European citizenship, identity and immigration are constitutive issues facing the European polity and have important consequences for domestic political systems. Blends normative political theory with European integration and develops an original theoretical framework for European Union citizenship, identity and immigration as well as a set of policy proposals for institutional reform. Challenges the conventionally held views in these areas, by arguing that a model of European citizenship and identity is vital to the construction of a democratic, heterogeneous and inclusive European polity. Crosses the boundaries of political science, law and philosophy.

Throughout Europe longstanding ideas of what it means to be a citizen are being challenged. The sense of belonging to a nation has never been more in flux. Simultaneously, nationalistic and racist movements are gaining ground and barriers are being erected against immigration. This volume examines how concepts of citizenship have evolved in different countries and varying contexts. It explores the interconnection between ideas of the nation, modes of citizenship and the treatment of migrants. Adopting a multi-disciplinary and international approach, this collection brings together experts from several fields including political studies, history, law and sociology. By juxtaposing four European countries - Britain, France, Germany and Italy - and setting current trends against a historical background, it highlights important differences and exposes similarities in the urgent questions surrounding citizenship and the treatment of minorities in Europe today.

On a few paradigms

From international press coverage of the French government’s attempt to prevent Muslims from wearing headscarves to terrorist attacks in Madrid and the United States, questions of cultural identity and pluralism are at the center of the world’s most urgent events and debates. Presenting an unprecedented wealth of empirical research garnered during ten years of a cross-cultural project, Contested Citizenship addresses these fundamental issues by comparing collective actions by migrants, xenophobes, and antiracists in Germany, Britain, France, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. Revealing striking cross-national differences in how immigration and diversity are contended by different national governments, these authors find that how citizenship is constructed is the key variable defining the experience of Europe’s immigrant populations. Contested Citizenship provides nuanced policy recommendations and challenges the truism that multiculturalism is always good for immigrants. Even in an age of European integration and globalization, the state remains a critical actor in determining what points of view are sensible and realistic—and legitimate—in society. Ruud Koopmans is professor of sociology at Free University, Amsterdam. Paul Statham is reader in political communications at the University of Leeds. Marco Giugni is a researcher and teacher of political science at the University of Geneva. Florence Passy is assistant professor of political science at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland.

Published in 1999. Issues of citizenship and identity have rapidly moved up the European and social science agendas in recent years. This book explores the reason for this. It focuses on the dilemmas of citizenship and identify in the uncertain and unpredictable atmosphere of fin de siècle Europe. In the course of eight essays, it explores the general theoretical issues of citizenship and identity – and the relationship between these – in contemporary Europe; the various aspects of European Union citizenship (two chapters); democracy and multiculturalism in Western Europe; pluralism and citizenship, with particular reference to gender in West European politics; the various implications for gender politics of divorce in Western Europe; exclusion and inclusion in central and Eastern Europe; and the extent to which the idea of a Yugoslav national identity has been a failure. Citizenship and Identity in Europe will appeal both to informed generalists and to students and scholars of Europe who seek analyses of these issues in Eastern, central and Western Europe from a wide range of perspectives. At a time when the future of Europe is looking more uncertain than it has for decades, this book is both timely and thought-provoking.

Based on the author's thesis (doctoral)--European University Institute, 2006.

Immigration is continuously and rapidly changing the face of Western countries. While newcomers are harbingers of change, host nations also participate in how new populations are incorporated into their social and political fabric. Bringing together a transcontinental group of anthropologists, this book provides an in-depth look at the current processes of immigration, political behavior, and citizenship in both the United States and Europe. Essays draw on issues of race, national identity, religion, and more, while addressing questions, including: How should citizenship be defined? In what ways do immigrants use the political process to achieve group aims? And, how do adults and youth learn to become active participants in the public sphere? Among numerous case studies, examples include instances of racialized citizenship in “Algerian France,” Ireland’s new citizenship laws in response to asylum-seeking mothers, the role of Evangelical Christianity in creating a space for the construction of an identity that transcends state borders, and the Internet as one of the new public spheres for the expression of citizenship, be it local, national, or global.