Cultural migration: Networks of Iranian Organizations in the Netherlands

Abstract

While distrust and divisiveness amongst Iranians in different diaspora environments have been commonly acknowledged, there are additional indications suggesting that Dutch-Iranian organizations are relatively scarce. In this article, we compare the organizational networks of Dutch-Iranians to those of Turks and Moroccans in the Netherlands. The results show that organization density is lower and fragmentation higher for Dutch-Iranians. We explain this by Iranian forms of organization, which have been transplanted to and interact with the diaspora.  However, Dutch-Iranians are also exceptionally well integrated in the Dutch society. This puts the relationship between integration and ethnic organization into question.