Counter-Hegemonic Citizenship: LGBT Communities and the Politics of Hate Crimes in Canada

Relying on a case study in which violence targeted at lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgendered (LGBT) individuals and strategies used to counter this violence is examined, this paper argues that public policies and laws that aim to protect groups cannot guarantee access to substantive citizenship. They can, however, be used as a resource by oppressed groups to force a shift in the boundaries of the citizenship regime. Considering that violence targeting LGBT people (hate crimes, discrimination, etcetera) is an indicator that they are denied access to substantive citizenship, this paper examines how the citizenship of LGBT people can be extended in ways that allow this group to enjoy substantive citizenship. Citizenship is a useful lens to assess power relations, understand situations of oppression and develop strategies to challenge this oppression. Relying on the concept of citizenship regime and informed by work on radical democracy, the author introduces the Gramscian notion of hegemony. In doing so, she proposes a new way of thinking about citizenship. Her model, counter-hegemonic citizenship, brings us to consider citizenship as a process, rather than a status or a set of rights, and to focus on meaningful struggles that can lead to the redrawing of the boundaries of the citizenship regime for all oppressed groups. This paper inscribes itself in a body of literature concerned with struggles for equality and the role of laws and public policies for achieving this end.     

The Politics of Dual Citizenship in Hungary

The study reviews the politics underlying the 2004 referendum in Hungary on whether the country should offer extraterritorial, non-resident citizenship to ethnic Hungarians living in the neighboring states of Romania, Slovakia, Serbia-Montenegro and the Ukraine. The study argues that the issue of dual citizenship for ethnic minorities and kin-states in Central and Eastern Europe is quite distinct from the issue of dual citizenship in West European immigration countries. Transborder ethnic relatives make up large proportions of some of the contiguous countries with whom Hungary has a long history of border disputes which is why the Hungarian reform initiative touched upon sensitive issues connected to the sovereignty of these states. In addition, the large size of the non-resident Hungarian population means that their potential Hungarian citizenship would have serious consequences for the Hungarian welfare state, and the determination of the political future of Hungary, where even much smaller numbers of voting non-residents might swing the vote. The article outlines the arguments that were made in favor of the reform by the political right and those against the reform by the left. It examines the initiative from the European Union's perspective and compares the Hungarian case to cases of dual citizenship in other countries of Europe. The article also raises questions about the long-term implications of this form of dual citizenship for the “re-ethnicization” of citizenship.     

The Gag Reflex: Disgust Rhetoric and Gay Rights in American Politics

Political scientists have increasingly looked to the role that disgust plays in shaping public opinion and attitudes. This emotion plays an important role in building and reinforcing boundaries in the polity. It is particularly important in shaping attitudes toward gay rights. We analyze data from the 1993 American National Election Studies (ANES) data and two original studies. We find that disgust is a powerful but contingent rhetorical tool. It can powerfully shape public attitudes, especially on issues of sexual purity, but that efficacy must come with a strong caveat: our findings show that some members of the public will reject disgust rhetoric as an indignant reaction against the speaker.     

Citizenship and the Politics of Nature: The Case of Chile's Alto Bío Bío

To date, most treatments of ecological citizenship have been concerned with identifying the ways in which particular approaches to citizenship might provide political tools for working toward more sustainable futures. The present analysis builds on an alternate perspective, which instead treats nature and citizenship as dynamic interconnected sites of power relations. While not dismissive of the existing literature, this approach is partly informed by a concern for promoting a more democratic politics of nature, rather than simply “greener” practices of citizenship. Furthermore, it calls for a more empirically-based analysis of the way in which nature is politicized by different social actors. By way of putting this perspective into practice, the essay examines the case of a conflict over hydroelectric development on the Bío Bío River, in southern Chile, seeking to document the way that nature is constructed vis-à-vis the country's dominant citizenship regime, and also to identify the insurgent voices of alternate ecological citizenships. This is achieved by comparing the discourses of nature and citizenship employed by various actors in the conflict, including proponents of the dams, environmentalists, and the Pehuenche indigenous people, whose lands were at the centre of the struggle. While environmentalists and the Pehuenche can be seen to have advanced significant challenges to the market-based citizenship of Chile's post-dictatorship liberal democracy, the failure of the resistance ultimately led to a re-consolidation of the central ideological components of the existing eco-political order.     

Eleanor Rathbone and the Politics of Citizenship

Despite Eleanor Rathbone having many firsts to her name she is largely forgotten. While students are now taught little about her ideas or successful political campaigns as an Independent MP, her ideas on feminism are relevant to today's political debate about the rise of anti-social behaviour. The failure of many families to teach their offspring those common decencies which make possible living in close proximity to other human beings brings back centre stage Eleanor Rathbone's views on endowing motherhood.     

The British Citizenship Test: The Case for Reform

Immigration presents a daunting challenge to successive British governments. The public ranks immigration as one of the leading policy issues after the economy and employment. There is also greater public support for stronger immigration controls than in many other countries. In response, government strategy has included the use of a citizenship test. While the citizenship test is widely acknowledged as one key part of immigration policy, the test has received surprisingly little critical analysis. This article is an attempt to bring greater attention to serious problems with the current test and to offer three recommendations for its revision and reform. First, there is a need to revise and update the citizenship test. Secondly, there is a need to expand the test to include questions about British history and basic law. The third recommendation is more wide‐ranging: it is that we reconsider what we expect new citizens to know more broadly. The citizenship test should not be viewed as a barrier, but as a bridge. The focus should centre on what future citizens should be expected to know rather than how others might be excluded. The test should ensure that future citizens are suitably prepared for citizenship. There is an urgent need to improve the test and this should not be an opportunity wasted for the benefit of both citizens and future citizens alike.     

Towards a New Politics: Citizenship and Rights in Contemporary Argentina

The emergence of a human rights movement represented a cultural turning point in many Latin American societies. The movement's struggle acted as a catalyst for political learning, triggering a profound renovation of the region's democratic traditions. The most impressive development has been the emergence of a rights-oriented discourse that reunites two elements that populist forms of self-understanding had kept separate: democracy and the rule of law. Cultural innovation gave birth to a new form of politicization that greatly differs from the movementist and corporatist practices of past populist movements, for the former is guided by a liberal concern: establishing clear institutional boundaries between state and civil society. Through the analysis of a series of citizens' initiatives and movements, the paper analyzes this new form of politicization and its contribution to the authorization and effectivization of rights as institutions.     

Legislative Victory, Electoral Uncertainty: Explaining Outcomes in the Battles over Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights

Previous studies indicate that in cases of relatively low issue salience, the interest group model best explains lesbian and gay antidiscrimination policy in the American states. The analysis of state and local public policy prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation concludes that for cases of high issue salience, the morality politics model best describes outcomes. The interest group politics model is used here in a case study of Wisconsin's passage of a comprehensive antidiscrimination policy, while the morality politics model is used to investigate the electoral outcomes of anti‐gay ballot initiatives in several states. The results of this analysis conform with prior research—when lesbian and gay issues are not salient, the interest group politics model best explains resulting policy, however, under salient conditions, the morality politics model best describes outcomes. Finally, the implications of this research for social scientists and activists are discussed.     

State Violence and Lesbian,Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (lgbt) Rights

Most societies, and the governments that represent them, regard lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (lgbt) people to be immoral, decadent, and a threat to public order. Throughout the world, this homophobia long has caused lgbt people to be subject to ''legal'' violence made up of discriminatory laws and practices by state agencies, ''semi-legal'' violence of killing, torture, and harassment by police forces, and extra-judicial violence by individuals and groups in society. Yet as an unprecedented number of countries democratize, they adopt constitutions that prohibit and prosecute such practices. At the same time, rapidly growing lgbt organizations are using newfound freedoms to demand an end to abuse. Most of these democracies have proven unwilling or unable to enforce legal protections, however, while the economic and political uncertainties accompanying democratization often incite further violence. After examining the forms and patterns of anti-lgbt violence, this paper will analyze why democratic transitions have not led to its elimination.     

Differentiated Citizenship and Ethnocultural Groups: A Japanese Case

It is a widely shared view that Japan is a culturally homogeneous country. This view is often deployed as justification for certain policy orientations to preserve cultural homogeneity. The goal of this article is to show that this line of thought is not acceptable on empirical and normative grounds. By considering two representative ethnocultural minorities—Ainu and Koreans—in terms of cultural, social, and political rights, I illustrate that there exists not only a plurality of ethnocultural groups in Japan with distinct claims to differentiated citizenship but also institutions and practices accommodating them. Moreover, a set of principles of differentiated citizenship underlying those institutions and practices are outlined. Finally, on the basis of the foregoing analysis, I argue that public policies attempt to preserve a cultural homogeneity that does not exist and such political aims as “enhancing social unity” are morally and prudentially undesirable.     

Federalism and Institutional Design: The Perils and Politics of a Triple-E Senate in Canada

Since the proposal was put forward by a subcommittee of theAlberta legislature, most western Canadian political leadershave advocated a U.S.-style Triple-E (elected, effective, andequal) Senate. Superficially compatible with western Canada'sstated constitutional and public policy agenda, the Triple-Eproposal has broad elite and popular appeal in the West. However,such an institution will be unlikely to satisfy western demandsfor more effective representation in the federal Parliament,and will prove antithetical to another key western objective:significant reduction of public spending in Ottawa. Insteadof pursuing a Triple-E Senate, the West's constitutional andpolicy objectives could focus on seeking greater devolutionof power to the provinces. Such a strategy would have the addedadvantage of facilitating a constitutional alliance with theprovince of Quebec, thereby enhancing the likelihood of success.     

Migrant Heroes: Nationalism,Citizenship and the Politics of Filipino Migrant Labor

The Philippine state has popularized the idea of Filipino migrants as the country's 'new national heroes', critically transforming notions of Filipino citizenship and citizenship struggles. As 'new national heroes', migrant workers are extended particular kinds of economic and welfare rights while they are abroad even as they are obligated to perform particular kinds of duties to their home state. The author suggests that this transnationalized citizenship, and the obligations attached to it, becomes a mode by which the Philippine state ultimately disciplines Filipino migrant labor as flexible labor. However, as citizenship is extended to Filipinos beyond the borders of the Philippines, the globalization of citizenship rights has enabled migrants to make various kinds of claims on the Philippine state. Indeed, these new transnational political struggles have given rise not only to migrants' demands for rights, but to alternative nationalisms and novel notions of citizenship that challenge the Philippine state's role in the export and commodification of migrant workers.     

Village Citizenship in China: A Case Study of Zhejiang

This paper aims to examine the idea and practice, as well as the implications, of village citizenship in China. It spells out the context and content of village citizenship, describes struggles for village status, and addresses the puzzling questions of why and how villagers seek to retain this status. It further examines the logic of how such struggles are leading to the establishment and improvement of village democratic institutions. The paradoxes and problems associated with village citizenship, and the significance of village citizenship for achieving meaningful citizenship are also explored.