What does it mean to be a citizen?

1.         What does it mean to be a citizen?

The term Citizen is defined in the compact Macquarie Dictionary as, a element, native or naturalised, of put up or nation. This paper intends to question what it is that constitutes a member or citizen, of landed estate or nation. Many concepts and theories are promoted by political theorists and practitioners alike that are varied and many in response to defining a citizen. The expanse of these theories ranges from the all-encompassing authorisation of world citizenship where nation or state borders are invisible, to exceptional conditional nation based citizenship, which for example, may discriminate against a citizens nationality in applying for government office positions.

Whilst citizenship in a legitimate context can be defined objectively and focuses on the formal status of an individual in the community, such as permanent or temporary residency it is the social translation of citizenship that becomes varied. Diverse as the theories are regarding citizenship, as noted by Heywood there is a correlation amongst the theorists that citizenship is the relationship between the individual, state and society. It is this relationship and surrounding values that defines the rights and responsibilities of citizenship that becomes complex.

It is the focus of this essay to enter a critical perspective on the mount(a)er concepts of citizenship that explores ideas and theories concerning the social rights and responsibilities of citizenship and my support, and/or criticism of these theories in response to marginalisation, exclusion and inclusion inwardly the community.

As Australia has no bill of rights that outlines the identity of what the relationship is regarding the rights and responsibilities as a citizen, it is up to each individual to interpret the significance of citizenship. As an Australian born citizen my personal expectations include a broad variety of rights and responsibilities that are reciprocal...

If you want to get a full essay, order it on our website: Orderessay



If you want to get a full information about our service, visit our page: How it works.