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Denationalized citizenship

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Denationalized Citizenship is one of many new citizenship processes which redefine traditional notions of citizenship as intrinsically linked with the nation-state and occurs within a subnational scale. A denationalized citizen does not consider the nation-state as being necessary for political participation and identity.

Overview

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The concept of citizenship has historically been associated with national identity and the nation-state since the French Revolution saw the people claim sovereignty of the state and essentially become the state.[1] The growing importance of global processes has led to practices which were previously uniquely bound with the nation-state moving to other private, supranational and subnational institutions and spheres.[2] Denationalized citizenship is a concept which has emerged due to complex processes associated with globalization and the consequent changes of the role of the nation-state due to privatization, deregulation and increased human rights.[3] These globalization processes occurring most notably since the 1980s have created new and strengthened pre-existing divisions within nation-states.[4] Put simply, denationalized citizenship is when communities have a stronger sense of belonging and identification with smaller cultural and social groups than with their nation-state.[5] For example, some see the United States as a nation of nationalities more than a nation-state.[6] Denationalized citizenship suggests that citizenship can be practiced at a variety of scales and leads to a new understanding of the relationship between citizenship and the nation-state. Denationalized citizenship is not, however, entirely disconnected from the nation-state but indicates a new way of interacting with it and within it.[7]

Social aspects

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Denationalized citizenship and an increase in self-determination can create new political spaces and arenas of participation. Denationalized citizenship may empower groups such as women who could establish a public presence and make claims on the state.[8] Therefore denationalized citizenship exists partly due to the actions of the excluded.[9] Increased civil rights facilitate the denationalization of citizenship as citizens can make claims against their nation-states and act autonomously in the political sphere.[10] Denationalized citizenship reflects the evolving and progressing capacity of democracy and the democratization of citizenship is therefore linked to denationalization and the changing authority of nation-states.[11] Another type of right which denationalizes citizenship is the portable rights within the European Union, for example, where there is a change in recognition from citizens of a nation-state to individuals as individuals.[12] Denationalized citizenship calls for a new understanding of citizenship as a concept which encompasses many, at times overlapping, communities and feelings of belonging and identification.[13]

Debates

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Denationalized citizenship emerges from the premise that nation-states are no longer solely capable of enhancing political participation and can in fact create an obstacle for such activity. Additionally, identity is no longer synonymous with the nation-state[14] and citizenship is increasingly understood as "a form of identification, a type of political identity, something to be constructed, not empirically given" (Mouffe, 1992: 231). These points appear to challenge the sovereignty and authority of the nation-state as the traditional frame of reference for identity and political participation[13] which imply a pressure to fragment territorial structures.

Criticisms

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The idea that denationalized citizenship poses a serious problem for the nation-state is contested. Practices of national citizenship may be in decline due to the many processes transforming citizenship[6] however some believe that these challenges do not completely undermine the state but rather signify a simultaneous reconfiguring of citizenship and the nation-state's functions. Denationalized citizenship can coexist with the nation-state but is necessary to widen the possibilities of political participation in the globalizing world.

Denationalized citizenship vs. Postnational and Transnational citizenship

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Denationalized citizenship, postnational and transnational citizenship are frequently misused and used interchangeably, therefore a distinction between the terms is important. Denationalized citizenship is often used to mean any type of contemporary concept of citizenship which separates itself from the nation-state, however it alone means processes occurring within the borders of the nation-state. Postnational and transnational citizenship refer to new types of citizenship, such as citizenship of the European Union, which are outside of national borders[7] and, although all concepts share some characteristics, denationalized citizenship does not require that citizenship be relocated to outside of the nation-state, as is central to postnational and transnational citizenship.[15] Although denationalized citizenship can be associated with or caused by global and transnational processes, it occurs within the national and not outside of or across several nation-states.

References

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  1. ^ Kadioglu, Ayse. Denationalization of Citizenship? The Turkish Experience. Citizenship Studies. 2007.11 (3), p. 284
  2. ^ Sassen, Saskia. The Need to Distinguish Denationalized and Postnational. Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies. 2000. 7 (2), pp. 579
  3. ^ Sassen, Saskia. Towards Post-National Citizenship.In: Isin, E. and Turner, B. (eds.) Handbook of Citizenship Studies. 2002. p. 276
  4. ^ Anderson, James. The Exaggerated Death of the Nation-State. In: Anderson, J., Brook, C., Cochrane, A. (eds.). A Global World: Re-ordering Political Space. 1995. p. 119
  5. ^ Sassen, Saskia. Towards Post-National Citizenship.In: Isin, E. and Turner, B. (eds.) Handbook of Citizenship Studies. 2002. p. 281
  6. ^ a b Karst, Kenneth. Citizenship, Law and the American Nation. Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies. 2000. 7 (2), p. 595
  7. ^ a b Kadioglu, Ayse. Denationalization of Citizenship? The Turkish Experience. Citizenship Studies. 2007. 11 (3), pp. 285
  8. ^ Schylter, Ann. Body Politics and the Crafting of Citizenship in Peri-urban Lusaka. Feminist Africa 13 Gendered Body Politics and Crafting Citizenship. 2009. p. 23
  9. ^ Sassen, Saskia. Towards Post-National Citizenship.In: Isin, E. and Turner, B. (eds.) Handbook of Citizenship Studies. 2002. p. 288
  10. ^ Sassen, S. The Need to Distinguish Denationalized and Postnational. Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies. 2000. 7 (2), pp. 575-584
  11. ^ Kadioglu, Ayse. Denationalization of Citizenship? The Turkish Experience. Citizenship Studies. 2007. 11 (3), pp. 283
  12. ^ Sassen, Saskia. Limits of Power and the Complexity of Powerlessness. Unbound. 2007. Vol 3: 105. p. 112
  13. ^ a b Cammaerts, Bart. Citizenship, the Public Sphere and Media. In: Cammaerts, B and Carpentier, N (eds.) Reclaiming the Media: Communication rights and expanding democratic media roles. 2006. p. 2
  14. ^ Kadioglu, Ayse. Denationalization of Citizenship? The Turkish Experience. Citizenship Studies. 2007. 11 (3), pp. 284
  15. ^ Sassen, Saskia. Towards Post-National Citizenship.In: Isin, E. and Turner, B. (eds.) Handbook of Citizenship Studies. 2002. p. 278