Nationality Citizenship And Ethno Cultural Belonging

This book challenges mainstream arguments about the de-ethnicization of citizenship in Europe, offering a critical discussion of normative justifications for ethno-cultural citizenship and an original elaboration of principles of membership suitable for contemporary liberal democratic states.

Most interpretations of ethnicity concentrate either on particular societies or on specific dimensions of 'world society'. This work takes quite a different approach, arguing that variations within and across societies are vital for understanding contemporary dilemmas of ethnicity. The author aims to develop a new analysis of the relation between the nation on the one hand, and ethnicity and citizenship on the other. Oommen conceives of the nation as a product of a fusion of territory and language. He demonstrates that neither religion nor race determines national identities. As territory is seminal for a nation to emerge and exist, the dissociation between people and their 'homeland' makes them an ethnie. Citizenship is conceptualized both as a status to which nationals and ethnies ought to be entitled and a set of obligations, a role they are expected to play. Analyses of three historical episodes - colonialism and European expansion, Communist internationalism and the nation-state and its project of cultural unity - are examined to provide the empirical content of the argument. This book will be essential reading for second-year undergraduates and above in the areas of sociology, anthropology and cultural studies.

Interest in citizenship has never been higher. But what does it mean to be a citizen in a modern, complex community? Richard Bellamy approaches the subject of citizenship from a political perspective and, in clear and accessible language, addresses the complexities behind this highly topical issue.

This book challenges mainstream arguments about the de-ethnicization of citizenship in Europe, offering a critical discussion of normative justifications for ethno-cultural citizenship and an original elaboration of principles of membership suitable for contemporary liberal democratic states.

Through a detailed introductory discussion of the relation between the civil and the political, and between recognition and representation, this book provides a comprehensive vocabulary for understanding citizenship. It uses the work of T H Marshall to frame the critical interrogation of how ethnic, technological, ecological, cosmopolitan, sexual and cultural rights relate to citizenship. The authors show how the civil, political and social meanings of citizenship have been redefined by postmodernization and globalization.

Liberalism has traditionally been equated with protecting the rights of the individual. But how does this protection affect the cultural identity of these individuals? In The Boundaries of Citizenship Jeff Spinner addresses this question by examining distinctive racial, ethnic, and national groups whose identities may be transformed in liberal society. Focusing on the Amish, Hasidic Jews, and African Americans in the United States and on the Quebecois in Canada, Spinner explores the paradox of how liberal values such as equality and individual autonomy -- which members of cultural groups often fight to attain -- can lead to the unexpected transformation of the group's identity. Spinner shows how liberalism fosters this transformation by encouraging the dispersal of the group's cultural practices throughout society. He examines why groups that reject the liberal values of equality and autonomy are the most successful at retaining their distinctive cultural identity. He finds, however, that these groups also fit -- albeit uneasily -- in the liberal state. Spinner concludes that citizens are benefitted more than harmed by liberalism's tendency to alter cultural boundaries. The Boundaries of Citizenship is a timely look at how cultural identities are formed and transformed -- and why the political implications of this process are so important. The book will be of interest to readers in a broad range of academic disciplines, including political science, law, history, sociology, and cultural studies.

Based on the author's thesis (doctoral)--European University Institute, 2006.

Essays presented in January 1992 at a Roundtable on Citizenship sponsored by the Faculty of Law at the U. of Ottawa discuss what it means to be a Canadian and how Canadian citizenship must evolve if it is to serve a unifying ideal. The essays are organized in four broad categories: history; regions; law, constitutionalism, and economics; and individuals and groups. No index. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR