The Dynamics of Citizenship in the Post-Political World

Workshops

CITIZENSHIP GAPS invites further reflections on the status and role to be played by the idea of citizenship today Its point of departure is the idea of the citizen, which since its first appearance, has retained a strong position in the way we conceive of a democratic community. The citizen is not just the basic point of reference for the democratic idea but also constitutes a cornerstone in the legal and physical borders drawn by governments that define the privileges and rights made available to individuals. Notwithstanding the complexity and global interconnectedness of the contemporary political landscape, the importance of citizenship remains ubiquitous. At the same time, it is recognized that the status of citizenship is not as encompassing and inclusive as is suggested by the promise of democratic inclusion.

A wide array of “citizenship gaps” exists, meaning that the protections and privileges of citizenship are not available to all members of the political community and that access to membership is restricted. In particular, there are three levels of inquiry to which this workshop will be devoted.

At the first level we encourage papers exploring the distinctions in political rights and liberties made among citizens of the same nation. Increasingly, in the last decade, attention has been devoted to the political rights of young people, prisoners and the intellectually disabled. To what extent is the idea of democracy compatible with the practice of exclusion in terms of political rights with respect to these citizens?

The second level of inquiry concerns the status of resident non-citizens within the same nation. Political rights for resident non-citizens (denizens) remain controversial and few democracies allow for their full participation in public life. At the same time, democratic nations are increasingly willing to recognize the political rights of non-resident citizens (expatriates). Papers exploring the political, social, legal or moral basis for these distinctions are invited. 

At the third level we invite attention to the outer frontiers of democratic citizenship, i.e., the distinction between citizens and other creatures in time and space. What is the role of citizenship in exploring ideas of democracy that includes foreign people, future people or even creatures that are not “people” at all? In sum, the aim of the workshop is to focus on the problems and opportunities offered by the notion of citizenship for the purpose of democratic inclusion.

Workshop organizers:

Associate Professor Ludvig Beckman, Stockholm University (for information and questions on the workshop), and Professor Alison Brysk, University of California at Irvine, USA.

Last update: Maj 14, 2010