People’s understandings of what it means to be a citizen go to the heart of the various meanings of personal and national identity, political and electoral participation, and rights. The contributors to this book seek to explore the difficult questions inherent in the notion of citizenship from various angles. They look at citizenship and rights, citizenship and identity, citizenship and political struggle, and the policy implications of substantive notions of citizenship. They illustrate the various ways in which people are excluded from full citizenship; the identities that matter to people and their compatibility with dominant notions of citizenship; the tensions between individual and collective rights in definitions of citizenship; struggles to realize and expand citizens’ rights; and the challenges these questions entail for development policy. This is the first volume in a new series: Claiming Citizenship: Rights, Participation and AccountabilityReviews
‘How can human rights become part of the lived experience of those who continue to be denied those rights whether because of poverty, gender, ethnicity, caste or sexual orientation? This book develops a range of interesting cases documenting the promise and challenge of translating rights into reality. This is important, cutting edge work in the new discussions around rights, responsibilities, subjectivity and agency. Very highly recommended.’ – Gita Sen Sir Ratan Tata Chair Professor & Chairperson, Centre for Public Policy Indian Institute of Management
‘Naila Kabeer is to be congratulated for bringing together this collection of essays that give us a comparative perspective on citizenship in everyday life.’ – Mahmood Mamdani, Herbert Lehmann Professor at the Department of Anthropology, University of Columbia.
‘The case studies in Inclusive Citizenship are powerful, absorbing stories, told with force and passion that compel the reader to internalise them…. What warms my heart is that the examples in this book poignantly capture how individuals, social groups, women, and indigenous communities across the globe have not kept silent, allowing globalisation to run its course.’ – Krishnamurthy Pushpanath, Campaign Executive, Oxfam GB, UK
‘Although the idea of citizenship is almost universal, little is known about what it means for ordinary people in the contemporary world in both industrialised and developing countries. This book is therefore a timely contribution to filling this gap.’ – Development Policy Review, January 2006
Zed Press (Translated into Spanish by UNAM. Mexico)
