View source for Greater Netherlands

{{Short description|Hypothetical Dutch nationalist state}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox country
| image_flag             = [[File:Flag of the Netherlands.svg|border|100px]] [[File:Flag of Flanders.svg|border|100px]]
| flag_type              = [[Flag of the Netherlands]] (left)<br />[[Flag of Flanders]] (right)
| image_coat             = 
| coa_size               = 
| symbol                 = 
| symbol_type            = 
| image_map              = File:Flag map of the Netherlands and of Flanders.svg
| map_caption            = 
| largest_city           = 
| population_estimate_year    = 2022
| population_estimate    = 25,785,400<sup>a</sup><ref name="statbel.fgov.be">{{Cite web|url=https://statbel.fgov.be/nl/themas/bevolking/structuur-van-de-bevolking|title=Structuur van de bevolking &#124; Statbel|website=statbel.fgov.be|access-date=7 December 2022|archive-date=18 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180218210412/https://statbel.fgov.be/nl/themas/bevolking/structuur-van-de-bevolking|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Counter">{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbs.nl/nl-nl/visualisaties/dashboard-bevolking/bevolkingsteller|title=Bevolkingsteller|website=[[Statistics Netherlands]]|language=Dutch|accessdate=9 June 2021|archive-date=23 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230523112101/https://www.cbs.nl/nl-nl/visualisaties/dashboard-bevolking/bevolkingsteller|url-status=live}}</ref>
| population_density_km2 = 463
| area_km2               = 55,652
| area_rank              = 
| GDP_nominal            = €1.526 trillion<sup>a</sup><ref name=Eurostat>{{cite web|url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/tgs00003/default/table?lang=en|title=EU regions by GDP, Eurostat|access-date=18 September 2023|website=www.ec.europa.eu|archive-date=27 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230227213552/https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/tgs00003/default/table?lang=en|url-status=live}}</ref>
| GDP_nominal_year       = 2023
| HDI                    = 
| HDI_year               = 
| footnote_a = Including  Brussels.
}}

'''Greater Netherlands''' ({{Langx|nl|Groot-Nederland}}, {{IPA|nl|ˌɣroːt ˈneːdərlɑnt|pron}}) is an [[irredentism|irredentist]] concept which unites the [[Netherlands]], [[Flanders]], and [[Brussels]]. Additionally, a Greater Netherlands state may include the annexation of the [[Westhoek (region)|French Westhoek]], [[Suriname]], formerly Dutch-speaking areas of [[Meuse-Rhenish|Germany]] and [[Arrondissement of Dunkirk|France]], or even the [[Boer|ethnically Dutch]] and/or [[Afrikaans|Afrikaans-speaking]] parts of [[South Africa]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Groot-Nederlandse gedachte|url=https://www.oorlogsbronnen.nl/thema/Groot-Nederlandse%20gedachte|access-date=2021-07-04|publisher=[[Network of War Collections]]|language=nl|archive-date=9 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709190649/https://www.oorlogsbronnen.nl/thema/Groot-Nederlandse%20gedachte|url-status=live}}</ref> A related proposal is the [[Pan-Netherlands]] concept, which includes [[Wallonia]] and potentially also [[Luxembourg]].

The Greater Netherlands concept was originally developed by [[Pieter Geyl]],<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|last=Geyl|first=Pieter|title=De Groot-Nederlandsche gedachte. Historische en politieke beschouwingen|year=1930|language=Dutch}}</ref> who argued that the "Dutch tribe", encompassing the Flemish and Dutch people, are only separated due to the [[Eighty Years' War]] against [[Spain]] in the 16th century.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Geyl|first=Pieter|url=https://www.dbnl.org/tekst/geyl001gesc01_01/|title=Geschiedenis van de Nederlandse Stam|access-date=6 July 2021|archive-date=13 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231113194015/https://www.dbnl.org/tekst/geyl001gesc01_01/|url-status=live}}</ref> While Geyl—an outspoken [[anti-fascism|anti-fascist]]—argued from a historical and cultural perspective, the [[Fascism|fascist]] [[Verdinaso]] and [[Nazism|Nazi]] movements built upon the idea of a Greater Netherlands during the 1930s and 1940s with a focus on [[ethnic nationalism]], a concept still prominent among some on the [[Far-right politics|far-right]]. Other 21st-century proponents of the Greater Netherlands concept include [[Political moderate|moderates]] in Belgium and the Netherlands who seek to elevate the [[Benelux]] ideal to a more centralized political union.<ref>{{Cite news|last=van der Kwast|first=Ricus|date=17 Jul 2019|title=Een verenigde Benelux zal een machtsfactor van jewelste blijken. En zal als cement en katalysator voor de EU fungeren|work=De Morgen|url=https://www.demorgen.be/nieuws/een-verenigde-benelux-zal-een-machtsfactor-van-jewelste-blijken-en-zal-als-cement-en-katalysator-voor-de-eu-fungeren~bf87ebdfc/|access-date=4 July 2021|archive-date=11 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210711141148/https://www.demorgen.be/nieuws/een-verenigde-benelux-zal-een-machtsfactor-van-jewelste-blijken-en-zal-als-cement-en-katalysator-voor-de-eu-fungeren~bf87ebdfc/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Public support for a union of Flanders and the Netherlands is relatively small, especially in Flanders, where [[Hypothetical partition of Belgium|Flemish independence]] is seen as the main alternative to the Belgian state.

== Economy ==

Greater Netherlands without Brussels:

{| class="wikitable"
! 
! Area km<sup>2</sup>
! Population<br/>(2022)
! GDP<br/>(2023)<ref name=Eurostat/>
|-
| {{flag|Netherlands}} || 41,865 || 17,933,600 || €1,067.599 billion
|-
| | {{flag|Flanders}} || 13,625 || 6,629,143 || €356.049 billion
|-
|- style="background:#feb;"
| '''Greater Netherlands''' || '''55,490''' || '''24,562,743''' || '''€1,423.648 billion'''
|-
|}

Or with Brussels:

{| class="wikitable"
! 
! Area km<sup>2</sup>
! Population<br/>(2022)
! GDP<br/>(2023)<ref name=Eurostat/>
|-
| {{flag|Netherlands}} || 41,865 || 17,933,600 || €1,067.599 billion
|-
| | {{flag|Flanders}} || 13,625 || 6,629,143 || €356.049 billion
|-
| | {{flag|Brussels}} || 162 || 1,222,657  || €103.285 billion
|-
|- style="background:#feb;"
| '''Greater Netherlands''' || '''55,652''' || '''25,785,400''' || '''€1,526.933 billion'''
|-
|}

==Terminology==
The potential country is also known as '''Dutchland''' (''Dietsland''), which incorporates the word ''[[Names for the Dutch language#Dūtsch|Diets]]'' – an archaic term for [[Middle Dutch|(Middle) Dutch]]. This label was popular until the Second World War, but its associations with collaboration (especially in Flanders) meant that modern supporters generally avoid using it.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bruning|first=Henri|url=https://www.dbnl.org/tekst/_maa003195401_01/_maa003195401_01_0086.php?q=dietsland#hl1|title=Maatstaf. Jaargang 2|date=1954–1955|pages=436|language=nl}}</ref> The ideology is often labeled as '''Greater Netherlandism''' (''Groot-Nederlandisme''). '''Dutch Movement'''<ref name=":4" /> (''Dietse Beweging'') is another term often used for the movement, while in literature it is often called the '''Greater Netherlands Thought''' (''Grootnederlandse Gedachte'').<ref name=":3" />

Greater Netherlandism is often confused with the [[Orangism (Belgium)|Orangist]] movement in Belgium which fought for the reunification of the [[United Kingdom of the Netherlands]] after Belgian Independence. While many Orangists are Greater Netherlandists, the Orangists mainly focus on restoring [[House of Orange-Nassau|Orange-Nassau]]'s control over the South often for [[Legitimacy (political)|legitimist]] reasons.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Orangisme in België: het geheimschrift ontcijferd|url=https://www.apache.be/gastbijdragen/2014/06/04/orangisme-in-belgie-het-geheimschrift-ontcijferd|access-date=2021-07-04|website=www.apache.be|language=nl}}</ref>

The [[Prince's Flag|Prinsenvlag]] is sometimes used by both Orangist and Greater Netherlandic groups due to its use by supporters of [[William I of Orange]] during the [[Eighty Years' War]], who led the revolt of the [[Low Countries]] against the Spanish. During this rebellion the Dutch-speaking regions of the [[Low Countries]], encompassing modern day Flanders and the Netherlands, banded together under the [[Union of Utrecht]], the precursor to the modern Dutch state. The flag was also used by the [[Dutch Republic]] and [[United Kingdom of the Netherlands]]. Today the flag is generally associated with the far-right in the Netherlands.

=== Pan-Netherlands ===
{{Main|Pan-Netherlands}}
"Pan-Netherlands" ({{langx|nl|Heel-Nederland}}) is another term that was used for the theoretical Greater Netherlands state,<ref name=":22">{{Cite book|last=Vandenbosch|first=A.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kgbsCAAAQBAJ&dq=%22Pan-Netherlandism%22&pg=PP6|title=Dutch Foreign Policy Since 1815: A Study in Small Power Politics|date=2012-12-06|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=978-94-011-6809-0|pages=152|language=en}}</ref> but this term is now used mainly for the movement that aims to unite all of the [[Low Countries]] ([[Benelux]]) as a single [[Multilingualism|multilingual]] entity, also including [[Wallonia]] and [[Luxembourg]].<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last=Waltmans|first=H. J. G.|date=1962|title=De Nederlandse politieke partijen en de nationale gedachte|url=https://pure.uvt.nl/ws/portalfiles/portal/1203241/3955149.pdf|journal=[[Tilburg University]]|language=Dutch|pages=121|access-date=6 July 2021|archive-date=8 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108090920/https://pure.uvt.nl/ws/portalfiles/portal/1203241/3955149.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Nieuwe Kaart_Koningrijk der Nederlanden en Hertogdom Luxemburg C van Baarsel 1815.jpg|thumb|New Map of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and Luxemburg, 1815]]
The first proposals to unite the [[Southern Netherlands]] with the [[Dutch Republic]] to form a greater Dutch-speaking state were made following the outbreak of the [[French Revolution]] in 1789.<ref>{{Cite book |title=History of the Low Countries|date=2006|publisher=Berghahn Books |editor=J. C. H. Blom |editor2=Emiel Lamberts|isbn=1-84545-272-0|edition=New |location=New York|oclc=70857697}}</ref> The concept was realized following the [[Napoleonic Wars]] in 1815 when the [[Congress of Vienna]] established the [[United Kingdom of the Netherlands|Kingdom of the Netherlands]] from the territories of the former Dutch Republic and [[Austrian Netherlands]]. Following the independence of [[Belgium]] in 1830, the 1860s saw renewed Flemish interest in a united Dutch-speaking state as some Dutch-speaking Belgian citizens opposed the privileged positions held by the French-speaking bourgeoisie.<ref>{{Cite web|last=DBNL|title=Bijdragen en Mededelingen van het Historisch Genootschap. Deel 76 · dbnl|url=https://www.dbnl.org/tekst/_bij005196101_01/_bij005196101_01_0004.php|access-date=2021-08-17|website=DBNL|language=nl|archive-date=12 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210712001447/https://www.dbnl.org/tekst/_bij005196101_01/_bij005196101_01_0004.php|url-status=live}}</ref> By the end of the 19th century the Greater Netherlandic movement had emerged alongside the [[Flemish Movement]] in response to the subordination of the Dutch-speaking population in Belgian government and public life. 'Waar Maas en Schelde vloeien' (also known as 'Het Lied der Vlamingen') is a popular Greater Netherlandic song written around this time by [[Peter Benoit]] and [[Emmanuel Hiel|Emmaniel Hiel]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Benoit, Peter {{!}} Studiecentrum voor Vlaamse Muziek|url=https://www.svm.be/content/benoit-peter?display=article&detail=27890|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160518225219/http://svm.be/content/benoit-peter?display=article&detail=27890|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 May 2016|access-date=2021-07-04|website=www.svm.be}}</ref> In 1895 nationalists from both Belgian Flanders and the Netherlands created the Greater Netherlandic General Dutch Union ({{langx|nl|Algemeen-Nederlands Verbond}} (ANV)) for the purpose of stimulating cooperation between Belgian Flanders and the Netherlands, a role it continues to hold.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Boeva|first=Luc|date=1996-01-01|title=Recensie van: Tussen cultuur en politiek: Het Algemeen-Nederlands Verbond 1895-1995 / P. van Hees en H. De Schepper (red.) (1995)|url=https://ojs.ugent.be/wt/article/view/13112|journal=WT. Tijdschrift over de Geschiedenis van de Vlaamse Beweging|language=nl|volume=55|issue=3|pages=215–218|doi=10.21825/wt.v55i3.13112|issn=0774-532X|doi-access=free|access-date=4 July 2021|archive-date=9 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709185218/https://ojs.ugent.be/wt/article/view/13112|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

The [[German occupation of Belgium during World War I|German occupation of Belgium]] during [[World War I]] further intensified the conflict between the nation's [[Walloons|Walloon]] and [[Flemish people|Flemish]] communities. Seeing the linguistic division of Belgium as a means of facilitating its occupation, the Germans employed ''[[Flamenpolitik]]'' to divide the administration of Belgium between French and Dutch-speaking authorities.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Rash|first1=Felicity|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HdZiDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Pan-Netherlandism%22&pg=PA87|title=The Great War in Belgium and the Netherlands: Beyond Flanders Fields|last2=Declercq|first2=Christophe|date=2018-07-02|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-3-319-73108-7|pages=88|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=De Schaepdrijver |first=Sophie |date=1997 |title=De Grote Oorlog |language=nl |location=Antwerp, Amsterdam |publisher=Atlas}}</ref> This resulted in a surge in the popularity of the ANV in both Flanders and the Netherlands, with a group of more radical students founding the [[Dietsch Studentenverbond|Dutch Student Association]] ({{langx|nl|Dietsch Studentenverbond}}).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Algemeen-Nederlands Verbond (ANV) - NEVB Online|url=https://nevb.be/wiki/Algemeen-Nederlands_Verbond_(ANV)|access-date=2021-07-04|website=nevb.be|archive-date=30 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210630052353/https://nevb.be/wiki/Algemeen-Nederlands_Verbond_(ANV)|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite book|last=Vandenbosch|first=A.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kgbsCAAAQBAJ&dq=%22Pan-Netherlandism%22&pg=PP6|title=Dutch Foreign Policy Since 1815: A Study in Small Power Politics|date=2012-12-06|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=978-94-011-6809-0|pages=152|language=en|access-date=17 November 2021|archive-date=3 August 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240803084821/https://books.google.com/books?id=kgbsCAAAQBAJ&dq=%22Pan-Netherlandism%22&pg=PP6#v=onepage&q=%22Pan-Netherlandism%22&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2010-08-23|title=Dietsch Studentenverbond (DSV) — Universiteit Gent|url=https://www.ugent.be/nl/voorzieningen/bronnen/archief/collectie/studenten/verenigingen/DSV.html|access-date=2021-07-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100823032309/https://www.ugent.be/nl/voorzieningen/bronnen/archief/collectie/studenten/verenigingen/DSV.html|archive-date=23 August 2010}}</ref> Even the [[Belgian Labour Party|BWP]]—the first Belgian [[Socialism|socialist]] party—had a considerable number of Greater Netherlandists among their ranks in [[Antwerp]], including Maurits Naessens.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Samen voor democratie en socialisme … Of toch niet helemaal? Verhouding tussen de Vlaamsgezinde vleugel van de Belgische Werkliedenpartij en de Internationale Socialistische Anti-Oorlogsliga in de jaren 1930. {{!}} Scriptieprijs|url=https://www.scriptiebank.be/scriptie/2018/samen-voor-democratie-en-socialisme-toch-niet-helemaal-verhouding-tussen-de|access-date=2021-07-08|website=www.scriptiebank.be|language=en|archive-date=3 August 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240803085953/https://scriptiebank.be/scriptie/2018/samen-voor-democratie-en-socialisme-toch-niet-helemaal-verhouding-tussen-de|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Greater Netherlands idea gained more structure in the early 20th century. In the Netherlands, some nationalists began to see Flanders as part of a broader Dutch identity, and this perspective found sympathy in Flemish nationalist circles, where people advocated for the preservation and promotion of the Dutch language.

During World War I (1914–1918), some Flemish nationalists saw an opportunity to push their cause by collaborating with the German occupation, which had a policy of encouraging Flemish autonomy as a way to weaken Belgium. The collaboration led to the rise of radical Flemish nationalism, some of which began to promote the idea of a union with the Netherlands.

After the war, the Flemish Movement grew in Belgium, with demands for linguistic equality and greater autonomy for Flanders. While this movement was primarily focused on gaining rights within Belgium, a fringe element started advocating for full separation from Belgium and unification with the Netherlands under a "Greater Netherlands."

Occupations of Belgium and the Netherlands by [[Nazi Germany]] during [[World War II]] resulted in the belief within nationalist circles that a Greater Netherlands state could be achieved through [[Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy|collaboration]] with the German occupiers. While their administration of Belgium was divided along linguistic lines in a policy similar to ''Flamenpolitik'', the German Nazis did not seek to combine Flanders with the Netherlands. They instead sought either the establishment of a [[Pan-Germanism|Pan-Germanist]] union of the ethnically Germanic Dutch speakers with Germany or a [[New Order (Nazism)|New Order]] in which both Belgium and the Netherlands would continue to exist as ''de jure'' independent German [[satellite state]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|last=DBNL|title=Maurice de Wilde, België in de Tweede Wereldoorlog. Deel 3 · dbnl|url=https://www.dbnl.org/tekst/wild022belg01_01/wild022belg01_01_0004.php|access-date=2021-07-03|website=DBNL|language=nl|archive-date=19 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230319061214/https://www.dbnl.org/tekst/wild022belg01_01/wild022belg01_01_0004.php|url-status=live}}</ref> The movement saw a drastic decline in popularity following the war due to its association with wartime collaborators in both countries, particularly due to the [[Flemish National Union]] (VNV) in Flanders and the [[National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands]], though remains popular among some on the [[Right-wing politics|right]] of Flemish and Dutch politics.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Verplancke|first=Marnix|date=2015-07-26|title=Groot-Nederland is 'uit'|url=https://www.trouw.nl/gs-bd018364|access-date=2021-07-03|website=Trouw|language=nl-NL}}</ref>

== Political parties ==
===Belgium===
The Belgian far-right party [[Vlaams Belang]] voiced support for the idea, since they see the formation of a "Federation of the Netherlands" as a logical and desirable consequence of a Flemish secession from Belgium. In 2021, the leader of the Flemish Nationalist [[New Flemish Alliance|N-VA]], [[Bart De Wever]] argued in Trends Talk on Kanaal Z that the next step after Belgian [[Confederalism]] should be a union of Flanders and the Netherlands,<ref name=":6">{{Cite web|date=2021-07-21|title=Reunify Flanders and the Netherlands, argues Bart De Wever|url=https://www.brusselstimes.com/news/belgium-all-news/178380/reunify-flanders-and-the-netherlands-argues-bart-de-wever/|access-date=2021-07-27|website=The Brussels Times|language=en|archive-date=27 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210727111800/https://www.brusselstimes.com/news/belgium-all-news/178380/reunify-flanders-and-the-netherlands-argues-bart-de-wever/|url-status=live}}</ref> which led to a resurgence in discussions on the topic.
===Netherlands===
In the Netherlands it is on the agenda of two major political parties, the far-right [[Party for Freedom]] (PVV) and [[Forum for Democracy]] (FvD). On 12 May 2008, Dutch politician [[Geert Wilders]] (PVV) said in ''[[De Telegraaf]]'' that he was interested in the possibility of unifying the Netherlands and Flanders. Wilders proposed that, in accordance with previous polls, referendums should be held in the Netherlands and Flanders on the merger.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Nederland en Vlaanderen horen bij elkaar|url=https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2008/07/07/nederland-en-vlaanderen-horen-bij-elkaar-11569059-a459290|access-date=4 July 2021|website=NRC|date=7 July 2008|language=nl|archive-date=3 August 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240803085933/https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2008/07/07/nederland-en-vlaanderen-horen-bij-elkaar-11569059-a459290|url-status=live}}</ref> He argued that he was not planning to impose unification on the Flemish, but stated that then-Dutch Prime Minister [[Jan-Peter Balkenende]] needed to discuss the subject with his Flemish colleagues, which Balkenende refused. [[Thierry Baudet]] of the far-right [[Forum for Democracy]] also voiced support saying he "welcomes" Flanders in their kingdom even arguing that Flanders "actually belongs to us" when asked about it at a conference.<ref name=":5">{{Citation|title=Baudet over Groot-Nederland| date=25 May 2018 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0eP2weKpjs |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/P0eP2weKpjs| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|language=en|access-date=2021-07-04}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Smaller Greater-Netherlandic groups are the Dutch political party [[Dutch People's Union|Nederlandse Volks-Unie]] (NVU) and the Belgo-Dutch [[Voorpost]]. Since 2018, the Greater Netherlands youth organization, the [[Geuzenbond]], has been active in the Netherlands and Flanders.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wagenaar |first=Willem |url=https://www.vpro.nl/dam/jcr:09a373d3-a7ac-4cf1-8a0f-5d8576f128a4/Factsheet_Extreem_Rechts_Nederlandse_Gemeentes.docx#page=20 |title=Factsheet 10: Extreem rechts in Nederlandse Gemeentes |date=July 2019 |publisher=Anne Frank Stichting |page=39 |language=nl |trans-title=Factsheet 10: Far-right in Dutch municipalities |chapter=Geuzenbond |format=pdf |access-date=2024-08-21}}</ref> Members of this organization founded the [[Greater Netherlands Student Association]] in [[Leiden]] in 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kraak |first=Haro |date=2024-08-28 |title=Gezellig bij de studentenvereniging, extreemrechts bij de jongerenbeweging: de nauwe banden tussen GNSV en Geuzenbond |trans-title=Cozy at the student association, far-right at the youth movement: the close ties between GNSV and Geuzenbond |url=https://www.volkskrant.nl/binnenland/gezellig-bij-de-studentenvereniging-extreemrechts-bij-de-jongerenbeweging-de-nauwe-banden-tussen-gnsv-en-geuzenbond~bc7d2402/ |access-date=2024-08-31 |website=De Volkskrant}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Palm |first=Tobiah |date=2023-08-30 |title=Waar staat de 'extreemrechtse' Groot-Nederlandse Studentenvereniging voor? |trans-title=What does the 'far-right' Greater Netherlands Student Association stand for? |url=https://www.trouw.nl/binnenland/waar-staat-de-extreemrechtse-groot-nederlandse-studentenvereniging-voor~bb02d0c6/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230906142201/https://www.trouw.nl/binnenland/waar-staat-de-extreemrechtse-groot-nederlandse-studentenvereniging-voor~bb02d0c6/ |archive-date=2023-09-06 |work=Trouw}}</ref> A [[Nijmegen]] chapter followed in 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-08-22 |title=Studentenvereniging GNSV: al vaker te maken gehad met bedreiging |trans-title=GNSV student association: has dealt with threats more often |url=https://www.zeelandnet.nl/nieuws/studentenvereniging-gnsv-al-vaker-te-maken-gehad-met-bedreiging |access-date=2023-09-03 |website=ZeelandNet Nieuws |language=nl}}</ref>

==Opinion polling==
===Netherlands===
Although it hasn't been a major political issue in the Netherlands for quite some time, in 2007, a poll indicated that two-thirds of the Dutch population would welcome a union with Flanders.<ref>[http://www.angusreidglobal.com/polls/342/dutch_would_reunify_with_belgiums_flanders/ "Dutch Would Reunify with Belgium's Flanders."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140307123821/http://www.angusreidglobal.com/polls/342/dutch_would_reunify_with_belgiums_flanders/ |date=7 March 2014 }} ''Angus Reid Global Monitor''. 25 August 2007. Accessed 10 January 2008.</ref> Another poll published by [[RTL 4]] found that 77% of respondents living in the Netherlands would support a Greater Netherlands.<ref>{{Cite web|date=|title=Nederlanders massaal voor fusie met Vlaanderen|url=https://www.hln.be/buitenland/nederlanders-massaal-voor-fusie-met-vlaanderen~abe94b60/|website=Het Laatste Nieuws|language=nl|access-date=4 July 2021|archive-date=9 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709184915/https://www.hln.be/buitenland/nederlanders-massaal-voor-fusie-met-vlaanderen~abe94b60/|url-status=live}}</ref>
===Flanders/Netherlands===
In Flanders, support for the idea is less clear. A 1999 study by Jaak Billiet of the Catholic University of Leuven showed that 1 to 2% of Flemish people were in favor of the idea. Non-representative opinion polls on the internet have since proven less clear, with between 2% and 51% of respondents supporting unification with the Netherlands.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Regional inequalities and localist movements|url=https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/118980/1/ERSA2010_0735.pdf|website=Econstor.eu|access-date=21 April 2018|archive-date=31 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731160559/https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/118980/1/ERSA2010_0735.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> While the prevailing Dutch view on unification is it being a means of territorial expansion, the Flemish have expressed fears of being culturally assimilated into the larger and more populous Netherlands.

Although, due to the difficulties experienced in the [[2007 Belgian government formation]] and to a lesser extent during the [[2019–2020 Belgian government formation]] and the victory of both Flemish separatist parties; [[New Flemish Alliance]] and [[Vlaams Belang]], in those elections, the discussion on [[Hypothetical partition of Belgium|Flanders seceding from Belgium]] became relevant again. Neither of the separatist parties officially supports a "Greater Netherlands" however, presidents of both parties ([[Tom Van Grieken]] and [[Bart De Wever]]) and Dutch parliament speaker Martin Bosma spoke out in favour of a Greater Netherlands after Flemish independence.<ref>{{Citation|title=Tom van Grieken over het herenigen van De Nederlanden| date=24 October 2019 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_28O5kc8Uc |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/Q_28O5kc8Uc| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|language=en|access-date=2021-07-04}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name=":6" />

==See also==
*[[Dutch annexation of German territory after the Second World War#Bakker Schut Plan|Bakker Schut Plan]]
*[[Benelux]]
*[[Burgundian Netherlands]]
*[[Flemish movement]]
*[[Hypothetical partition of Belgium]]
*[[Low Countries]]
*[[Orangism (Belgium)|Orangism]]
*[[Rattachism]] – a similar movement in [[Wallonia]] aiming for unification with France
*[[Seventeen Provinces]]
*[[Union of Utrecht]]
*[[United Kingdom of the Netherlands]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{Commons category}}
*Ham, L.J. [https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/31496 Voeten vegen: Eenheid en verschil in het grootnederlandse discours van De Toorts (1916-1921)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709185130/https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/31496 |date=9 July 2021 }} (2008)
{{Irredentism}}
{{Pan-nationalist concepts}}

[[Category:Flanders]]
[[Category:Geography of the Netherlands]]
[[Category:Politics of the Netherlands]]
[[Category:Irredentism|Netherlands]]
[[Category:Flemish Movement]]
[[Category:Belgium–Netherlands relations]]