Citizenship Policies For An Age Of Migration

Many liberal democracies, facing high levels of immigration, are rethinking their citizenship policies. In this book, a group of international experts discuss various ways liberal states should fashion their policies to better accommodate newcomers. They offer detailed recommendations on issues of acquisition of citizenship, dual nationality, and the political, social, and economic rights of immigrants. Contributors include Patrick Weil (University of Paris Sorbonne), David A. Martin, (University of Virginia School of Law), Rainer Bauböck, (Austrian Academy of Sciences), and Michael Fix (Urban Institute).

Citizenship policies are changing rapidly in the face of global migration trends and the inevitable ethnic and racial diversity that follows. The debates are fierce. What should the requirements of citizenship be? How can multi-ethnic states forge a collective identity around a common set of values, beliefs and practices? What are appropriate criteria for admission and rights and duties of citizens? This book includes nine case studies that investigate immigration and citizenship in Australia, the Baltic States, Canada, the European Union, Israel, Mexico, Russia, South Africa and the United States. This complete collection of essays scrutinizes the concrete rules and policies by which states administer citizenship, and highlights similarities and differences in their policies. From Migrants to Citizens, the only comprehensive guide to citizenship policies in these liberal-democratic and emerging states, will be an invaluable reference for scholars in law, political science, and citizenship theory. Policymakers and government officials involved in managing citizenship policy in the United States and abroad will find this an excellent, accessible overview of the critical dilemmas that multi-ethnic societies face as a result of migration and global interdependencies at the end of the twentieth century.

The 21st century promises to be an "Age of Mobility." More people around the globe, from an ever greater variety of backgrounds, are migrating. As Europe and North America absorb larger and more diverse inflows, many policymakers, commentators, and academics are questioning whether their societies can cope with the influx. Citizenship has emerged as one of the key policy battlegrounds for such concerns. Citizenship lies at the nexus of a host of social policy issues because it provides definitions of identity, belonging, and participation in key aspects of society, including the right to vote. Governments recognize the urgent need to understand citizenship better. Once a narrow, somewhat static legal backwater, citizenship has become a dynamic policy vehicle for promoting the political incorporation of immigrants and, by extension, their more complete integration. This book is the first major product of the Transatlantic Council on Migration. It offers insights into key aspects of the citizenship debate from a policy perspective. It is a result of the deliberations and thinking of the Transatlantic Council on Migration, which brings together leading political figures, policymakers and innovative thinkers from the USA and Europe. The Council is a new initiative of the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) in Washington, DC. The Bertelsmann Stiftung and the European Policy Centre (in cooperation with the King Baudouin Foundation) are the Council's policy partners.

Greater mobility and migration have brought about unprecedented levels of diversity that are transforming communities across the Atlantic in fundamental ways, sparking uncertainty over who the "we" is in a society. As publics fear loss of their national identity and values, the need is greater than ever to reinforce the bonds that tie communities together. Yet, while a consensus may be emerging as to what has not worked well, little thought has been given to developing a new organizing principle for community cohesion. Such a vision needs to smooth divisions between immigration's "winners and losers," blunt extremism, and respond smartly to changing community and national identities. This volume will examine the lessons that can be drawn from various approaches to immigrant integration and managing diversity in North America and Europe. The book delivers recommendations on what policymakers must do to build and reinforce inclusiveness given the realities on each side of the Atlantic. It offers insights into the next generation of policies that can (re)build inclusive societies and bring immigrants and natives together in pursuit of shared futures.

Publisher Description

Taking an integrated approach, this unique Handbook places the terms ‘citizenship’ and ‘migration’ on an equal footing, examining how they are related to each other, both conceptually and empirically.

First Published in 2000. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Offprint and the introductory chapter of a monograph to appear under the title : Migration and international legal norms, edited by T. Alexander Aleinikoff and Vincent Chetail, published by T.M.C. Asser Press in early 2003.