While a significant amount of attention has been paid in scholarly work to the modes of acquisition of citizenship at birth, either through territorial attachments (ius soli) or descent (ius ...sanguinis), far less consideration has been given to the acquisition of citizenship after birth (ius nexi). Even if the notion of ius nexi encapsulates a variety of modes for the acquisition of citizenship through connection to the host state, the one that has recently gained salience in the context of the preferential naturalisation of investors is that of ius pecuniae – i.e. citizenship acquisition driven by money. Although setting a price tag on membership in a community is intuitively disquieting, there has hitherto been little discussion as to why this might be the case. The primary goal of this article is to set out three sets of criteria against which the different mechanisms of preferential naturalisation of investors can be evaluated.
Deploying a critique of the notion of ‘genuine ties’, we first examine whether the economic utility of the investment to the state can suffice to override some or all other criteria for naturalisation. Then, we look at the preferential treatment of investors in the context of merit-based naturalisation. Finally, we examine how the investment-based ius pecuniae affects the relationship between the members of the polity and naturalised investors and between naturalised investors and other applicants subject to ordinary naturalisation. The analysis suggests that, even though all these criteria have pitfalls, the principle that citizenship should instantiate a claim of equality best explains why we are uncomfortable with the idea ofselling citizenship.
This article uses the lenses of citizenship to examine the uneven distribution of voting rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). While recognizing the significance of power-sharing in BiH, the ...article argues that the key obstacle to modifying the politics of inclusion and exclusion through citizenship and the franchise is the static nature of political competition in the country. The intimate relationship between political parties and their ethno-centric agendas on the one hand, and the multi-tiered governance structure on the other, prevents the possibility of reaching an agreement on constitutional reform as it would disrupt the current power balances that favour ethnic elites.
This paper maintains that although the citizenship regime of Montenegro was generated amidst domestic political competition, it has also been significantly affected by regional and international ...political forces. Applying Bellamy's (Bellamy, R.,
2004.
Introduction: the making of modern citizenship. In: R. Bellamy, D. Castiglione and E. Santoro, eds. Lineages of European citizenship: rights, belonging and participation in eleven nation-states. London: Palgrave, 1-21) concept of the lineages of citizenship to the case of Montenegro, this study explains how citizenship polices were used to manage the fragile political milieu within this weak and unconsolidated post-Yugoslav state. Further explanations for the restrictiveness of Montenegro's citizenship regime are based on the legacies of the different Yugoslav 'citizenship constellations'. Yet as a consequence of the country's aspirations to join the European Union, the rigid citizenship regime of Montenegro remains permeable to international norms and influence. However, this ostensible normative elasticity does not make Montenegrin citizenship more liberal, as barriers for naturalisation remain high.
The two decades of Montenegro's transition that followed the disintegration of Yugoslavia were marked by the transformation of the ambitions of the ruling political elites, which pushed the republic ...that once sought to be a member in a federal state towards independence. The shift in the agendas of the political elites also changed the meaning of the notions of “Montenegrin” and “Serb”. Hence, this paper looks at the cleavages that emerged during Montenegro's divide over statehood and identity. It asserts that elite competition in unconsolidated states prompts the emergence of ethno-cultural cleavages, which are necessary for establishing the identities of political elites and of their followers. The study first identifies the critical junctures for the emergence of functional and structural cleavages in Montenegro and associates these cleavages with the changing political context. It proceeds with an analysis of ethno-cultural cleavages, arguing that these emerged from the politicization of historical narratives. The study concludes by arguing that different types of cleavages supported the division over statehood and identity, and that as a result of the changes in identity in Montenegro, the political reinforcement of overlapping cleavages was essential in order to cement the ethno-cultural identities of the two camps.
This research analyses the effect of Europeanisation on sovereignty in the post-Yugoslav states by examining the evolution of the different states' policies related to extradition of their own ...nationals. Extradition is an important aspect of these countries' political transformation, because the rule of law and regional co-operation are enshrined in the set of conditions these countries have to meet to enter the European Union. The research thus looks at how the different post-Yugoslav states approach the extradition of their own nationals, and whether they have altered them in view of the requirements of the accession process. By doing so, this paper looks at the dynamics between the duty of the state to protect its citizens and the transformative power of Europeanisation in the Western Balkans.
Although there has been significant change in the content of the category of "Montenegrin" identity, the policies adopted by the government of Montenegro within its nation-building project have been ...only partly successful. This study examines popular support for the policies that have helped to reconstruct Montenegrin identity in the decades following the disintegration of socialist Yugoslavia. The specific focus here is on the symbolic reconstruction of identity parameters in Montenegro after the split of the ruling party in 1997 and the start of political divisions in this tiny Balkan state. Relying on original quantitative and qualitative data, the analysis associates the divide related to the question of statehood with perceptions of identity and shows how the content of "Montenegrin" identity changed as a result of people's support for or opposition to independence.
In Montenegro, the ruling Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), the legal successor to the Montenegrin branch of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia, has uninterruptedly remained in power since ...the break-up of Yugoslavia. By looking at citizenship policies in Montenegro since the disintegration of Yugoslavia as an 'image of the nation' and an 'image of politics', this paper maintains that citizenship legislation has been one of the key mechanisms that has enabled the perpetuation of DPS rule. By embedding the 'image of the nation' in citizenship legislation, the ruling Montenegrin elite reinforced their political agenda. By entrenching the 'image of politics' in citizenship laws, they managed to produce conditions favouring their electoral victories, thus enabling the party's institutional dominance.
A Neglected Right Zatagić, Senada; Keil, Soeren; Dzankic, Jelena
2022, 20220505, Volume:
6
eBook
The right to be elected, although an important political right guaranteed in human rights documents on international and regional levels, is still an under-researched and undertheorized concept with ...many synonyms in use. While the right to vote is often correlated with democracy, the closely related right to be elected is often neglected, and the constitutions of most countries are silent about it.
The 2009 European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) decision in the case of Sejdić and Finci v. Bosnia and Herzegovina started the discussions concerning the discrimination in enjoyment of the right to be elected in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Although the right to be elected is not explicitly guaranteed in the Dayton Constitution but only in the Law on Election, the ECtHR considered equal enjoyment of this right by everyone in Bosnia and Herzegovina of high importance and declared the relevant Dayton Constitution’s provisions discriminatory.
The book explains the conceptual relevance of the right to be elected, its interrelatedness with the right to vote and both these rights’ significance for democratic systems. Through analyzing and explaining the regional human rights tribunal’s decisions concerning the right to be elected, the importance of this political right is elucidated.
Britain does not have a written constitution. It has rather, over centuries, developed a set of miscellaneous conventions, rules, and norms that govern political behavior. By contrast, Bosnia’s ...constitution was written, quite literally, overnight in a military hanger in Dayton, USA, to conclude a devastating war. By most standards it does not work and is seen to have merely frozen a conflict and all development with it. What might these seemingly unrelated countries be able to teach each other? Britain, racked by recent crises from Brexit to national separatism, may be able to avert long-term political conflict by understanding the pitfalls of writing rigid constitutional rules without popular participation or the cultivation of good political culture. Bosnia, in turn, may be able to thaw its frozen conflict by subjecting parts of its written constitution to amendment, with civic involvement, on a fixed and regular basis; a ’revolving constitution’ to replicate some of that flexibility inherent in the British system. A book not just about Bosnia and Britain; a standard may be set for other plural, multi-ethnic polities to follow.
This compilation of essays by scholars from the region, Western Europe, and the US, explores the intersection of international politics in the post-Yugoslav states with a focus on the influence and ...impact of the European Union, the United States, Russia, China, and Turkey. The implications of external actors’ policy in the region for its Euro-Atlantic integration, its security, and stability are examined and discussed. In assessing the importance of the post-Yugoslav states for the EU and US and the current trend of disengagement by these two democratic actors in the region, answers are revealed regarding the question whether we are seeing a new Eastern Question emerging in the post-Yugoslav states. Likewise, when looking at the role of Russia, China, and Turkey in the region—and in contrast to European and US policies—, it becomes obvious to what extent the region, once again, is becoming the playground of Great Power games and wider geopolitical strategic interests.
The analytical time frame covers the period 1991–2018. The changes in the foreign policies of great powers are explored as they relate to the institutional set-up of the region. For instance, do the changes affect the EU’s hegemony in the region? Do Russia, China, and Turkey actively contribute to changing the rules of the game in the region—be it the accession process or regional cooperation?
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