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Boston Academy of EnglishCitizenship and Nationality
Citizenship and national identity are shifting in a globalizing world. An increasing number of people carry two or more passports and affluent citizens travel, study and work in multiple lands. Mass migration means that the poor as well as the rich have ties to more than one nation. What does citizenship mean when passports for many countries can be purchased outright and some people even hold elected office in more than one country simultaneously? Clearly, citizenship and national identity are changing -- a sign that the nation state is itself in flux as an "imagined community."
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Documents | Articles | Archived Articles Documents
Citizenship, Political Violence, and Democratization in Africa (October-December 2004)
Selective denial of full citizenship rights to minority groups in Africa has impeded democratization and led to political conflict. This paper looks at the role of citizenship in politics and intercommunal strife in the context of such cases as the Rwandan genocide, immigrants' rights in Congo, and ethnic minorities in Nigeria. (Global Governance)
This paper discusses the concept of multiple citizenship in the context of contemporary United States immigration policy. (Center for Immigration Studies)
Fundamental and universally recognized rights and liberties are the basis for the liberalist concept of citizenship. This article suggests that the US has strayed from the principles of personal liberty upon which citizenship in the United States were originally founded. (University of Florence)
The majority of immigrants in the United States take an oath of allegiance to the country upon naturalization. For the most part, however, immigrants are unaware of the fact that the oath is not a legal requirement in the US but has a merely symbolic importance.
Articles
2008 | 2007 | Archived Articles 2008
For Foreign Investors, Profit Isn’t Only Goal (March 16, 2008)
Thanks to 35 foreign investors, Jay Park ski resort in Vermont will get a new hotel in the fall of 2008. What is in it for these overseas funders, besides two weeks of free skiing? The US EB-5 program will grant them permanent green cards because they invest in a “job-creating business.” The program requires $500,000 and a two year commitment to the project. In contrast to the heavy restrictions on ordinary immigrants, the US government generously hands out green cards to those prepared to pay a lot of money for them. (New York Times)Kazakhstan’s Search for Its Identity (March 11, 2008)
When Kazakhstan gained independence in 1991, only 40 percent of the population consisted of ethnic Kazakhs. During communism, Stalin sent millions of people from other parts of the Soviet Union to concentration camps in Kazakhstan. Afterwards, those who survived contributed to a multicultural society in the region. This BBC article argues that Kazakhstan needs nation-building as well as a “unifying identity.” Schools are at the heart of this, spreading the Kazakh language as a means of solving the “national identity crisis.” Simultaneously, people are trying to unite through a common tribal history before Russian Tsars imposed their influence. This, however, jeopardizes the integration of non-Kazakhs in the society, fears historian Nurbulat Masanov.2007
Over 100,000 'Stateless' People Offered Citizenship (September 14, 2007)
The Bangladesh government has granted citizenship to a large part of the Bihari population. The Urdu-speaking Muslim group was once part of India but Bangladeshi law stripped the people of any political rights and isolated the group for siding with Pakistan during the struggle for independence. While the UNHCR put pressure on the Bangladeshi government to treat the Biharis according to refugee conventions, the influential NGO Refugees International campaigned actively for the implementation of a full citizenship. (OneWorld US)The Excluded: The Strange Hidden World of the Stateless (September 2007)
Small island states could disappear in the near future due to climate change, leaving thousands of islanders stateless. As states have never before simply vanished, who should bear the responsibility for the suddenly stateless people? This UNHCR publication reports that 5.8 million people in the world are officially recognized as stateless but that the number is probably closer to 15 million. Some end up stateless because their country has changed in a particular way; decolonized, dissolved etc. Others are victims of ethnic, political or religious discrimination. Though politicians in Thailand, Sri Lanka and Nepal have implemented rights for some former stateless people, much still needs to be done.The Stateless Are "Life's Passengers" (May 15, 2007)
Thousands of Mozambican children live a “stateless existence” in Zimbabwe – the remnants of Mozambique’s 17 year civil war – reports this Integrated Regional Information Networks piece. The author argues that many Mozambican refugees are unable to obtain Zimbabwean citizenship because their identity documents were lost as they fled the war. Ultimately lacking these documents means thousands of people are denied access to social services in Zimbabwe, such as education and healthcare.New Year Bonus for Indonesia's Chinese (March 2, 2007)
This Asia Times piece reports on Indonesia’s new citizenship law, which defines an Indonesian national as anyone born in the country. This represents a victory for Chinese-Indonesians – approximately two percent of the population – who have been considered stateless since a 1967 crackdown on the Chinese population by former Indonesian President Suharto. The author argues that this new law combined with national recognition of Chinese holidays demonstrates the government’s willingness to integrate the Chinese community into Indonesia.Côte d’ Ivoire: Address Root Causes of Conflict to Prevent and Reduce Statelessness (February 15, 2007)
The problem of citizenship in Cote d’Ivoire continues, where millions of inhabitants in the region are discriminated against for lack of so-called “Ivoirite” or “Ivorian ethnicity.” The Ivorian government’s plan to issue new identity documents to the entire population has so far failed due to President Gbagbo’s opposition. Refugees International recommends, amongst other things, that UNHCR seek support from the international community to assist in the statelessness identification and remedy process.Immigrants Open New Path to Europe (February 15, 2007)
This International Herald Tribune article reports that increasing numbers of Asian immigrants are attempting to reach Europe by way of Spain’s Canary Islands. Because many of the immigrants do not bring their passports or visas on the final leg of the journey, thus becoming “stateless,” no country feels obligated to accept them.Managing Globalization: The Global Quest for a Second Passport (February 6, 2007)
Increasing numbers of people are pursuing citizenship in second or third countries, reports this International Herald Tribune article. The author argues that citizenship is no longer about identity, rather people view dual or triple nationalities as a convenience as it enables them to earn a better living or be entitled to a better social welfare system.Australians Debating Immigration and National Identity (January 28, 2007)
The Australian government announced that it is changing the name of its Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship and will make citizenship requirements harder to fulfill. This International Herald Tribune article argues that such assimilative actions are designed to stop immigrants from clinging to “inappropriate” aspects of their cultural heritage that are seen as “incompatible with Australian culture.”Archived Articles
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