Citizenship's Third Revolution

Session Submission Type: Author meet critics

Session Description

This author-meets-critics session explores Manlio Cinalli and David Jacobson's new book Citizenship's Third Revolution. From the abstract: A paradox underlies this book. Curiously, the import of citizenship since its introduction some 4,000 years ago in the Ancient Near East is only partly grasped. Ever since, citizenship has always been circumscribed by ascribed markers of status—such as slavery in Greece and Rome, the exclusion of women from civic life across millennia, and discrimination against religious and racial minorities in nation-states. Understanding this paradox, of the introduction of the revolutionary idea of humankind to shape its own destiny, yet unable to shed the harness of “primordialism” is key. The book seeks, first, to reveal the underlying “grammar,” the principles, of citizenship. Why does citizenship emerge, historically, and why does it maintain traction, even if in compromised forms? Second, the book asks how we can we move forward to revive citizenship and democracy. Historically, the book considers three revolutionary periods for citizenship, from the ancient and classical worlds; to the flourishing of guilds and city republics from 1,000 CE; and to the “unfinished revolution” of human rights from the post-World War II period. Building on emerging social developments, the book proposes a path forward toward repairing democracy, including laying open the foundations for a “21st century guild.”

Sub Unit

• Division 52: Migration & Citizenship

Chair

• Willem Maas York University

Presenters

• Erin Aeran Chung Johns Hopkins University

• Noora Anwar Lori Boston University

• Ayelet Shachar Toronto; UC Berkeley; Normative Orders, Frankfurt

• John Torpey CUNY Graduate Center

• David Jacobson University of South Florida