Contestations of Citizenship in Times of Global Democratic Backsliding

About

Scholarship has long examined the construction of membership in democratic societies, often associating open and expansive citizenship with democracy, inclusion and pluralism. Far less academic energy has been dedicated to the trajectories of citizenship policies in countries, which have become the site of growing illiberalism and democratic decline. The main aim of the summer course "Contestations of citizenship in times of global democratic backsliding" is to examine if, when and how citizenship regimes are used by authoritarian and illiberal governments as a means of weakening the rights of undesired populations and to include targeted groups to strengthening the legitimacy and the power of the government. In addition to exploring citizenship policies at the time of democratic decline, the course will also investigate the micro-politics of citizenship by looking into how individuals use, respond to, hijack or ignore these policies. Throughout the course, cases from developed countries will be discussed along with cases from the Global South including India, the Middle East and South America.

Course leader

Jelena Dzankic (Global Citizenship Observatory, RSC, European University Institute, Florence, Italy) & Szabolcs Pogonyi (Nationalism Studies, Central European University, Vienna, Austria)

Target group

The course intends to bring together graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, as well as junior faculty, researchers, and policy experts from the fields of political science, international relations, sociology, law, public policy, and political theory. We also accept applications from advanced undergraduate students who have adequate prior study or engagement experience on the subject and make a compelling case in their application/statement of interest.

Fee info