Modern Citizenship: Rights, State, and Social Inclusion

Posted on Dec 12, 2024 in Social sciences

Modern Citizenship

Citizenship and State

The current concept of citizenship originates from French, English, and American traditions, and capitalism. To protect individual rights, a new type of political community was gradually instituted: the modern national state.

The modern state took shape alongside the current concept of citizenship.

The term “state” referred to a stable organization, a unified entity with its positions or bureaucracy and its ruler. Jean Bodin, with his concept of sovereignty, established the absolutist state with religious neutrality and absolute power.

Citizens are individuals who hold the nationality of a country, meaning they have a legal status by which they belong to a state. Nationality traits include:

  • Jus soli: The law stipulates that land-born individuals are recognized as citizens.
  • Jus sanguinis: The right of blood gives priority to the nationality of the parents.

Citizenship and Inclusion in the State

There are several ways to understand the relationship between citizens and the state:

  • A liberal approach maintains a separation between civil liberties and political rights. Civil liberties are guaranteed to all inhabitants, while political rights are exercised by citizens who are part of the ethnic-cultural group.
  • The second concept is the republican view defended by Habermas. In the republican tradition, there is no exclusion from political rights for any social group, as no preference is given to the features of any majority. From this perspective, citizenship is linked to democratic procedures.
  • Another conception of state and citizenship emphasizes ethnic and cultural ties. Liberalism and republicanism often present a fragmented concept of the individual and human relationships, as if all human beings were selfish and isolated creatures, needing rules to engage with each other.

Citizenship and Human Rights

1 Civil Rights

Civil rights establish individual rights to curb state abuses and maintain freedom for every citizen. The influence of civil rights spread through various countries and led to several policy changes:

  • The declaration that Indigenous peoples should be treated as free human beings.
  • The Edict of Nantes established rules to end religious wars between Catholics and Protestants.
  • The Body of Liberties was the first U.S. human rights catalog.
  • The Writ of Habeas Corpus established safeguards for detainees against abuse by public officials.
  • The Bill of Rights was the first in a series of legal documents from the English Revolution.
  • The declarations on the rights of British North America during independence and the U.S. self-declaration of independence.
  • The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen from the French Revolution influenced many constitutions.

2 Political Rights

Political rights are generalized statements of rights, including political participation. Key advancements include:

  • Amendments to the U.S. Constitution ratified the abolition of slavery.
  • Most countries’ constitutions have recognized women’s political rights.

3 Social, Economic, and Cultural Rights

These rights include education, association, strike, and other guarantees. Important documents include:

  • The French Constitution protecting workers and state obligations.
  • German Chancellor Bismarck’s social measures, such as health insurance.
  • The Mexican Constitution establishing labor rights and social security benefits.
  • The German Constitution regulating social, economic, and cultural rights.

Social Citizenship

Citizenship is defined as a set of rights and obligations binding individuals to full membership in a society. Social citizenship includes social rights such as employment, education, housing, health, and social benefits. The welfare state has guaranteed these rights in some European countries, recognizing the social citizenship of its members. This was a breakthrough, but not without problems, as the state faces crises and criticisms affecting social provisions. Satisfying these requirements is essential for people to feel like members of a political community (citizens) and achieve a state of justice. Protecting social rights and social citizenship remains essential, not only in individual countries but also in a social Europe.