The challenging effects of globalization upon the nation-state have been a recurrent theme in the social science discourse since the 1990’s. Nationally organized education is also seen as challenged by demands originating from globalization. It is argued that ‘nation-state’ and ‘national identity’ are highly relevant concepts when discussing a citizenship education that seeks to develop a civic ethos with, potentially, a global reach. Further, the understanding of such an ethos would benefit from incorporating the role of political trust since trust is identified as a main feature of the social capital that makes democracy work. Three themes are brought together: national identity and identification, the importance for democracy of political trust and the challenges citizenship education face when carried out in a national context but intended to manage issues that go beyond the nation-state. The importance of citizenship education is discussed using recent research on the Swedish classroom.
