Normalization of “Great Replacement” population theory is troubling: Dutch counter-terror office

The normalization of the Great Replacement conspiracy theory is a "worrying development," said the National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism (NCTV) on Monday. In its new assessment of threats to the Netherlands, it said, "Discussing such xenophobic and partially racist ideas, and other conspiracy theories, openly and uncritically contributes to social acceptance."

The Great Replacement, sometimes called simply “replacement theory,” states that Western society is slowly being replaced by immigrants with a non-western background and their descendants. Radical right-wing Belgian politician Filip Dewinter promoted the theory in May on the public broadcaster, Ongehoord Nederland. This led to sharp criticism from the Tweede Kamer

The replacement theory is one of the pillars of “accelerationism,” an extremist right-wing movement that promotes the use of threats and violence. Accelerationism "encourages terrorist violence as a legitimate means of achieving the ideal of a white ethno-state.”

There are a few hundred supporters with radical right-wing terrorist ideas. Their numbers do not seem to have grown since last year and they are very active on the internet. "Outside the internet, right-wing terrorism is less common than originally believed," the report said.

In the report, the NCTV further stated that the nature of the terrorist threats in and against the Netherlands has become "more adaptable and more diffuse" in recent years. However, the threat level remained unchanged at “significant.”

The jihadist movement still poses the greatest threat, but the movement is showing "stagnation" and "relative inactivity," according to the NCTV. An attack from the right-wing extremism sphere or radical anti-government movements is also "conceivable" nowadays. The extreme left mainly expresses itself in an "activist way" such as with demonstrations.