Dependent Categories of People and their Naturalization to Citizenship: Transformations of the Institution of Citizenship

• In Event: 156 - Section on Global and Transnational Sociology Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 04. Education, Citizenship, and Rights

Abstract

Since its institutionalization, the institution of citizenship has undergone tremendous transformation. Historically, the economically dependent persons (servants and persons of a lower economic class status, and women) were deprived from citizenship rights and did not participate in the public life. In the Middle Ages citizenship was corporate and granted by heritage. With the institutionalization of the nation-state in the 19th century the nationhood and ethnicity also became close mechanisms for citizenship—i.e. citizenship to the nation-state was granted by blood membership to the nation.
However, in the post-World War II era the diffusion of the human rights norms transformed many traditional properties of citizenship. For example, citizenship laws of contemporary states routinely assign simplified naturalization procedure for such “dependent” categories of persons as elders and women, refugees, children, etc. These categories of people rely on the state welfare; and it is not in the economic interests of the nation-state to increase its “dependent” population. Yet, the global trend indicates otherwise.
This paper examines the circumstances and the extent of the diffusion and penetration of human rights scripts into citizenship policies of contemporary states; with particular focus is on naturalization requirements of citizenship for vulnerable groups of the society--women and and elders. As an empirical example, I focus my discussion on citizenship policies of post-Soviet states that emerged in the post-WWII world system when the Soviet Union collapsed in the late 20th century.

Author

• Shushanik Makaryan, Pennsylvania State University