Migration And Citizenship Attribution

How do states in Western Europe deal with the challenges of migration for citizenship? The legal relationship between a person and a state is becoming increasingly blurred in our mobile, transnational world. This volume deals with the membership dimension of citizenship, specifically the formal rules that states use to attribute citizenship. These nationally-specific rules determine how and under what conditions citizenship is attributed by states to individuals: how one can acquire formal citizenship status, but also how this status can be lost. Migration and Citizenship Attribution observes various trends in citizenship policies since the early 1980s, analysing historical patterns and recent changes across Western Europe as well as examining specific developments in individual countries. Authors explore the equal treatment of women and men with regard to descent-based citizenship attribution, along with the process of convergence between countries with ‘ius soli’ and ‘ius sanguinis’ traditions with regard to birthright provisions. They consider how the increasing acceptance of multiple citizenship is reflected in a dual trend to abolish, or at least to moderate, the renunciation of the citizenship of origin as a condition for naturalisation, and also to restrict provisions of loss of citizenship due to voluntary acquisition of a foreign citizenship. Another trend observed and discussed is the introduction by many countries of language tests and integration conditions in the naturalisation procedure, with some countries now concluding the naturalisation process by means of a US-styled citizenship ceremony. Contributors also explore the various things taken into account under state citizenship laws such as statelessness, or membership of the European Union. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies.

This was previously published as a special issue of Journal of Ethnic & Migration Studies. How do states in Western Europe deal with the challenges of migration for citizenship? The legal relationship between a person and a state becomes increasingly blurred in a mobile and transnational world. This volume deals with the membership dimension of citizenship and specifically with the formal rules that states use to attribute citizenship. These nationally specific rules determine how and under which conditions citizenship is attributed by states to individuals: how one can acquire formal citizenship status, but also how it can be lost. We observe six trends in citizenship policies since the early 1980s. First, we observe a trend toward completing the equal treatment of women and men with regard to descent-based citizenship attribution. Second, there is a process of convergence between countries with ius soli and ius sanguinis traditions with regard to birthright provisions. Third, the increasing acceptance of multiple citizenship is reflected in a dual trend to abolish or moderate the renunciation of the citizenship of origin as a condition for naturalisation and also to abolish or restrict provisions of loss of citizenship due to voluntary acquisition of a foreign citizenship. Fourth, many countries have introduced language tests and integration conditions in the naturalisation procedure and some countries are now also concluding the naturalisation process by means of a US-styled citizenship ceremony. Fifth, states increasingly take the principle of avoiding statelessness into account into their citizenship laws. Finally, we see that states start to take membership of the European Union into account in their citizenship laws. Chapters in this volume discuss both these broad trends across Western Europe, analyzing historical patterns and recent change, as well as specific developments in individual countries.

How do states in Western Europe deal with the challenges of migration for citizenship? The legal relationship between a person and a state is becoming increasingly blurred in our mobile, transnational world. This volume deals with the membership dimension of citizenship, specifically the formal rules that states use to attribute citizenship. These nationally-specific rules determine how and under what conditions citizenship is attributed by states to individuals: how one can acquire formal citizenship status, but also how this status can be lost. Migration and Citizenship Attribution observes various trends in citizenship policies since the early 1980s, analysing historical patterns and recent changes across Western Europe as well as examining specific developments in individual countries. Authors explore the equal treatment of women and men with regard to descent-based citizenship attribution, along with the process of convergence between countries with ‘ius soli’ and ‘ius sanguinis’ traditions with regard to birthright provisions. They consider how the increasing acceptance of multiple citizenship is reflected in a dual trend to abolish, or at least to moderate, the renunciation of the citizenship of origin as a condition for naturalisation, and also to restrict provisions of loss of citizenship due to voluntary acquisition of a foreign citizenship. Another trend observed and discussed is the introduction by many countries of language tests and integration conditions in the naturalisation procedure, with some countries now concluding the naturalisation process by means of a US-styled citizenship ceremony. Contributors also explore the various things taken into account under state citizenship laws such as statelessness, or membership of the European Union. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies.

Publisher Description

Switzerland likely has the most particular naturalization system in the world. Whereas in most countries citizenship attribution is regulated at the central level of the state, in Switzerland each municipality is accorded the right to decide who can become a Swiss citizen. This book aims at exploring naturalization processes from a comparative perspective and to explain why some municipalities pursue more restrictive citizenship policies than others. The Swiss case provides a unique opportunity to approach citizenship politics from new perspectives. It allows us to go beyond formal citizenship models and to account for the practice of citizenship. The analytical framework combines quantitative and qualitative data and helps us understand how negotiation processes between political actors lead to a large variety of local citizenship models. An innovative theoretical framework, integrating Bourdieu's political sociology, combines symbolic and material aspects of naturalizations and underlines the production processes of ethnicity.

As the law and politics of migration become increasingly intertwined, this thought-provoking Research Handbook addresses the challenge of analysing their growing relationship. Discussing the evolving theoretical approaches to migration, it explores the growing attention given to the legal frameworks for migration and the expansion of regulation, as migration moves to the centre of the political global agenda. The Research Handbook demonstrates that the overlap between law and politics puts the rule of law at risk in matters of migration.

"Citizenship Policies in the New Europe describes the citizenship laws in each of the twelve new countries as well as in the accession states Croatia and Turkey and analyses their historical background. Citizenship Policies in the New Europe complements two volumes on Acquisition and Loss of Nationality in the fifteen old Member States published in the same series in 2006." --Book Jacket.

Deportation has again taken a prominent place within the immigration policies of nation-states. Irregular Citizenship, Immigration, and Deportation addresses the social responses to deportation, in particular the growing movements against deportation and detention, and for freedom of movement and the regularization of status. The book brings deportation and anti-deportation together with the aim of understanding the political subjects that emerge in this contested field of governance and control, freedom and struggle. However, rather than focusing on the typical subjects of removal – refugees, the undocumented, and irregular migrants – Irregular Citizenship, Immigration, and Deportation looks at the ways that citizens get caught up in the deportation apparatus and must struggle to remain in or return to their country of citizenship. The transformation of ‘regular’ citizens into deportable ‘irregular’ citizens involves the removal of the rights, duties, and obligations of citizenship. This includes unmaking citizenship through official revocation or denationalization, as well as through informal, extra-legal, and unofficial means. The book features stories about struggles over removal and return, deportation and repatriation, rescue and abandonment. The book features eleven ‘acts of citizenship’ that occur in the context of deportation and anti-deportation, arguing that these struggles for rights, recognition, and return are fundamentally struggles over political subjectivity – of citizenship. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of citizenship, migration and security studies.