Based on interviews with 21 immigrants in Norway, including both naturalized citizens and 'denizens', this article addresses immigrant meanings of citizenship and naturalization. The findings show ...that the interviewees attributed three meanings to citizenship. First, Norwegian citizenship served as a powerful means of spatial mobility, thereby facilitating transnational connections. Second, citizenship signified a legal stability that may guard precarious immigrants against 'liminal legality', i.e. enduring legal uncertainty. Third, citizenship was conceptualized as a formal recognition of equality and belonging, although 'race' and ethnicity persisted as salient markers of inequality and alienage. The article contributes empirically to the growing literature on the experiencing side of citizenship and naturalization by delineating what citizenship means to different groups, and to whom it matters the most. Theoretically, it contributes by demonstrating that citizenship acquisition may not only be strategic, but also rooted in needs of symbolic sanctioning of equality and belonging, particularly important to individuals debarred from naturalization.
The cross-national investigation of immigrant subjective well-being remains an understudied field, especially with regard to the link between institutional settings and individual outcomes. We ...approach this gap by investigating the role of policies regulating immigrant integration for life satisfaction. Immigrants' status and life chances depend on the inclusiveness of integration policies in forms of rights given to immigrants in the receiving country. These policies differentiate immigrants from natives: exclusionary integration policies understood as social boundaries should result in lower levels of well-being. We also consider an alternative policy type (i.e. multicultural policies) as well as symbolic boundaries (i.e. natives' attitudes towards immigrants). We distinguish between national citizens, EU citizens and third-country nationals (TCNs). Results based on up to five rounds of data from the European Social Survey indicate that in terms of life satisfaction only TCNs profit from inclusive integration policies. Furthermore, while political multiculturalism does not play a role, we find that EU migrants appear more susceptible to the negative impact of natives' anti-immigrant attitudes. Policy-making is more important for TCNs, while a migrant-friendly opinion climate is more important for EU migrants. These findings are robust to controlling for unobserved time-constant country heterogeneity via country fixed effects.
Amid pressure for climate action worldwide, processes of deliberative democracy are being called upon to address public policy complexities, include citizens in decision-making, restore faith in ...public institutions and enhance governance processes. The citizens’ assembly model is lauded internationally for the much-needed structure it provides to support bottom-up governance efforts as well as the potential for effective citizen engagement on complex topics. The Irish Citizens’ Assembly, which took place from 2016 to 2018, is heralded as an example of best practice in design and execution. Yet, there is a dearth in analysis of its form, structure, impact and content, particularly in the climate crisis context. This paper examines one element of the deliberative democracy process that aimed to include a wider breadth of publics beyond the 99 citizens randomly selected to take part: the public submissions invited as part of the Citizens’ Assembly process. In total, 1185 submissions were received on the topic of climate change. Our study undertakes a comprehensive content analysis of these submissions. Specifically, we explore (1) the content and concerns foregrounded within the submissions, (2) the frames and rhetorical strategies employed and (3) the stakeholders and scales called upon for climate action. The study identifies trends, preoccupations and salience within the corpus of written submissions and expands our understanding of citizen perceptions of climate science and policy. We offer both operational lessons for others aiming to enact similar deliberative forums as well as communications lessons for wider efforts to deepen public engagement on the climate crisis.
Dès son incorporation en 1892, Sudbury, établie à la confluence des ruisseaux Nolins et Junction, subit les aléas de la vie au bord de l'eau. En effet, ces petits cours d'eau ne peuvent être ignorés ...par la ville qui croît rapidement. L'étude vise à déterminer les nombreux défis présentés par les ruisseaux au fil des saisons, d'après les plaintes des citoyens et les réponses données par la municipalité. Celles‐ci sont rapportées dans les procès‐verbaux du Conseil municipal et dans le principal quotidien de Sudbury. Les ruisseaux sont rapidement confondus avec les problèmes vécus et leur transformation est initiée dès la fin du XIXe siècle. Toutefois, un dialogue s'établit entre les citoyens et la Ville, dialogue auquel participent les journaux. Il mène à concevoir, à la suite d'essais et d'erreurs, des changements de pratiques qui permettraient d'habiter le bord de l'eau tout en réduisant les nuisances qui lui sont associées. Mais une grave inondation en 1937 mène plutôt à mettre en œuvre un plan d'« amélioration » des ruisseaux. Ceux‐ci, fort dégradés et assimilés à l'infrastructure urbaine, sont transformés radicalement jusqu'à être recouverts au centre‐ville. Disparus du paysage, ils constituent toutefois un legs complexe à la génération suivante.
In recent decades, scientists have been discussing ways of involving the population in social and political processes. Terms such as “civic participation,” “civic control,” “participation in the ...government of the power-poor,” etc. are widely used in scholarly discourse on this subject. The research related to social and political activities is conducted within various thematic areas based on “political participation theory” and “participatory democracy theory,” as well as on “theories of economic and digital inequalities.” According to the vast majority of scientists, increasing digitalization is known to expand the forms of participation and transform the public administration at all levels concerning joint governance and a citizen-centric approach, taking into consideration the opinion and active participation of citizens in the production and execution of policy decisions. This article presents the results of a study that investigated whether modern digital services allow citizens to participate in and influence the social and political processes taking place at various levels of government. In addition, the study demonstrates how modern digital technologies promote the maximum participation of the most socially vulnerable categories of the population, as well as how such factors as the level of digital competence, the level of income of the population, and the level of digitalization of territories limit this participation. In order to assess the modern digital forms and the use of these forms in a citizen’s interaction with the authorities, a survey of 1,200 residents of villages and towns located in the south Tyumen Region was conducted. The ways in which the residents living in the towns and villages of the Tyumen Region were able to express their civic positions were determined and the proportion of citizens using digital technologies was noted. The study also assessed the availability and demand for digital technologies by citizens to express their social and political activities, as well as the primary factors that limit their social and political participation. Moreover, this research showed that age, education, and digital competence and awareness were the main factors influencing a citizen’s propensity to use modern digital technologies for social and political activity. The hypothesis that the demand for digital services by citizens living in remote districts should be higher than that of urban residents was not confirmed. On the contrary, for a wide range of services, the assessments of demand and accessibility are higher among the residents of cities than among the residents of rural municipal districts, with the highest assessments coming from the residents of the regional capital. This fact is associated with a higher level of digital competence among citizens, a higher level of digitalization of the regional capital, as well as a higher level of income, which allows them to more actively master and use all these services. Additionally, this article is addressed to researchers interested in various aspects of social and political participation, as well as to politicians who make decisions regarding the development and implementation of new forms of digital interaction between citizens and the authorities that enable citizens to demonstrate their civic position.
Abstract
Israel’s Arabs are citizens, but they are an ethnic minority and a national minority (Palestinians) in a Jewish-majority state. The decades-long Palestinian–Israeli conflict has erupted in ...recent years in violent outbursts between Arab and Jewish citizens. April–May 2021 saw severe violence against individuals and businesses on both sides and damage to holy sites. In this context, a qualitative study using in-depth interviews was conducted amongst 15 Arab social workers in Israel (mean age 45, mean experience twenty years), to examine their perspective regarding the Palestinian–Israeli conflict, particularly the April–May civil dispute. The findings revealed that the social workers wanted to be involved as leaders. The findings also revealed the bind in which they find themselves, caught between local government and the committee that represents the country’s Arab citizens, between the demands of the community and the demands of the employer and between their personal values and their professional values. The study makes a theoretical contribution by addressing the need to create a safe space in the workplace so that social workers can discuss the conflict and its ramifications for them. The study may also contribute to the training of social workers and providing a safe space for another narrative.
In recent years, the decades-long Palestinian–Israeli conflict has erupted in violence against both sides. The most recent major incidents, in April and May 2021, included physical harm to individuals and damage to holy sites and businesses. Meanwhile, social workers have been required to carry out their routine duties without voicing their views on the conflict. This study of Arab social workers in Israel found that they want to be involved in resolving the conflict instead of being excluded. They believe that they have the necessary skills and that involvement will improve the image of their profession. They say that they represent the sane voice in an insane situation and therefore should be in positions of influence. However, local government in Israel is the main employer of Arab social workers, who are caught between the views and orders of local politicians and their own personal and professional values. Therefore, despite the desire to express their views on the conflict, these social workers hesitate to do so.
This paper contributes to the literature on Procedural Justice Theory (PJT) by exploring its capacity to explain the dynamic interactions between police and citizens within the context of police ...detention. Analysis is based on observation and interviews in police custody suites (i.e. locations where arrested citizens are formally processed and held) within one of the larger metropolitan police forces in the UK. The qualitative thematic analysis highlights how, in order to adequately understand police-detainee interactions, it is critical that PJT properly recognises (a) the importance of context for framing 'procedurally fair' encounters, (b) the central role and consequences of categorisation, and (c) the role of power in shaping police-citizen encounters. The paper concludes by exploring the implications of this research for assumptions regarding the causal ordering often assumed in the PJT literature. Specifically, we suggest that procedural justice is more than merely a mechanistic route to achieving compliance but can also be conceptualised as a 'reward' by the powerful to those already willing to be subordinated and acquiescent.
Abstract
While social protection provision in Africa has primarily focused on the reduction of food insecurity and income poverty, it has the potential to transform the relationship between citizens ...and states. The articles in this special issue provide insights into the theoretical, normative, and empirical assessment of the transformative consequences of social protection programmes across parts of East, West and Southern Africa. The articles reveal that the expansion of social protection has varied effects on how governments, local officials, and citizens view their respective rights and responsibilities. Some case studies suggest the expansion of social protection has strengthened understandings of rights‐based social citizenship and the claims that citizens can make of the state. Others, however, suggest that conservative attitudes and paternalistic practices remain deeply entrenched. The result is that the transformative hopes, widespread within international organisations and donor agencies, are likely to be uneven and slow to materialise in many parts of the continent.
This article looks at the entanglements of income and love in the implementation of family reunification legislation by Finnish immigration bureaucrats and administrative courts, and specifically the ...ways in which the requirements to display a 'real' relationship and the income requirement play out for citizens and non-citizens. This is not as straightforward as it seems - both elements, emotions and income, play a role even in cases in which they are not officially part of the requirements. Citizens and non-citizens can mobilise different arguments when trying to convince the authorities that their relationship is real. Even if citizens have a wider array of arguments they can use, such as leveraging a low income that forces them to live under certain conditions, it seems that their unions are scrutinised more carefully, and they also have more difficulties in obtaining a residence permit. For cases in which both partners are non-citizens, the income requirement overrides questions of emotional attachment even in cases that involve children. The results of this article point to the need for more detailed research on the workings of immigration legislation on the ground, in particular, in regard to citizenship.
The general population can play a pivotal role in future research endeavours, from the inception of research projects through to delivering research impact. Citizen science is the active, ...co-participation of the public in scientific research. Through true collaboration, this article shows how citizen science has the potential to discover new solutions to wicked problems. Climate change, extreme poverty, pandemics, health inequalities, and natural disasters are just a few examples of where citizens may hold the key to driving (partial) solutions for a better world.
PDF
