The scope and ability of civil society to challenge anti-migrant feelings with particular reference to the Netherlands and Hungary

Absztrakt (kivonat)

The topic of this thesis is connected to the so-called refugee crisis of 2015, when an enormous number of refugees fled Syria due to war and came to Europe. This influx of refugees seems to divide the European nations: they either would like to help or close their borders completely. The aim of this thesis is to find out whether civil society is able to counterbalance the rising anti-migrant feelings in contemporary European societies. Furthermore, the purpose of this thesis is to give a balanced view of the issue of migration with the help of those people who work for NGOs which are set up for providing help for asylum-seekers, refugees and migrants. To achieve this goal I carried out four qualitative interviews of the above mentioned NGOs: two in Hungary and two in the Netherlands. The two countries are very different in the sense that while the Netherlands is considered to be on the liberal side of the political spectrum, the current prime minister of Hungary declared this country to be an illiberal one.