Paul Scheffer is a Dutch author, professor

Professor

A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...

 at the Universiteit van Amsterdam

Universiteit van Amsterdam

The University of Amsterdam or the UvA is a public research university located in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Founded in 1632 as the Athenaeum Illustre by the scholars Gerardus Vossius and Caspar Barlaeus, it is the third-oldest university in the Netherlands...

 and member of the Partij van de Arbeid.

In 2000, he wrote an essay Het multiculturele drama (approximate translation: "The multicultural disaster") which was very influential in shaping the debate on multiculturalism

Multiculturalism

Multiculturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...

 and immigration

Immigration

Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...

 in the Netherlands.

His 2007 book was published in English in 2011 as Immigrant Nations, about the overlaps between multiculturalism in the Netherlands

Multiculturalism in the Netherlands

Multiculturalism in the Netherlands began with a major increases in immigration during the 1950s and 60s. As a consequence, an official national policy of multiculturalism was adopted in the early 1980s. This policy subsequently gave way to more assimilationist policies in the 1990s...

 and immigration to the Netherlands.