Citizenship in a Globalizing World

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Historical Development of Citizenship

Sanjeev Kumar

Introduction

The notion of citizenship has acquired renewed salience and popularity over the past two decades. Today, citizenship as an issue has become increasingly prominent because the traditional boundaries of the nation-state have been profoundly challenged by global developments that have affected the organization of modern societies. The social division and marginalization brought about by the economic restructuring (neo-liberal policy) of the 1970s and 1980s, and the growth of multiculturalism resulting from global migration and communication flow, have brought in doubt the capacity of the state to satisfy a diverse range of needs and demands for participation. At the level of theory, ...