Cultural citizenship

The paper argues that the development of citizenship rights in advanced societies has been cumulative but uneven. The extension of social/welfare rights has been arrested. Propelled by the claims formulated by some activists of new social movements, citizenship rights are currently expanding towards a new domain of cultural rights that involve the right to symbolic presence, dignifying representation, propagation of identity and maintenance of lifestyles. This reflects the crisis of welfarism, the ‘shrinking of the state’, and the expansion of the public spheres.