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.