The classical meaning of citizenship evokes a nation-state with a well-defined territory for its nationals, where national identity and sovereignty play a key role.
history
Description
Abstract.
The classical meaning of citizenship evokes a nation-state with
a well-defined territory for its nationals, where national identity and
sovereignty play a key role. Global developments are challenging the
traditional nation-state and open a new stage in the history of citizenship.
Transnational citizenship involving dual and multiple citizenships has
become more and more accepted in Europe. Numerous scholars envisaged
a post-national development where the nation-state no longer plays a key
role. While scholarly research tended to focus on developments in Western
Europe, a dynamic development also took place in Eastern Europe following
the collapse of communism. Dual citizenship was introduced in most Eastern
European countries, but its purpose was to strengthen the nation by giving
the ethnic kin abroad citizenship and non-resident voting rights. In Western
Europe, the right of migrants to citizenship has been expanded throughout
the years in the hope that this would result in their better integration into
society. Eastern Europe and Western Europe operate with different concepts
of citizenship because of their diverging historical traditions and current
concerns. The concept of nation and who belong to the national community
play a key role in the type of citizenship that they advocate.
Keywords: citizenship, double citizenship, minorities, national minorities,
migration, integration, multiculturalism
