Being a Citizen

In Chapter 4, we examined the contested and rapidly changing rules of access to citizenship in western countries, but there is no clear cut-off between the process of becoming a citizen and the condition of being a citizen. Nor is there an absolute distinction between being and not being a citizen. Like so many other divisions in the contemporary world, these are blurred boundaries. The construction of in-between categories, like denizens and margizens, is a reflection of the real ambiguity of citizenship status. Citizenship is not an either/or situation. This applies to all citizens because of the discontinuities and fluidity of different aspects of citizenship. It applies even more strongly to immigrants and other minorities as a result of their exclusion from certain rights or their precarious legal status. In this chapter, we will examine the different sets of rights that make up the substance of modern citizenship, and examine the links between them. We will discuss the extent to which marginalized groups – especially immigrants, indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities – possess these rights, not only in formal terms, but also in practice.¹