Transnational citizenship
Encyclopedia
Transnational citizenship redefines traditional notions of citizenship
and replaces an individual's singular national loyalties with the ability to belong to multiple nation states, as made visible in the political, cultural, social and economic realms. Unlike national citizenship, where individuals interact in such capacities with one sovereign state
, transnational citizenship transcends pre-established territorial boundaries in order to create a modern meaning of "belonging" in an increasingly globalized society. Additionally, while preconceived notions of citizenship are oftentimes divided between national, social and individual forms of identity
, all three categories serve to contribute to the meaning of transnational citizenship. State citizenship can be defined as an individual establishing their sense of belonging by espousing to the liberal-democratic values of the state in the public sphere. When applied to transnational citizenship, an individual would have the opportunity to be civically engaged in multiple societies . A Dominican politician who lives in Santo Domingo
yet canvasses in a highly dense Dominican American
population in Boston, Massachusetts for external votes is an example of a transnational citizens functioning politically between two states . In terms of the categories of social and individual forms of belonging, transnational citizens are marked by multiple identities and allegiances, and oftentimes travel between two or more countries, all in which they have created sizeable networks of differing functions. Similar to global or cosmopolitan citizenship, it is composed of cross-national and multi-layered memberships to certain societies. Transnational citizenship is based on the idea that a new global framework consistent of subgroups of national identities will eventually replace membership to one sole nation-state. In a hyper-realized version of transnational citizenship, "states become intermediaries between the local and the global." Institutionalizing transnational citizenship would loosen ties between territories and citizenship and would ultimately result in a reconstruction of world order
that forever changes the capacity in which individuals interact with government institutions.
. Globalization is defined by a heightened international access to the world capital market
system and increased abilities to more rapid forms of communication
. Due to the convenience and ease of modern international exchanges, globalization has become the process by which international economies as well as individuals interact with one another . Since post-Cold War
1989, the evolved "global political economy" has resulted in massive "reconfigurations of the world's arenas." Globalization transformed a confined geo-political system into one that relies heavily on multiple levels of local, national and global interactions. For example, China
's industrialization from an agricultural society
to a manufacturing
society chronicled by excessive imports and exports contribute to a need to interconnect societies from all corners of the globe. The wealth that private institutions experienced from globalization resulted in "further extensions of corporation
s in search of faraway resources and markets ."
Beyond resulting in substantial political and economical shifts, globalization has also affected social and cultural practices between people. According to citizenship scholars like Andrew Vandenberg, such acts of globalization eventually "ended the constraints of space and time that conditioned all earlier human transactions, practices, and therefore identities . With the growth and distribution of technology
, more people all over the world have come to establish personal relationships with one another. Former state-regulated formal encounters are now replaced by modern informal and all the more frequent interactions. Rapid world economic growth
has consequently led to international migrations
. In recent years, in conjunction with globalization, increased instances of uncontrolled and predominantly illegal international migrations contribute to opportunities for escalating transnational identities. Because obvious ties surface between immigrants, their home countries, and the receiving countries, the civic ramifications are widespread. Thus international immigration contributes to loosening individual state ties . Once in their host countries, immigrants form social network
s while maintaining ties to their homeland. Some organizations function in both countries, which serves to further enhance the notion that international migrants act as transnational citizens in multiple lands .
among national citizens. While transnational citizens bring cultural and societal elements of their home countries to their host countries and vice versa, multiculturalism results from the fusion of differing ethnic minorities or indigenous peoples on a micro scale of a particular local environment. These interactions are described as "crosscutting and always mutually situational identifications." Therefore ethnic minorities and majorities alike intermingle in a mutually shared space. All different types of individuals function within the same system, and eventually collective national identities are formed . On the other hand, transnational citizens live within the context of two or more societies that differ in size, scope, populations, laws, morals, and cultural codes. While transnational citizens interact with those already present in each respective community, they are functioning within divergent spaces. They base their interactions more on the need to reconcile two completely diverse localities into a greater context that traverses international borders, politics, and ways of life.
Some scholars consider the creation of the European Union
as the pilot case for testing Teune's question about whether or not transnational citizenship can surpass national citizenship. Starting in the early 1980s, European national migration control officials met and established a consensus over the relationship between migration, asylum
and crime
. The control officials deemed migration as a security issue, and called for a "multi-level governance
" in order to control migratory practices. Virginie Guiraudon generates the theory of "venue-shopping" in order to describe how cross-national policies prevailed. Venue-shopping is the process by which political members seek out specific governmental settings in order to establish their ideal policy outcomes. Political actors circumvented national levels of control in order to establish a "transnational cooperation" among nation-states. Starting in 1981, citizens with passport
s from European countries were able to move freely across borders into other European countries. Due to the increased ease of traversing borders, the "Europeanization" of individuals began to occur in which a new transnational identity could be conceived .
The creation of the European Union only accelerated growing notions of transnational citizenship across the continent. The European Union came into being on November 1, 1993, when European nations signed the Treaty of Maastricht into law. The treaty established "community policy" in six new areas, one of which is termed "trans-European networks." The treaty also discusses the specific effects of the merger on a new formation of European citizenship. The benefits of European citizenship include the ability for citizens to freely cross borders into and subsequently reside in other European countries, the right to vote in elections and run for office in both municipal and European elections in the state in which the citizen resides, the right to access any member country's diplomatic or consular services in a third-party country in which the citizen's birth nation is not represented, and the citizen's right to petition to the European parliament
. The treaty thus instituted "European citizenship over and above national citizenship" . This ultimately facilitates a new form of "European identity" that allows for members of the European Union to function as transnational actors beyond their countries' borders, establishing the entire continent as one cohesive entity.
Finally, the creation of the euro serves as the pinnacle of Europe's newfound economic unification. On January 1, 1999, the euro replaced the pre-existing currency in 11 European countries . The Treaty of Maastricht also created the European System of Central Banks
, which consists of the Central European Bank and national central bank
s working together to establish monetary policy across participating countries . Some scholars consider the act of unifying the currency as "culminating the progress toward economic and monetary union in Europe" . While the aspect of monetary union is clear, the far-reaching effects of economic union
between countries could be considered a cause for debate. Regardless, the euro allows for transnational citizens of the European Union to not only move freely across borders, but also to experience easier monetary exchanges through the ability to use a currency that is present in both the citizens' home and host countries. The political, economic, and social ramifications that result from the invention of the European Union help contribute to the construction of European citizens as the international model for transnational citizenship.
do not necessarily help facilitate transnational citizenship. However, some transnational citizens have used socio-economic outlets as a means to assist in their migratory practices. As described by Leo Chavez
, increased animosity and stereotype
s around Latino
immigration to the United States has caused a "Latino threat narrative" to emerge. This narrative attributes increased illegal immigration
to the government's lack of border enforcement and defines Latinos as types of negative transnational citizens. These individuals reside in the America yet frequently return to their home countries, benefiting from the economic and social advantages of living in the country while remaining loyal to their country of origin. Due to a globalized system, these citizens are marked by their ability to watch and listen to solely Spanish
programs and form networks of only Spanish-speakers, all while remaining civically disengaged from all aspects of American society.
However, according to a study conducted by immigration scholar Roger Waldinger, the minority of Latino immigrants remain "highly attached" to their origin country. Waldinger establishes the levels of attachment on the basis of three "transnational activities": sending remittances back to friends or family in the immigrant's home country, travel back to the country of origin, and telephoning relatives in the immigrant's country of origin at least once a week. While 9% of immigrants engage in all three activities, 28% do not engage in any the activities. Based on the criteria, attachment levels decreases among descending generations. Additionally, the extent to which immigrants feel attached to their homeland
varies on the basis of their national origin. Colombia
ns and Dominicans
espouse more advanced tendencies of transnational citizenship than Mexicans
. This is due to a heightened activity in their home countries juxtaposed with the statistic that 66% wish to stay in the United States long-term . Therefore two conceptions of transnational citizenship exist for Latino immigrants in the United States; one in which other Americans project a formulated notion of transnational citizenship upon them through the "Latino threat" narrative, and another in which transnational activities exist among certain populations of Latinos more so than others.
. For instance, scholar David Williams calls for a new sort of "universal peoplehood" that would re-conceptualize belonging on the level that a cross-national workforce
comprises the international civil society
. He believes that international conditions would improve globally if nations re-defined citizenship. In this society, all individuals worldwide would be entitled to a general standard of securities in any governmental system and would be granted a basic standard of quality of life globally. Such advocates defend against the notion that international labor forces are becoming far too extensive by citing how only 3% of the world's population works in a nation other than their country of birth . Yasemin Nuhoglu Soysal also calls for more fluid boundaries that would expand the rights and privileges associated with citizenship. Soysal stresses the rights of the individual and asserts that, "the individual transcends the citizen." She argues that individuals should claim the right to remain independent from national boundaries, and due to widespread approaches to the meaning of state citizenship, national sovereignty
and international human rights
cannot coincide. Similar to Williams, she hopes that a "universal personhood" will replace national citizenship ties, and that "universal human rights" will replace national rights . Immigration scholars like Rainer Bauböck also call for changes in transnational practices as defined by dual citizenship and external voting rights. However, Bauböck is careful to note that while independent nation building is intergenerational, transnational citizens should act independent of blood ties .
on a global scale." He worries that increased migratory practices between states would confuse the meaning of citizenship for some and reframe nationalism for others, allowing for individuals to act out through discriminatory practices against established transnational citizens . David Jacobson expands upon these concerns in this book Rights Across Borders, stating that transnational citizenship would result in overly high pressures on specific nations. He fears that instituting a global citizenry would complicate states' ability to govern and distribute resources and the costs of transnational immigrants would be exorbitant. He further argues that the fundamental relationship between the citizen and the state would deconstruct, leaving the transnational citizen without any state from which they receive rights and support .
Citizenship
Citizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities...
and replaces an individual's singular national loyalties with the ability to belong to multiple nation states, as made visible in the political, cultural, social and economic realms. Unlike national citizenship, where individuals interact in such capacities with one sovereign state
Sovereign state
A sovereign state, or simply, state, is a state with a defined territory on which it exercises internal and external sovereignty, a permanent population, a government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other sovereign states. It is also normally understood to be a state which is neither...
, transnational citizenship transcends pre-established territorial boundaries in order to create a modern meaning of "belonging" in an increasingly globalized society. Additionally, while preconceived notions of citizenship are oftentimes divided between national, social and individual forms of identity
Identity (social science)
Identity is a term used to describe a person's conception and expression of their individuality or group affiliations . The term is used more specifically in psychology and sociology, and is given a great deal of attention in social psychology...
, all three categories serve to contribute to the meaning of transnational citizenship. State citizenship can be defined as an individual establishing their sense of belonging by espousing to the liberal-democratic values of the state in the public sphere. When applied to transnational citizenship, an individual would have the opportunity to be civically engaged in multiple societies . A Dominican politician who lives in Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo, known officially as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city in the Dominican Republic. Its metropolitan population was 2,084,852 in 2003, and estimated at 3,294,385 in 2010. The city is located on the Caribbean Sea, at the mouth of the Ozama River...
yet canvasses in a highly dense Dominican American
Dominican American
A Dominican American is any American who has origins in the Dominican Republic.Immigration records of Dominicans in the United States date from the late 19th century, and New York City has had a Dominican community since the 1930s...
population in Boston, Massachusetts for external votes is an example of a transnational citizens functioning politically between two states . In terms of the categories of social and individual forms of belonging, transnational citizens are marked by multiple identities and allegiances, and oftentimes travel between two or more countries, all in which they have created sizeable networks of differing functions. Similar to global or cosmopolitan citizenship, it is composed of cross-national and multi-layered memberships to certain societies. Transnational citizenship is based on the idea that a new global framework consistent of subgroups of national identities will eventually replace membership to one sole nation-state. In a hyper-realized version of transnational citizenship, "states become intermediaries between the local and the global." Institutionalizing transnational citizenship would loosen ties between territories and citizenship and would ultimately result in a reconstruction of world order
World order
- International relations :* The international system, which includes:** International relations , or International studies , the study of foreign affairs and global issues among states within the international system...
that forever changes the capacity in which individuals interact with government institutions.
History and Causes of Transnational Citizenship
While some relate transnational citizenship to any historic shift or fusion of identities within nation-states, modern conceptions of the term have only surfaced in the past twenty years. Many attribute the evolvement of the term to the rising situation of globalizationGlobalization
Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
. Globalization is defined by a heightened international access to the world capital market
Capital market
A capital market is a market for securities , where business enterprises and governments can raise long-term funds. It is defined as a market in which money is provided for periods longer than a year, as the raising of short-term funds takes place on other markets...
system and increased abilities to more rapid forms of communication
Communication
Communication is the activity of conveying meaningful information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast...
. Due to the convenience and ease of modern international exchanges, globalization has become the process by which international economies as well as individuals interact with one another . Since post-Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
1989, the evolved "global political economy" has resulted in massive "reconfigurations of the world's arenas." Globalization transformed a confined geo-political system into one that relies heavily on multiple levels of local, national and global interactions. For example, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
's industrialization from an agricultural society
Agricultural society
An agricultural society may refer to:*An agrarian society, one where the chief occupation is agriculture: typically contrasted with an industrial society....
to a manufacturing
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...
society chronicled by excessive imports and exports contribute to a need to interconnect societies from all corners of the globe. The wealth that private institutions experienced from globalization resulted in "further extensions of corporation
Corporation
A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...
s in search of faraway resources and markets ."
Beyond resulting in substantial political and economical shifts, globalization has also affected social and cultural practices between people. According to citizenship scholars like Andrew Vandenberg, such acts of globalization eventually "ended the constraints of space and time that conditioned all earlier human transactions, practices, and therefore identities . With the growth and distribution of technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
, more people all over the world have come to establish personal relationships with one another. Former state-regulated formal encounters are now replaced by modern informal and all the more frequent interactions. Rapid world economic growth
Economic growth
In economics, economic growth is defined as the increasing capacity of the economy to satisfy the wants of goods and services of the members of society. Economic growth is enabled by increases in productivity, which lowers the inputs for a given amount of output. Lowered costs increase demand...
has consequently led to international migrations
Human migration
Human migration is physical movement by humans from one area to another, sometimes over long distances or in large groups. Historically this movement was nomadic, often causing significant conflict with the indigenous population and their displacement or cultural assimilation. Only a few nomadic...
. In recent years, in conjunction with globalization, increased instances of uncontrolled and predominantly illegal international migrations contribute to opportunities for escalating transnational identities. Because obvious ties surface between immigrants, their home countries, and the receiving countries, the civic ramifications are widespread. Thus international immigration contributes to loosening individual state ties . Once in their host countries, immigrants form social network
Social network
A social network is a social structure made up of individuals called "nodes", which are tied by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as friendship, kinship, common interest, financial exchange, dislike, sexual relationships, or relationships of beliefs, knowledge or prestige.Social...
s while maintaining ties to their homeland. Some organizations function in both countries, which serves to further enhance the notion that international migrants act as transnational citizens in multiple lands .
Transnational Citizenship v. Multiculturalism
It is important to draw a distinction between transnational citizenship and multiculturalismMulticulturalism
Multiculturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...
among national citizens. While transnational citizens bring cultural and societal elements of their home countries to their host countries and vice versa, multiculturalism results from the fusion of differing ethnic minorities or indigenous peoples on a micro scale of a particular local environment. These interactions are described as "crosscutting and always mutually situational identifications." Therefore ethnic minorities and majorities alike intermingle in a mutually shared space. All different types of individuals function within the same system, and eventually collective national identities are formed . On the other hand, transnational citizens live within the context of two or more societies that differ in size, scope, populations, laws, morals, and cultural codes. While transnational citizens interact with those already present in each respective community, they are functioning within divergent spaces. They base their interactions more on the need to reconcile two completely diverse localities into a greater context that traverses international borders, politics, and ways of life.
The European Union as a Test Case for Transnational Citizenship
"The question for the future of citizenship is whether a ‘global' citizenship can transcend citizenships defined by ‘local' stages on the basis of blood and birth through an act of the state itself." –Henry TeuneSome scholars consider the creation of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
as the pilot case for testing Teune's question about whether or not transnational citizenship can surpass national citizenship. Starting in the early 1980s, European national migration control officials met and established a consensus over the relationship between migration, asylum
Right of asylum
Right of asylum is an ancient juridical notion, under which a person persecuted for political opinions or religious beliefs in his or her own country may be protected by another sovereign authority, a foreign country, or church sanctuaries...
and crime
Crime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
. The control officials deemed migration as a security issue, and called for a "multi-level governance
Multi-level governance
Multi-level governance is a public administration theory that originated from studies on European integration. The authors Liesbet Hooghe and Gary Marks were the first to develop the concept of multi-level governance in the early 1990s. Their theory resulted from the study of the new structures...
" in order to control migratory practices. Virginie Guiraudon generates the theory of "venue-shopping" in order to describe how cross-national policies prevailed. Venue-shopping is the process by which political members seek out specific governmental settings in order to establish their ideal policy outcomes. Political actors circumvented national levels of control in order to establish a "transnational cooperation" among nation-states. Starting in 1981, citizens with passport
Passport
A passport is a document, issued by a national government, which certifies, for the purpose of international travel, the identity and nationality of its holder. The elements of identity are name, date of birth, sex, and place of birth....
s from European countries were able to move freely across borders into other European countries. Due to the increased ease of traversing borders, the "Europeanization" of individuals began to occur in which a new transnational identity could be conceived .
The creation of the European Union only accelerated growing notions of transnational citizenship across the continent. The European Union came into being on November 1, 1993, when European nations signed the Treaty of Maastricht into law. The treaty established "community policy" in six new areas, one of which is termed "trans-European networks." The treaty also discusses the specific effects of the merger on a new formation of European citizenship. The benefits of European citizenship include the ability for citizens to freely cross borders into and subsequently reside in other European countries, the right to vote in elections and run for office in both municipal and European elections in the state in which the citizen resides, the right to access any member country's diplomatic or consular services in a third-party country in which the citizen's birth nation is not represented, and the citizen's right to petition to the European parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
. The treaty thus instituted "European citizenship over and above national citizenship" . This ultimately facilitates a new form of "European identity" that allows for members of the European Union to function as transnational actors beyond their countries' borders, establishing the entire continent as one cohesive entity.
Finally, the creation of the euro serves as the pinnacle of Europe's newfound economic unification. On January 1, 1999, the euro replaced the pre-existing currency in 11 European countries . The Treaty of Maastricht also created the European System of Central Banks
European System of Central Banks
The European System of Central Banks is composed of the European Central Bank and the national central banks of all 27 European Union Member States.-Functions:...
, which consists of the Central European Bank and national central bank
Central bank
A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is a public institution that usually issues the currency, regulates the money supply, and controls the interest rates in a country. Central banks often also oversee the commercial banking system of their respective countries...
s working together to establish monetary policy across participating countries . Some scholars consider the act of unifying the currency as "culminating the progress toward economic and monetary union in Europe" . While the aspect of monetary union is clear, the far-reaching effects of economic union
Economic union
An economic union is a type of trade bloc which is composed of a common market with a customs union. The participant countries have both common policies on product regulation, freedom of movement of goods, services and the factors of production and a common external trade policy.The countries...
between countries could be considered a cause for debate. Regardless, the euro allows for transnational citizens of the European Union to not only move freely across borders, but also to experience easier monetary exchanges through the ability to use a currency that is present in both the citizens' home and host countries. The political, economic, and social ramifications that result from the invention of the European Union help contribute to the construction of European citizens as the international model for transnational citizenship.
Transnational Citizens in the United States: The "Latino Threat" Narrative
Unlike in Europe, government policies in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
do not necessarily help facilitate transnational citizenship. However, some transnational citizens have used socio-economic outlets as a means to assist in their migratory practices. As described by Leo Chavez
Leo Chavez
Leo Ralph Chavez, Ph.D., is an American anthropologist, author, and professor, best known for his work in international migration, particularly among Latin American immigrants.-Background:...
, increased animosity and stereotype
Stereotype
A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
s around Latino
Latino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...
immigration to the United States has caused a "Latino threat narrative" to emerge. This narrative attributes increased illegal immigration
Illegal immigration
Illegal immigration is the migration into a nation in violation of the immigration laws of that jurisdiction. Illegal immigration raises many political, economical and social issues and has become a source of major controversy in developed countries and the more successful developing countries.In...
to the government's lack of border enforcement and defines Latinos as types of negative transnational citizens. These individuals reside in the America yet frequently return to their home countries, benefiting from the economic and social advantages of living in the country while remaining loyal to their country of origin. Due to a globalized system, these citizens are marked by their ability to watch and listen to solely Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
programs and form networks of only Spanish-speakers, all while remaining civically disengaged from all aspects of American society.
However, according to a study conducted by immigration scholar Roger Waldinger, the minority of Latino immigrants remain "highly attached" to their origin country. Waldinger establishes the levels of attachment on the basis of three "transnational activities": sending remittances back to friends or family in the immigrant's home country, travel back to the country of origin, and telephoning relatives in the immigrant's country of origin at least once a week. While 9% of immigrants engage in all three activities, 28% do not engage in any the activities. Based on the criteria, attachment levels decreases among descending generations. Additionally, the extent to which immigrants feel attached to their homeland
Homeland
A homeland is the concept of the place to which an ethnic group holds a long history and a deep cultural association with —the country in which a particular national identity began. As a common noun, it simply connotes the country of one's origin...
varies on the basis of their national origin. Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
ns and Dominicans
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
espouse more advanced tendencies of transnational citizenship than Mexicans
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. This is due to a heightened activity in their home countries juxtaposed with the statistic that 66% wish to stay in the United States long-term . Therefore two conceptions of transnational citizenship exist for Latino immigrants in the United States; one in which other Americans project a formulated notion of transnational citizenship upon them through the "Latino threat" narrative, and another in which transnational activities exist among certain populations of Latinos more so than others.
Advocates for Transnational Citizenship
Those in favor of increased implementations of transnational citizenship call for international governments and outside agencies alike to execute policies that would allow for an overhaul of the current human organizational structureOrganizational structure
An organizational structure consists of activities such as task allocation, coordination and supervision, which are directed towards the achievement of organizational aims. It can also be considered as the viewing glass or perspective through which individuals see their organization and its...
. For instance, scholar David Williams calls for a new sort of "universal peoplehood" that would re-conceptualize belonging on the level that a cross-national workforce
Workforce
The workforce is the labour pool in employment. It is generally used to describe those working for a single company or industry, but can also apply to a geographic region like a city, country, state, etc. The term generally excludes the employers or management, and implies those involved in...
comprises the international civil society
Civil society
Civil society is composed of the totality of many voluntary social relationships, civic and social organizations, and institutions that form the basis of a functioning society, as distinct from the force-backed structures of a state , the commercial institutions of the market, and private criminal...
. He believes that international conditions would improve globally if nations re-defined citizenship. In this society, all individuals worldwide would be entitled to a general standard of securities in any governmental system and would be granted a basic standard of quality of life globally. Such advocates defend against the notion that international labor forces are becoming far too extensive by citing how only 3% of the world's population works in a nation other than their country of birth . Yasemin Nuhoglu Soysal also calls for more fluid boundaries that would expand the rights and privileges associated with citizenship. Soysal stresses the rights of the individual and asserts that, "the individual transcends the citizen." She argues that individuals should claim the right to remain independent from national boundaries, and due to widespread approaches to the meaning of state citizenship, national sovereignty
Sovereignty
Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided...
and international human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
cannot coincide. Similar to Williams, she hopes that a "universal personhood" will replace national citizenship ties, and that "universal human rights" will replace national rights . Immigration scholars like Rainer Bauböck also call for changes in transnational practices as defined by dual citizenship and external voting rights. However, Bauböck is careful to note that while independent nation building is intergenerational, transnational citizens should act independent of blood ties .
Criticisms of Transnational Citizenship
Many scholars are equally critical of the conception of transnational citizenship. Mark Gaige feels that the implementation of transnational citizenship is "burdened with political vagueness" and not theoretically useful because citizenship itself is inextricably tied to an individual nation-state. Gaige also fears that transnational citizens would only utilize their supranational citizenship when needed and not act as a full-functioning member of a specific society. He believes that citizenship is defined by unifying aspects of common experience within a nation-state, which would not be possible with the creation of transnational citizens that instead rely on multiple cross-border experiences to define their existence. Finally, Gaige expresses concern that increased notions of transnational citizenship would only serve to "perpetuate inequalitiesEconomic inequality
Economic inequality comprises all disparities in the distribution of economic assets and income. The term typically refers to inequality among individuals and groups within a society, but can also refer to inequality among countries. The issue of economic inequality is related to the ideas of...
on a global scale." He worries that increased migratory practices between states would confuse the meaning of citizenship for some and reframe nationalism for others, allowing for individuals to act out through discriminatory practices against established transnational citizens . David Jacobson expands upon these concerns in this book Rights Across Borders, stating that transnational citizenship would result in overly high pressures on specific nations. He fears that instituting a global citizenry would complicate states' ability to govern and distribute resources and the costs of transnational immigrants would be exorbitant. He further argues that the fundamental relationship between the citizen and the state would deconstruct, leaving the transnational citizen without any state from which they receive rights and support .