Citizenship, Equality and Naturalization In a Comparative Perspective

The prevalent literature on citizenship and naturalization seems to assume that, once a person becomes naturalized, she/he will enjoy an equal status vis-à-vis all other fellow citizens. This should be the case, both theoretically and normatively, as one of the foundational stones of any democratic system is the fundamental equality of all members of the polity. In this vein, any attempt to introduce a differentiated treatment in citizen’s rights, explicitly on grounds of the mode of citizenship acquisition (by birth vs. by naturalization) seems to be both normatively illegitimate and theoretically challenging. However, in the practice of many countries we can detect a system of ‘hierarchies of citizenship’, structured precisely according to the mode of citizenship acquisition. In it, naturalized citizens (as well as dual nationals and other categories) are in a subordinated position vis-à-vis citizens-by-birth. This is most evident regarding the political rights of naturalized citizens. In some cases, they are barred from holding the highest political posts within the polity (e.g. President or Prime Minister in USA, Finland, Portugal…) and/or from selected posts in the military or intelligence/security services (e.g. Israel). However, in other cases like in some Latin American countries, the restrictions against naturalized citizens are far more extensive. Therefore they are excluded from most state/governmental posts, and also from specific areas of the private realm (e.g. only Mexicans by birth can be either officers or crew of Mexican commercial ships or airplanes) and even of the academic sector: many directive posts in public universities are also reserved to citizens by birth only. A final area of differentiation is regarding citizenship per se, because currently many states accept dual citizenship, but some apply this privilege to their citizens by birth only while naturalized ones are explicitly forbidden of becoming dual nationals. My paper, which will be based in my comparative research on the rights of naturalized citizens vis-à-vis citizens by birth in six countries (Germany, United Kingdom, Mexico, Argentina, United States, Canada), will engage in a theoretical / conceptual debate about how such differentiation between citizens can be explained as the product of ingrained ideological/nationalist considerations, which still link the membership in a given State with the belonging to a certain ethnic/national community - and therefore, influence the laws and policies regarding who should be ‘trusted’ with full rights. I will also look for other considerations, such as state security, as well as the influence of internal or international legal traditions. Finally, it will discuss if the existence of such ‘hierarchies of citizenship’ can be reconciled (or not) with the basic equality on which citizenship itself is based on.