Reorganizing the provision of social support to homeless aliens in the Netherlands

236 Pages·2016·1.9 MB·English

Reorganizing the provision of social support to
homeless aliens in the Netherlands

A Bourdieusian perspective on the meaning of aliens’ welfare rights

Mandy Schapendonk

Master thesis Human Geography
Globalisation, Migration and Development
Management Faculty
Radboud University Nijmegen

Supervisor: Dr. Roos Pijpers

March 2016

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Reorganizing the provision of social support to homeless aliens in the Netherlands
A Bourdieusian perspective on the meaning of aliens’ welfare rights

Mandy Schapendonk
Student ID: 4025865

Master thesis Human Geography
Globalisation, Migration and Development
Management Faculty
Radboud University Nijmegen

Supervisor: Dr. Roos Pijpers

March, 2016

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All people are equal, but some people are more equal than others

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Preface

This thesis is the conclusion of the Human Geography master programme at the Radboud University
of Nijmegen. Although the research and writing process took longer than expected, I am satisfied to
conclude this study and to present the resulting thesis.
Doing this research has been a personal challenge. Although I enjoyed unravelling the
complex issue central to this thesis, I did experience various difficulties in the writing process. Still,
both the experience of working hard to achieve good results and the sadness and tiredness with each
failed attempt have been valuable to me. Those experiences have taught me that you can conquer
adversity if you persevere and believe in your abilities. It was hard work, but worth it at the end.
I would not have been able to finish this project without the support of various individuals.
Therefore, I would like to end with some words of thanks.
First I would like to thank my thesis supervisor Dr. Roos Pijpers who gave me constructive
and valuable feedback and advice, helped me structuring my thoughts and got me back on track
when I was stuck.
Second, I would like to thank my internship organization, the Dutch Association of
Municipalities, for offering me the possibility to perform this research through their organization. A
special word of thanks goes to my supervisor at this organization, Margreet Aangeenbrug, who,
despite her busy schedule regularly freed up time to discuss the latest developments in the field
under research. This internship provided me the opportunity to gain experience in the writing of a
policy report. Moreover, I did meet many inspiring people with refreshing ideas during this
internship.
Third, I would like to thank all interviewees for the time and effort they spend on the
interviews and all organizations which allowed me to attend their meetings and consultations.

Enjoy reading,

Mandy Schapendonk
Nijmegen - March 2016

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Table of contents

List of Figures and Tables xiii
List of Abbreviations xiv

1. Introduction 1
1.1 Project Framework 1
1.2 Focus of the current study 2
1.3 Research objective and -questions 4
1.4 Scientific- and social relevance 6
1.5 Outline of the study 7

2. Linking alien- and social security law 9
2.1 Aliens 9
2.2 Social Support 11
2.3 Social welfare policy 15
2.3.1 The provision of social support by European welfare states 15
2.3.2 Fulfilling social-economic rights 16
2.3.3 Meeting social needs 17
2.4 Establishing the link between alien- and social security law 21
2.5 Conclusions 23

3. Conceptualizing the struggles over the organization of the provision of 26
social support to homeless aliens
3.1 The Bourdieusian technology 26
3.1.1 Introducing the Bourdieusian perspective 26
3.1.2 Bourdieu’s field theory 29
3.1.2.1 Field, habitus and doxa 29
3.1.2.2 Struggle and capital 30
3.1.2.3 Transformation 32
3.2 Understanding welfare rights 34
3.3 Conceptualizing the juridical-bureaucratic field of alien law 36
3.3.1 Defining the juridical-bureaucratic field of alien law 36
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3.3.2 The continuum of rights 38
3.3.3 The continuum of responsibility 41
3.3.4 Defining related agents and fields 44
3.4 Conceptual model 45

4. Methodology 48
4.1 Operationalizing the JB-field 48
4.2 The research approach 50
4.2.1 Qualitative approach 50
4.2.2 Case study 51
4.2.3 Triangulation 52
4.3 Methods of data-collection 53
4.3.1 Interviews 54
4.3.2 Observations 55
4.3.3 Secondary data 57
4.4 Methods of data-analysis 58
4.5 Limitations of the applied approach and methodology 59
4.5.1 The researcher 59
4.5.2 The research approach 60

5. The organization of the provision of social support to homeless aliens 62
in law and practice
5.1 The provision of social support to aliens in accordance with Dutch legislation 63
5.2 The provision of social support to homeless aliens by municipalities and NGOs 65
5.2.1 The provision of social support by municipalities 65
5.2.1.1 Practices 65
5.2.1.2 Data on the provision of social support 68
5.2.2 The provision of social support by NGOs 70
5.2.2.1 Practices 70
5.2.2.2 Data on the provision of social support 72
5.2.3 Categories of homeless aliens 73
5.3 Relevant court decisions and their implications 73
5.3.1 International human rights treaties 73
5.3.2 Court decisions granting social support to homeless aliens in individual cases 74
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