A person who has the right to live in a state and which, in many states, also confers rights such as voting and access to welfare. A citizen can be born in a country or acquire citizenship through naturalisation. Various states have different definitions of what constitutes citizenship. Citizenship is sometimes understood as a relationship with ‘the nation’ and can be viewed as a sense of loyalty and belonging. It can also be seen as a form of social relations of reciprocity and responsibility.
The word ‘citizen’ is derived from the Latin ‘citizens’, meaning ‘free men’. It has a long history and is used in many languages, including English. It was originally used to denote the people of a city and later a country. A citizen is someone who obeys the law.
Generally speaking, citizens are required to pay taxes and abide by laws. They are usually rewarded with certain privileges, such as freedom of speech or religion. Those who commit crimes, such as murder, are usually punished by the law, and their citizens can file a lawsuit against them. Citizens are usually represented by lawyers or jurists when a legal case is brought to court.
In the broadest sense, a citizen is a person who identifies with a particular community and shares its values and culture. It is an important concept, particularly in a democratic society, and it shapes politics, economics, history and society in many ways. The law itself, as a way of managing power, is often influenced by ideas of citizenship and the need to encourage ‘good citizens’.
For example, a constitution may include a declaration of rights for its citizens and these are often written as a statement of what it is right to do. The law is often interpreted as an expression of the social wants and needs of a society, and this is why Roscoe Pound said that law is the servant of society.
In practice, citizenship can be a complicated issue. For example, migrants moving to the UK from the EU may need to be’settled’ before they can apply for citizenship. In the UK the changes began in 2001 with the Cantle report which identified ‘the importance of promoting a meaningful concept of citizenship’ and suggested that there should be language tests and oaths of allegiance as part of the process of becoming a citizen (Home Office 2001a).
In 2009, legislation broke the link between settlement and citizenship, and introduced a new status of ‘probationary citizenship’ which could last 1-5 years. This allows migrant families to stay in the UK but does not give access to most benefits or entitlements. It is hoped that this will make people less likely to choose settlement or citizenship. However, this approach has also exacerbated axes of inequality and, as a result, is seen by some as instrumentalising the concept of citizenship. This runs counter to the original policy intention of raising its status and making it more than a tick box bureaucratic exercise.