Fighting for Political Influence

The Tactics of the Dutch Bijlmer Squatters' movement, 1974-1975

Abstract

In 1974, a collective of Surinamese migrants in the Netherlands took to squatting in an effort to break out of their deplorable housing situation. When faced with evictions, the squatters employed a variety of protest tactics, ranging from nonviolent marches and sit-ins to anti-capitalist songs and the forging of ties with the Dutch new left. This article examines the protest repertoire employed by these ‘Bijlmer squatters’—named after the neighbourhood in which they occupied a flat—and analyzes through which tactics this collective managed to increase its political clout in the face of exploitation and political voicelessness. The article does so by building on recent reinterpretations of Antonio Gramsci’s notion of political voicelessness, or ‘subalternity,’ and by bringing together developments in global history, history from below and social movement studies. After examining how the squatters adapted civil rights-style nonviolent tactics in their dealings with Dutch officials, the article scrutinizes the four types of solidarity that the squatters fostered behind the front line. The article concludes that the squatters’ locally specific reconfiguration of globally circulating tactics, combined with their efforts to construct political alliances, helped the movement in gaining political agency, even if the squatters’ situation was still largely determined by Dutch political ruling classes.