ABSTRACT
Looking for alternatives for the future, we need a historical perspective. Citizenship in its modern form is a young institution, and young is also that connection between formal citizenship and political rights, which today often is considered to be so close that the two are seen as more or less identical. How old is the legislation converning acquisition and loss of formal citizenship? What are the traditions and definitions in different countries, and how have they changed over time? And how has the relationship between formal and substantial citizenship, and especially political rights, developed since 1789?
