"State and Citizenship under Transformation in Western Europe"

Kaspersen, Lars Bo. (1995) "State and Citizenship under Transformation in Western Europe". In European Union Studies Association (EUSA) > Biennial Conference > 1995 (4th), May 11-14, 1995, pages 25, Charleston, South Carolina.

Abstract

[From the introduction]. This paper discusses a classic topic in social and political theory: the emergence and development of the modern concept of citizenship. The paper aims to analyse the development and transformation of the citizenship in Western Europe (primarily the North West European EU-members) from the emergence of the modern nation-state until today. It concentrates on the period from the end of World War II until the ratification of the Maastricht Treaty i.e. the European Union (EU) - a period in which the traditional nation-state and the associated concept of citizenship have undergone some fundamental changes. Most often the discussions of the development and change of citizenship in Western Europe focus on economic, social, and/or (domestic) political aspects (Marshall 1950; Turner 1986, 1993; Hindess 1993; Meehan 1993; Barbalet 1993). This paper attaches, however, importance to the military and security dimension of the state in order to understand the modern concept of citizenship. The problem of defence is one of the most fundamental functions of the state and the importance of this aspect for the development of citizenship is too often ignored in the theoretical literature on citizenship.