Rescaling citizenship: revisiting debates on territory, rights, and membership

Abstract

At the turn of the twentieth century, processes of globalisation gave rise to debates about the continued relevance of citizenship as a legal status that assigns individuals to states. While new concepts reflecting emerging forms of citizenship were introduced, as well as counterarguments emphasising the resilience of national citizenship, these insights have not been explicitly linked to contemporary developments in citizenship. This introduction aims to fill that gap by revisiting old debates on the rescaling of citizenship, and proposing a new framework based on two key dimensions: multilevel and transnational citizenship. Using this framework, we conduct a systematic literature review to trace how these dimensions have evolved in scholarly debates. We then show how the contributions in this Special Issue advance empirical and theoretical understandings of citizenship in a globalising world.