Claiming and contesting postcolonial citizenship Political struggles over the rights and belonging of Surinamese-Dutch citizens

This dissertation delves into the complex realities of citizenship in postcolonial Europe, focusing on the experiences of Surinamese-Dutch citizens in the five decades following Suriname’s decolonization (1975). Through archive research and a discursive analysis of parliamentary records, state documents and activist political claims-making, it explores the legacies of colonialism in contemporary citizenship debates in the Netherlands. It focuses on four key debates: family migration rights in the aftermath of
decolonisation, the position of illegalised Surinamese nationals, pension inequalities stemming from colonial-era exclusions, and intersectional discrimination in the welfare state. While formal political discourses were found to be largely characterised by notions of non-belonging, racist Othering and the denial of a postcolonial present, the dissertation also shows how activist citizens have pushed back, exposing intersecting and enduring inequalities. Their counternarratives challenge exclusionary policies and offer alternative, more inclusive visions of postcolonial citizenship that transcend national borders to embrace the lasting imprints of the colonial empire. A vital contribution to the study of Europe as a postcolonial space, this research brings migration and welfare state research into dialogue with postcolonial studies. It emphasises the need for scholars and policy-makers alike to critically engage with the colonial past in analyses of rights stratification and structural inequalities, and in doing so, to centre the perspectives of citizens with roots in the (ex-)colonies.