Citizenship, Nationality and Ethnicity

Most interpretations of ethnicity concentrate either on particular societies or on specific dimensions of 'world society'. This work takes quite a different approach, arguing that variations within and across societies are vital for understanding contemporary dilemmas of ethnicity. The author aims to develop a new analysis of the relation between the nation on the one hand, and ethnicity and citizenship on the other. Oommen conceives of the nation as a product of a fusion of territory and language. He demonstrates that neither religion nor race determines national identities. As territory is seminal for a nation to emerge and exist, the dissociation between people and their 'homeland' makes them an ethnie. Citizenship is conceptualized both as a status to which nationals and ethnies ought to be entitled and a set of obligations, a role they are expected to play. Analyses of three historical episodes - colonialism and European expansion, Communist internationalism and the nation-state and its project of cultural unity - are examined to provide the empirical content of the argument. This book will be essential reading for second-year undergraduates and above in the areas of sociology, anthropology and cultural studies.

Part I: The Conceptual Kit: The Search for Clarity: . 1. Introducing the Argument. 2. Rethinking Citizenship, Nationality and Ethnicity. 3. Avoiding Conflations and Subsumptions. 4. Race and Religion: Untenable Factors in Nation Formation. Part II: The Empirical Process: The Trajectory of Ethnification: . 5. Colonialism and European Expansion. 6. Proletarian Internationalism and the Socialist State. 7. The Nation-State and Project Homogenization. 8. Immigration and the Chauvinism of Prosperity. Part III: Towards a Rapproachment: Concepts and Reality: . 9. Reconceptualizing Nation and Nationality: The Cruciality of Territory and Language. 10. Class, Nation, Ethnie and Race: Interlinkages. 11. Reconciling Nationality and Ethnicity: The Role of Citizenship. Notes. References. Index.