Citizenship
in sentence
366 examples of Citizenship in a sentence
But without an alternative to the nation-state as the basis of citizenship, the legitimacy and effectiveness of EU institutions have come under growing strain.
An alternative must therefore be found to a definition of
citizenship
that regards these institutions as merely some sort of formalized representation of member states' common political will.
What should an alternative conception of European
citizenship
look like?
But a conception of
citizenship
that is basic and minimal is essential where a Pole and a Swede may fall in love while studying in Spain, begin their careers in Germany, and settle down to raise a family in Italy.
Common
citizenship
does not require a common form of life, common existential values or a common historical past.
Indeed, this is the only democraticand stable definition of European citizenship, because it alone is capable of eliciting the consent and allegiance of every individual.
Obviously, you will not choose rules that define
citizenship
in terms of a particular cultural identity.
On the contrary, you will seek to hedge your bets by ensuring that
citizenship
is constituted by individual rights of participation in collective projects, backed up by a legal system that guarantees these rights.
Citizenship
in this sense views political sovereignty and legitimacy as features of institutions that foster voluntary social cooperation by embodying rules of interaction that are viewed as fair and efficient from the perspective of everyone.
European
citizenship
understood in this way is compatible with a multitude of collective identities ranging from family or friendship groups to professional associations and corporations, regionally defined communities, and shared cultural, political and religious affinities.
In fact, a well-developed conception of democratic
citizenship
will always emphasize individual rights.
Citizenship
is not constituted by groups, but by individuals interacting as citizens with specific interests and goals.
Geert Wilders’ Freedom Party wants to ban the Koran, halt Muslim immigration, and deprive delinquents with an immigrant background of Dutch
citizenship.
French intellectuals, never shy of public posturing, are campaigning to give her French
citizenship.
When a well-educated, skilled foreigner emigrates to the US, he or she can hope to obtain
citizenship
relatively soon.
The Fund must also do more to enhance its presence on the Web and in school and university classrooms, especially as students are often the most receptive to ideas about global
citizenship.
But May’s habit of stripping away people’s rights and powers is not new: for years, she has been normalizing the practice of stripping certain Britons of their
citizenship
altogether, even at the risk of rendering them stateless “citizens of nowhere.”
This is a credible threat: May herself has pioneered the practice of revoking individuals’ citizenship, usually in the name of national security, but sometimes as a form of symbolic punishment.
Depriving people of their
citizenship
is immoral – and ineffective.
During the twentieth century, totalitarian states set records in denationalization: 1.5 million people in the Soviet Union alone were stripped of their
citizenship.
Officially, these laws were meant to prevent people from acquiring
citizenship
through fraud; in reality, they were also used to enforce loyalty to the state.
As Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black explained in 1967, “In our country, the people are sovereign and the Government cannot sever its relationship to the people by taking away their citizenship.”
Today, the UK has an extremely low bar for revoking
citizenship.
And since 2014, the Home Secretary has been able to denaturalize British citizens even if doing so immediately renders them stateless, as long as there are “reasonable grounds” for believing that the person could possibly acquire
citizenship
elsewhere.
When May was Home Secretary between 2010 and 2016, she usually stripped Britons’
citizenship
while they were out of the country, leaving them with no way to challenge the grounds of the decision.
Any signatory to international conventions against statelessness should technically limit denationalization to those with dual citizenship; and yet if it does that, it will be acting discriminatorily.
Denationalization undermines the concept of
citizenship
generally, by framing it as a privilege that can be revoked without due process, rather than as a basic “right to have rights.”
And, although US President Donald Trump has demanded “consequences – perhaps loss of
citizenship
or year in jail!” for those who burn the American flag, it is unlikely that he will get his way.
To be taken seriously, we have to put our money where our mouths are, by accepting international duties and responsibilities – like helping to stop atrocity crimes in faraway places – that are consistent with our claims to good international
citizenship
but serve no immediate traditional national security or economic interest.
The EU must also reconcile differences among its members about whether its responsibility includes permanent residence or
citizenship
for some or all of the refugees.
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