Modern political theories about citizenship
– liberalism, communitarianism, and
republicanism – have grown out of these trajectories
and roughly correspond to these
three types of states. Liberalism puts a
strong emphasis on the individual, and most
rights involve liberties that adhere to each
and every person. Concomitantly, communitarianism
emphasizes the community (or the society or the nation), whose primary
concern is with the cohesive and just
functioning of society. Republican theories
in both their conservative and radical
variants put emphasis on both individual
and group rights and emphasize the role of
conflict and contest in the expansion or construction
of such rights. Not all theories or
theorists, however, neatly fit into these
types. At any rate, in many democracies in
the postwar era the debate and struggles
over citizenship rights and obligations have
been waged over either the expansion or the
protection of rights. Most prominent have
been the expansion of civil rights such as
medical and sexual control over the body;
political rights such as rights to naturalize,
to aboriginal self-government or social
movement or protest rights; and social rights
such as old age pensions, unemployment
insurance, health and education, job placement
programs, affirmative action for
minorities, collective bargaining, and wage
earner and union investment funds. The protection
of civil rights such as the rights of
aliens to immigrate, political rights such as
minority rights to equal and fair treatment,
and social rights such as welfare or participation
rights such as job security and workers’
compensation have occupied governmental
agendas. These debates and struggles have
been mostly waged via the nation-state as
both the source and appeal of authority.