Rights, Participation and Social Citizenship

Abstract

The panel focuses on citizens’ activity. Participation in the public sphere and in decision-making is that dimension of citizenship which makes it active, underlining that citizens’ membership in and relationship to a polity is not only a legal status. Currently, the forms of participation are in the process of diversifying, but simultaneously there is a concern of low participation. Citizens’ participation is discussed in the panel in the context of social citizenship, migration, indigenous people as well as disadvantage groups engaging with civil society organisations. Citizenship is seen as political agency, emphasising that citizenship is not only a formal, legal status but is also constructed by acts enacted by both citizens and non-citizens.