Emerging from these studies and trends is
a new conception of citizenship that challenges
its modern variant. Modern citizenship
itself was born of the nation-state in
which certain rights and obligations were
allocated to individuals under its authority.
Modern citizenship rights that draw from
the nation-state typically include civil (free
speech and movement, the rule of law),
political (voting, seeking electoral office)
and social (welfare, unemployment insurance
and health care) rights. The precise
combination and depth of such rights vary
from one state to another but a modern
democratic state is expected to uphold a
combination of citizenship rights and
obligations. That said, however, three points
must be borne in mind to avoid assuming
citizenship rights and obligations as ‘universal’.
First, while within some states civil
rights such as bodily control rights (medical
and sexual control over the body) are guaranteed,
some states deny even basic civil
rights to its citizens, such as rights of access
to courts and counsel. Similarly, while some
states guarantee political rights and go so far
as to franchise prisoners, others deny even
such basic rights as refugee or naturalization
rights. Citizenship obligations vary too,
ranging from states where military service is
required to those states where jury duty and
taxes are the only responsibilities. Second,
while many nation-states have elaborate
rules and criteria for ‘naturalization’, the
granting of citizenship to those not born in
its territory, such rules and criteria are often
contested and debated and vary widely.
Third, even some basic citizenship rights are
remarkably recent. We should remember
that the property qualifications for citizenship
were abolished as recently as, for
example, 1901 in Australia, 1918 in Britain
and 1920 in Canada. Even this should be
interpreted cautiously as citizenship did not include Aboriginals in settler societies.
Similarly, the franchise was extended to
women as recently as 1902 in Australia,
1918 in Canada, and 1920 in the United
States, while British women over the age of
21 have been able to vote only since 1928
and French women since 1944.