Culture as a Divider

Culture as a Divider

23 September 2025

Register to join the dialogue on 30th September 2025, at www.ser.cw

Culture is not only a connector—it can also be a divider. Every nation has its own culture, shaped by history, geography, language, and shared traditions. This national culture often provides people with a sense of belonging and identity. However, within this larger frame, there are always subcultures.

Subcultures emerge from various sources, including religion, ethnicity, class, lifestyle, or even shared interests such as music or sports. People tend to close themselves off, to varying degrees, within these subcultures. They create their own rules, values, and networks. For those inside, this creates a sense of safety and solidarity. For those outside, it can feel excluded and isolated.

When the national culture is strong and clearly defined, subcultures may not pose a threat to the connection. They can even enrich the broader society, adding diversity and creativity. However, when the national culture is weak, fragmented, or contested, subcultures risk becoming silos. Instead of bridges, they become walls.

Take Curaçao as an example. The island has a national culture rooted in Papiamentu, Carnival, and shared traditions. At the same time, there are strong subcultures: Afro-Caribbean heritage, Dutch influences, Latin American communities, and religious groups. For the most part, these subcultures coexist, but sometimes they form closed circles. For example, Dutch expatriates may remain in their own networks, separate from the local population, which can create distance rather than connection.

In the Netherlands, culture also divides. The national culture is often characterized by values such as tolerance, direct communication, and consensus-seeking. Yet, subcultures—whether religious groups, migrant communities, or even football supporters—create their own strong identities. In recent years, debates about immigration, integration, and national traditions, such as Zwarte Piet, have highlighted how subcultures can clash with the sense of a unified national culture. Instead of enriching, they can spark division and polarization.

The challenge, in Curaçao, the Netherlands, and everywhere, is to strike the right balance: allowing subcultures to flourish while maintaining a strong shared culture that binds people together. Without that balance, culture divides more than it unites.

Register to join the dialogue on 30th September 2025, at www.ser.cw

Miguel Goede