Citizenship: New Trends and Developments

Chair of section: Professor Trond Solhaug (Programme for Teacher Education, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Norway. Personal: professor in teaching social studies and pedagogy; PhD on education for democratic citizenship; MA in political science; research interests: political participation, citizenship, political rationalities, and political diversity and integration; General Secretary IPSA RC 21 Political Socialization and Education 2006–2012 (for further details see: http://www.ntnu.no/ansatte/tronso and http://ecprcitizenship.wordpress.com/). Co-chair: Bernard Fournier (Visiting Researcher at Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Visitng Professor at Haute École de la Province de Liège (bernardfournier.wordpress.com and http://ecprcitizenship.wordpress.com). Section abstract Major social processes such as globalization and postmodernization inspired the development of citizenship studies as a de facto research field in the humanities and the social sciences during the 1990s. Since the, citizenship has become a major theme that connects various public policy domains from welfare, participation, and education to international relations and migration, as well as political sociology issues. In this intersection, three fundamental perspectives are in focus. First, how the boundaries of membership in the polity and between polities are defined – the extent of citizenship. Second, how the benefits and burdens of membership should be allocated – the content of citizenship. Third, and lastly, how the ‘thickness’ of identities of members should be comprehended and accommodated – the depth of citizenship. Both the major global processes mentioned above and the current financial, social, and political changes and/or crises in most Western countries make the study of citizenship developments important and at the core of democratic developments. Accordingly, the convenor of this section invites studies in this field, particularly studies of citizens’ participation and/or practices, identity, membership inclusion and exclusion processes in political communities, naturalization processes, development of rights and responsibilities and/or civic obligations, and age issues related to citizenship. Studies of public politics in nation states, migration, participation, and rights and identities at national and international levels are also welcome. Special attention is given to education related to citizenship, which has been a major concern in several countries in recent decades. Schools are arenas where citizenship is taught as well as practised, both formally and informally. Dynamic students’ encounters with different opinions, identities, colours, and cultures turn school into melting pots for social and political development and change beyond formal education. Formal citizenship education addresses knowledge and practices that touch upon most dimensions of citizenship. Direct participation in a more democratized school system reveals another dimension to the education to citizenship. Citizenship education research may be regarded as the study of political attempts to give developments of democracy a particular direction. We therefore welcome all studies in citizenship education, particularly those addressing the development of new civic practices.