Active Citizenship Through (Non)Citizen Participation

Abstract

In its attempt to (re)draw the contours of active citizenship, this panel brings together papers that discuss different forms of participation by citizens and non-citizens (in this case resident migrants), from traditional forms of engagement in politics to more ad-hoc ones, including the citizens’ initiative, protest movements and consumerism. The panel merges normative and empirical debates about (non)citizen participation, (re)defines the modes of their political participation and the inclusive/exclusive boundaries of their collective political engagements. The empirically grounded papers draw on examples from a wide range of countries, including protest movements in Turkey and Japan and new forms of active citizenship/structures in local politics in Scotland and Germany. Overall, the panel sheds light on the triggers and the many shades of (non)citizen participation in theory and practice. It challenges our traditional assumptions of active citizenship, including potential scales of effectiveness and impact on democracy, as well as the contexts in which it is likely to emerge.