Chapter Four

Prepared by Befekdu Dhaba

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,

May 2020
 4.3.Understanding Citizenship

• A citizen is a person who has rights & privileges in

a country & who is also expected to render services
& overcome duties expected from him/her.
• The person could be a native of a certain country or
a person who was born elsewhere but naturalized
to a certain country.
• A citizen is an individual who is a legally
recognized member of a state.
• Citizenship is the r/nship that is legally established
b/n the state & an individual. It is the totality of
rulers that could help a citizen get or loss
citizenship of a state.
 Understanding Citizenship cont…

• Citizenship creates bond b/n the individual &

the state of a certain country.
• Citizenship makes individuals subordinate to
the state.
• Nationals & citizens have slight difference in
that a national is a person who is citizen by
birth in the country referred.
• But citizen could be a person who is either
naturalized or born in the country referred.
 Understanding Citizenship cont…

• A national is a citizen born in a specific

country but a citizen may not be a national.
There is also a difference b/n citizen &
nationality.
• Nationality is commonly referred to a person’s
ethnic origin. But citizenship denotes the tie or
r/n of individuality & is used to show how
membership in a certain nation is established.
 Aspects/dimensions of Citizenship
The concept of citizenship is composed of three
main elements or dimensions.
• The 1st is citizenship as legal status, defined by
civil, political & social rights.
• The 2nd considers citizens specifically as
political agents, actively participating in a
society's political institutions.
• The 3rd refers to citizenship as membership in
a political community that furnishes a distinct
source of identity.
 The Origin of the Concept
• In ancient Greece citizen means a person who lives
in a town or city. This suggests having the freedom
& membership in political administration.
• In ancient states people & state had a weak r/nship.
The people needed little protection from the state &
the state gained little from the people.
• But as society dev’ped & the population increased
people needed more protection from the state & this
consolidated the r/n b/n the state & people.
• The link b/n the people & the state is called
citizenship.
 Inclusion & Exclusion in Citizenship
• Citizenship delineates both the internal & external
borders of political community & belonging.
• There remains a (post)colonial context to the
nature of inclusion/exclusion as bodies moving
from South to North become vulnerable &/or
threatening.
• Equally, the internal borders of citizenship are
shaped by ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality;
experienced in the marginalisation & de-
humanisation of the poor, unemployed, minority
communities, the young & the old.
 Inclusion & Exclusion in Citizenship cont…

• Citizenship can be a strategic necessity for

survival, recognition & visibility.

• This promise of simultaneous inclusion &

exclusion provides a central problem for
citizenship studies.
 Inclusion & Exclusion in Citizenship cont…

• Being a citizen was generally desirable & was

connected with the ability of individuals to
have an influence on the kind of community in
which they wanted to live & with being able to
claim the rights which go along with
citizenship status.
• The two most important criteria for citizenship
in the modern state were being male & being
adult. Being white & owning property could
be added as two other criteria for citizenship in
many states.
 Inclusion & Exclusion in Citizenship cont…

• Slaves, indigenous groups, women, & refugees

are some of the excluded groups who have
challenged their exclusion from citizenship.
• Some of the rationales given for exclusion of
children from citizenship, such as the rationale
based on competency & that based on the need
for protection.
 Inclusion & Exclusion in Citizenship cont…

• Europeanization & globalization are causing

the rise, on the one hand, of new & non-
traditional forms of identity,
• Citizenship actually promotes the process of
identity formation through the creation of
boundaries &, also a mechanism of
inclusion/exclusion.
 Inclusion & Exclusion in Citizenship cont…

• The end of the Cold War & the rise of

globalization have affected the traditional idea
of identity linked to the state, causing the
creation of a multi-layered form of citizenship.

• Citizenship rights appear to be severely limited

in many low-income countries, with civil &
political rights often as reduced as social
rights.
 Inclusion & Exclusion in Citizenship cont…

• The economic aspects of citizenship, inclusion

& exclusion in education, citizenship
(re)production & sexuality & the political
culture of citizens & non-citizens.

• Social exclusion is the social disadvantage &

relegation to the fringe of society.
 Social exclusion

• Is the process in which individuals are blocked

from various rights, opportunities & resources
that are normally available to members of a
different group, & which are fundamental to
social integration & observance of human
rights within that particular group.
 Inclusion & Exclusion in Citizenship cont…

• Social citizenship was a term first coined by

T.H. Marshall, who argued that the ideal
citizenship experience entails access to
political, civil & social rights in a state.
 Ways of acquiring citizenship

• Citizenship could be acquired by birth or through

naturalization.
• To get citizenship by naturalization, the person is
expected to fulfill the social, political & legal
requirements of the country.
• With respect to the rights & duties of citizens
both citizens by birth & naturalized citizens have
the same status.
• However, in some instances there may be slight
differences example the right to elect & be
elected.
 Ways of acquiring citizenship cont…

Jus Soli (the right of the soil)

• Acc.to this law, all persons that are born with
in the territory of that state is granted the right
to get citizenship.
• However, this rule does not include children
born to foreign diplomats who represent the
country they came from.
• If a child is born within the soil of that state
he/she will be granted citizenship. Most of the
dev’ped states accept Jus Soli.
 Ways of acquiring citizenship cont…

Jus Sanguinis ( the right of the blood)

• Can be divided into father & mother. This
mode of acquiring citizenship is very common
in the developing countries.
• Here a child can claim citizenship of his/her
parents.
 Ways of acquiring citizenship cont…

Citizenship by Naturalization
• Naturalization is a process of obtaining
citizenship if the person fulfills the political,
legal & social matters which the host country
expects to be accomplished.
• It is a process by which a state confers its
citizenship on an individual who is originally
not its citizen as a result of some voluntary
acts & intentions of the individual.
 Ways of losing citizenship

1.Renunciation. The UNs Declaration of

Human Rights of 1948 which has a preamble &
30 articles provides in its article 15 sub article
citizenship the right to the individual to renounce
his/her citizenship & seek citizenship of some
other state according to his/her choice
2.Deprivation -a person who is found guilty of
committing serious crimes against the state may
be deprived of his/her citizenship.
 Ways of losing citizenship cont…
Some of the crimes could be:
• to make access national secrets to alien country
• to collaborate with the enemy force in time of war
• to carry out diplomatic, economic, political & military
intelligence to another state within his/her state.

3.Substitution - citizenship may be lost when a person’s

original citizenship is substituted by another state, which he
acquires through naturalization on the other side, this may also
happen when a particular territory is annexed by another state.
• In such cases the citizenship of the conquered people will be
replaced by the citizenship of the subjugator.
4.Lapse-citizenship may be lost if the person stays outside of
his/her country for a long & continues period
 Citizenship in Ethiopian Context: Past & Present

The following are requirements to get Ethiopian

citizenship by naturalization Acc. to the Ethiopian
law of citizenship of 1931
• One who reaches the age of maturity (legal age)
• One who stayed in Ethiopia at least for 5 years
• One who is not dependent
• One who speaks & writes the Amharic language
• One who is not accused of crime or other related
illegal maters & who presents human witnesses
Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (1995)

Article 6
• Nationality
1. Any person of either sex shall be an Ethiopian
national where both or either parent is Ethiopian.
2. Foreign nationals may acquire Ethiopian
nationality.
3. Particulars relating to nationality shall be
determined by law.
 FDRE 1995 constitution cont…

Article 33
Rights of Nationality
1. No Ethiopian national shall be deprived of his
or her Ethiopian nationality against his or her
will. Marriage of an Ethiopian national of either
sex to a foreign national shall not annul his or
her Ethiopian nationality.
 FDRE 1995 constitution cont…

2. Every Ethiopian national has the right to the

enjoyment of all rights, protection & benefits
derived from Ethiopian nationality as prescribed
by law.
3. Any national has the right to change his
Ethiopian nationality.
4. Ethiopian nationality may be conferred upon
foreigners in accordance with law enacted &
procedures established consistent with int.
agreements ratified by Ethiopia.
 State formation & Nation-building in Ethiopian context
• Ethiopia/ Abyssinia state is one of the ancient
state in the world .
• The history of Ethiopian state could be traced
back to Axumite Kingdoms that use to trade
with Middle Eastern & North African
countries.
• The modern history of the country start to take
shape with Emperor Tewodros. However, it
was realized under the leadership of Menelik
II.
 State formation & Nation-building in Ethiopian context cont..

• King Menelik was able to incorporate the

present territories of the country.
• The victory of Adwa gave became source of
inspiration for many colonized people forcing
European powers to recognize & deal with
him as a power.
• The European colonial powers that occupy the
neighboring territories agreed to demarcated
the boundary with Ethiopia & consequent
establishment of diplomatic r/ns.
 Nation-building in Ethiopian context cont…

• King Menelik laid foundations for

modernization of the country in many fronts.
• Emperor Haile Sellassie who succeed King
Menelik help Ethiopia to join the League of
Nation & later on UN.
• After defeating Italians along British, he allied
with US that enabled him play pivotal role in
international system.
• Established modern army that had participated
in Korea & Congo wars under the auspices of
UN
 Nation-building in Ethiopian context cont…

• Modernized the bureaucratic system &

established centralized unitary state & its
attendant institutions.
• Incorporated Eritrea & Ogden to the Ethiopian
territory in post WWII Era.
• Worked hard in creating homogeneous nation
through assimilation policies & modernization.
• The Derg regime that toppled the King
nationalized land, Industries, Urban land .
• Shifted the alignment of the country from West
to Eastern Block( Socialist Countries).
 Nation-building in Ethiopian context cont…

• Adopted Socialist Oriented ideology &

engaged in command Economy.
• Embraced the equality of nationalities,
religious equality & gender equality.
• Attempted to engage in state owned
industrialization & collective ownership.
• Abler to establish powerful military in the
Horn of Africa & opted to solve the problem
of the country through military means.
 Post Derg Era/ EPRDF
• After overthrown the Derg regime military in
1991, adopted the antithesis of the pervious
unitary system, ethnic based federalism.
• The Transitional period Charter & its offspring
constitution of 1995 granted self-determination
to ethnic groups to exercise semblance of self-
rule & shared rule.
• Currently there are nine Regional State & two
city states.