Retro-colonising Statustheorie: a new citizenship taxonomy

Organised by

• Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies
• GGP: Global Governance Programme
• GlobalCit: Global Citzenship Observatory

This paper addresses inherent inequalities within citizenship, arguing for a new taxonomy that integrates formal, substantive, protective, and oppressive aspects of citizenship. The main argument is that contemporary citizenship taxonomy must encompass both protective and oppressive subjective aspects of citizenship. This approach allows for viewing citizenship as a spectrum of varying statuses and provides a framework to challenge the denial of rights faced by certain groups within the constitutional state. To support this, I propose a critical re-reading of Jellinekian Statustheorie, emphasising the subjective element of citizenship and its intrinsic connection to rights. A critical theory of citizenship aimed at challenging inequality must start with an analysis of its oppressive dimensions. This involves recognising flaws and exclusions within citizenship structures — a perspective the speaker terms 'the retro-colonial approach'. By retro-colonising Statustheorie, the speaker outlines five fundamental statuses and introduces five constitutional archetypes to offer a concrete framework for understanding diverse citizenship conditions.