Citizenship Debates: Normative, Empirical and Policy Reflections on Contemporary Developments

Regional conflicts, economic and social crises have made citizenship one of the major political focal points for contemporary debates. This is heightened in the struggles over the rights and responsibilities concerning refugees and asylum seekers today. In the overwhelming exodus of people from the global south to north, the European Union as well as other states have been forced to re-address common policies of citizenship, rules of peoples movement, and the social, economic and political rights and responsibilities claimed by and offered to ‘non-citizens’. Such encounters and the thousands of deaths at the EU’s borders challenge claims of European humanitarianism and the persistent logics of both national and European citizenship. Although dominating the headlines, questions about the effects of forced migration on the politics of inclusion/exclusion and contemporary acts of citizenship (Isin, 2008) are not only relevant in the European context. Similar debates are taking place across the globe – in the north and south Americas, as well as South- and East Asia. As a result of these developments, citizenship continues to increase its importance, one that is imbricated in the everyday life of people. on the move but the turbulent changes affects Against this backdrop, ECPR SG on Citizenship calls for Panel proposals, which seek to address contemporary debates on citizenship. We are interested in Panels, which speak to the various aspects of citizenship today (civil, political, social, legal, cultural, transnational, and so on) and explore how, following Isin’s (2008) definition, different acts of citizenship have manifested across time, multiple sites and encounters. We welcome proposals with a wide range of approaches to citizenship, including normative, empirical and policy reflections. We also welcome Panels on diversification and integration, and those addressing recent developments in public policy (including education, welfare and so on). The overall objective of this Section is to provide an overview of citizenship debates. Panel – suggestions (proposals to be resubmitted along with other Panels by 15th February) Panel 1: “Beyond Citizenship Lessons in School: Inquiries in formal, non-formal and informal Settings.” Citizenship is constituted in various sites of learning in and outside of schools. Theses settings provide different values, personal attitudes and behaviours to become "a good citizen". The Panel focus on the link of non-formal or informal learning of citizenship and formal education; in particular the presenters discuss in how far learning about and through political and moral conflicts outside classrooms differ to formal instruction, thus the Panel spotlights the limits or hindrances of formal teaching. Panel 2: "Urban Citizenship and Participation: The Problem of Inclusion in “Hybrid” Participatory Budgeting (PB)." First, the Panel aims to explore the conditions and the extent to which PB practices can become drivers of inclusive urban citizenship. Second, it will engage with opportunities and challenges introduced by the role of technology and the internet as potential avenues of civic participation. The Panel welcomes Paper addressing these topics. Panel 3: Citizenship and Political Identity in Changeable Times The ambition originates from fundamental challenges for approaches to identity and identity-formation, as well as to problems related to the general use of the concept in most political science litterature. There are several reasons for such a focus, both related to the salience of political identities in political affairs, how identities function in ordinary people’s lives, and also related to new types of political participation, social movements and young people searching for political identities. Panel 4: Conceptualizing Citizenship This Panel takes a conceptual approach to citizenship. The focus is on the meanings and political uses of the concept of citizenship and conceptual struggles related to it. From this perspective, we welcome papers which investigate how citizenship is theorized, debated or practiced. Panel 5: Religious Convictions and Citizenship today The Panel wishes to address questions such as: - (new) religious claims and conscientious objection in the democratic State ; - how do policy makers answer to religious claims and which conception of common good they have ; - religious freedom and neutrality in the democratic State National, comparative and theroretical studies are welcomed. Panel 6: EU Citizenship Futures The CJEU asserts that “Union citizenship is destined to be the fundamental status of nationals of the Member States.” Yet perceptions of EU citizens "abusing" their rights to free movement within Europe lead to calls to restrict rights of EU citizenship and free movement, and the refugee crisis places in question the Schengen system of no internal border controls within the common European space. Given such developments, what are the future prospects of European Union citizenship? This Panel welcomes Paper proposals that address empirical, analytical, interpretive, normative and/or comparative views on EU citizenship's future. Panel 7: Beyond Citizenship by Descent: Rethinking Admission to Citizenship The Panel seeks to examine normative justifications for jus sanguinis citizenship and to explore alternative principles of admission that take into account membership challenges generated by international movement (e.g. the inclusion of children of immigrants) and intergenerational change (e.g. citizenship issues in the context of reproductive technologies). Panel 8: Meanings of Dual Citizenship: Policies, Perceptions and Practices Our Panel invites Papers dealing with different forms of how dual citizenship is articulated. How are the meanings negotiated, elaborated in discursive processes, and the meanings constructed in policy documents and in regulatory practices