From Ascriptive to Participatory Citizenship: Social Conflict, Political Belonging, and the Liberal Nation-State

Abstract

Recent decades have witnessed waves of populism, diverse civil conflicts as well as political, economic, demographic, and environmental disruptions. While both scholars and the general public often talk about the 'crisis of citizenship', we chart several important elements of this 'crisis' and explain why they can be viewed as an important and, perhaps, promising transformation. In view of this transformation, the current understanding of citizenship should be decoupled from the normative ideals which associate it with the liberal nation-state, reconsidered to include conflict as its constitutive dimension, expanded by incorporating a diverse array of forms and ways of participation in community life and interactions with the environment, and grounded in a realistic understanding of political psychology.