Ebook: Citizenship in Question: Evidentiary Birthright and Statelessness

Citizenship is often assumed to be a clear-cut issue—either one has it or one does not. However, as the contributors to Citizenship in Question demonstrate, citizenship is not self-evident; it emerges from often obscure written records and is interpreted through ambiguous and dynamic laws. In case studies that analyze the legal barriers to citizenship rights in over twenty countries, the contributors explore how states use evidentiary requirements to create and police citizenship, often based on fictions of racial, ethnic, class, and religious differences. Whether examining the United States’ deportation of its own citizens, the selective use of DNA tests and secret results in Thailand, or laws that have stripped entire populations of citizenship, the contributors emphasize the political, psychological, and personal impact of citizenship policies. Citizenship in Question incites scholars to revisit long-standing political theories and debates about nationality, free movement, and immigration premised on the assumption of clear demarcations between citizens and noncitizens.

Contributors. Alfred Babo, Jacqueline Bhabha, Jacqueline Field, Amanda Flaim, Sara L. Friedman, Daniel Kanstroom, Benjamin N. Lawrance, Beatrice McKenzie, Polly J. Price, Rachel E. Rosenbloom, Kim Rubenstein, Kamal Sadiq, Jacqueline Stevens, Margaret D. Stock

Reviews:
"This is one of those books that you wish you could get everyone to read. ... For classes that focus on questions of global migration, political belonging and exclusion, and the powers of the State, this book is a useful resource. Rich in historical facts that help explain how we have reached a point where citizenship often overshadows humanity, Citizenship in Question will be a valuable addition for a required reading list or a personal library. Essential."
— M. Lecea, Choice

"[A] remarkable contribution that both adds to scholarship on citizenship and challenges some of the inherent assumptions that underpin citizenship studies. ... This sophisticated and wide-ranging volume is essential reading for not only those interested in citizenship, bureaucracy and the state, but also for a wider, non-academic audience." — Kalathmika Natarajan, London School of Economics Review of Books

“The case studies in this volume present a significant human rights challenge. . . . Citizenship allocations may seem as neatly drawn as lines on the map of the world. As this volume demonstrates, there are many contexts in which they are hardly that.” — Peter J. Spiro, Perspectives on Politics