Engagement with the concept of vulnerability reveals different explanations of the source, nature, and outcome of being political. Some scholars articulate an account of ontological vulnerability (human nature). Others situate this in the structures, institutions and practices of ‘the political’. I use these different accounts to engage with two related, but distinct, discourses within international politics; international citizenship and exile. An examination of immigration, emigration, and practices of expulsion reveal state-based accounts of politics to be at odds with our most basic human needs. Instead of forging relationships sustaining an account of global citizenship and, inter alia, common humanity, the resulting situation is one of exile. Political exile reveals that, rather than embracing vulnerability, dominant practices of citizenship promote vulnerability and limit possibilities of social justice. This paper highlights how one practice (citizenship), engenders isolation and singularity - contributing to a wider sense of vulnerability within international politics.
