Beyond citizenship? Some conceptual and practical concerns

Contemporary conceptions of citizenship are being pulled in various directions, and the tension produced should be a matter of concern to researchers and educators. On the one hand, citizenship, as a mode of political organization, is seen as important for strengthening and safe-guarding the well-being and rights of ordinary persons, in the context of such threats as terrorism, imperialism, materialism, and “identity-confusion”. On the other hand, the dissolution of national and cultural barriers through globalization leads many to question the relevance of traditional (i.e. nationalistic) citizenship which seeks to affiliate some and divide others, in a world where we – and the problems we all face are all, inevitably, connected. I do not pretend to stand outside this debate. I am inclined toward the latter, “post-nationalist” perspective, but would go further in questioning the viability of “global citizenship” and, hence, whether we – and I am thinking particularly of “we educators” – really need the concept of citizenship at all. Better, I suggest, to go with an even older concept: that of personhood, albeit considered in relational and cosmopolitan, rather than individualistic and parochial, terms. Copyright © 2010 Centre for Governance and Citizenship, The Hong Kong Institute of Education.