“Democracy is the only form of government that does justice to reality.”
Interview
Ewoud Kieft Historian and writer
That Ewoud Kieft would go on to earn a PhD or be nominated for the AKO Literature Prize and the Libris History Prize did not seem likely until the final year of his history studies. He was a typical “just passing with sixes” student who was more often absent than present. That changed when he managed to get an internship at NIOD and discovered that he loved writing. He now has many publications, books and essays to his name. They often revolve around one question: why do people radicalise, and how can an open, democratic society best respond?
“Actually, I wasn't ready to start studying, but I had been ill for a long time and wanted to leave Groningen, where I had lived until then. I chose history because I wanted to broaden my general education. My history teacher advised me to choose VU Amsterdam because the students there took the subject seriously. That's how I ended up in Amsterdam, where I could finally start living – taste the freedom, make music.”
“In reality, we are not a large, harmonious community.”
Fascination
At NIOD, Kieft discovered more than just a liking for writing. During his research into the often fierce pen battle between the atheist Menno ter Braak and the ardent Catholic Anton van Duinkerken, he became fascinated by several young men in their group. “There were friends of Ter Braak walking around in black shirts, and that intrigued me. What could be attractive about fascism for young, rebellious minds? That was very much present in the circle around those two writers. The radical in art could be turned into a political force – something very dangerous.”
Discontent
According to Kieft, dissatisfaction with modernisation is the cause of this attraction. “People feel a sense of fragmentation, of individualisation; they see the modern world as decadent and weak.
Images: Yvonne Compier
Images: Yvonne Compier
“It's not about passively listening to the angry citizen, but also about responding – loudly.”
They long for a sense of community, for a world in which everything once again has meaning, and – in the case of Germany in the 1920s and 1930s – for a story in which those who died in the First World War did not die in vain, but for a higher purpose. Nazi supporters were not all bad people through and through, but over the course of a radicalisation process, they gradually came to adopt racist and war-glorifying ideas.”
Benchmark
In 2022, Kieft wrote Fighting for Democracy. According to him, the Second World War's power as a warning is becoming less and less of a self-evident benchmark for our democracy. “Because of the excessive use of comparisons with fascism, but also simply because of the passage of time.” Kieft's benchmark has a different, more positive approach: “Democracy is the only form of government that does justice to the essential characteristics of reality. In that reality, we are not a large, harmonious community. We have conflicts, different interests, and think differently about things.”
Resilience
Fighting for democracy does not have to be complicated, according to Kieft. “The most important step is to be fearless about what you hold dear. Every time an autocracy advances, you see people making compromises in that area.”
“It includes a plurality of voices and a bit more resistance to the established order.”
He encourages everyone to keep engaging in discussion. A robust discussion does not have to mean the end of a family bond or friendship. Kieft sees pushing back as a form of respect: “It's not about passively listening to the angry citizen, but also about responding – loudly. If we do that, we already start building much more resilience. So, when a politician claims that we all think the same, we know from our own experience that this is not the case.”
Guest lectures
At festivals, during lectures and guest lessons at secondary schools, Kieft is an enthusiastic advocate of democracy and teaches what he calls ‘the art of disagreement’. “A lot of students enjoy seeing that you can talk about real differences of opinion in a constructive way, so that you have energy in the classroom at the end of the lesson, without undermining anyone's sense of safety.”
Images: Yvonne Compier
Image: Yvonne Compier
Rebellion
Kieft's latest book is called Strohalmen (Grasping at Straws). Does that title mean we should be concerned? “The angle is indeed that many people feel that things are getting really serious now. But strangely enough, I think the solution lies in a more carefree approach to our democracy.”
He continues: “People who want to protect democracy mainly talk about threatened institutions – such as the institution of democracy and the institution of the rule of law. That's a very defensive story.”
Kieft thinks that a more powerful political narrative focuses on the value of democracy from the perspective of someone who wants to protect it: “That includes rebellion. This includes a plurality of voices and a bit more resistance to the established order. Because right now, only the populists are doing that. And that's clearly not how it should be.”
“The most important step is to be fearless about what you hold dear.”
Career Ewoud Kieft
Ewoud Kieft (b. 1977) studied history at VU Amsterdam. At NIOD, he conducted research into religious radicalisation and the rise of war enthusiasm at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. In 2011, he obtained his PhD from Utrecht University. In addition to being a historian and writer, Kieft is a musician, moderator, speaker and guest lecturer.
magazine for social sciences and humanities alumni june 2025