgerBeweging (BBB), that promised to represent the farmers politically. This party, led by frontwoman Caroline van der Plas, quickly gained prominence and did very well in several elections which put farmers’ interests centre stage. This thesis explores how narrative strategies and identity politics have contributed to the rise of the BBB in light of the escalation of rural-urban tensions during the Dutch farmers’ protests between 2019 and 2024. The theoretical concepts such as identity politics and framing provide the framework for the analysis. These concepts are supplemented by an overview of the historical and societal circumstances surrounding the farmers’ protests and the rise of the BBB. The historical push for scale enlargement combined with short-sighted policy decisions created an environment in which the farmers felt cheated by the Dutch government. This escalated in 2019 when Tjeerd de Groot (D66) proposed reducing the number of pigs and chickens by half, this acted as a catalyst that sparked the protests. Using a qualitative case study analysis of BBB campaign material, YouTube videos and media images this thesis examines the use of framing in constructing an ‘us versus them’ dynamic. These primary sources showcase how the BBB represents themselves, the farmers and others. The BBB uses framing in order to establish a positively seen ‘in-group’ of which they are the best representation and a negatively seen ‘out-group’, these two groups are pitted against each other. The analysis reveals that the BBB successfully leveraged the farmers’ identity to gain political power by portraying themselves as the authentic voice of the countryside. These findings suggest that identity-based narratives are central to the BBB’s strategy and have allowed them to leverage rural support in their favour.