In the early years before civilization, the human race comprised of small numbers of individuals whose livelihood entailed hunting and gathering as well as fishing. The people from that time had minimal technologies and insignificant social order, not to mention that farming and settling in one place was unheard of. The term social inequality did not exist as individuals owned nothing. The bands of people that consisted of fifteen to fifty persons were dispersed all over the world. It was not until 5000 BCE that their life started to change. For the very first time in the history of the human race, individuals began living in one place. They also started planting and harvesting their crops and building homes as opposed to living in caves. By around 10,000 BC, the economic adaptations of human populations witnessed radical transformations that led to societies that we have in our contemporary times. States, citizenship, and nationalities, international dealings, warfare amid states and their citizens, differences in wealth and authority and other forms of iniquities that are associated with civilization were formed with time (Linda 139). The concept of citizenship is not only associated with nations and states, but it is also intertwined with physical, structural, and symbolic violence, which are key elements that help in producing and maintaining citizenship.
The Concept of Citizenship
Citizenship is a term that is used to define a participant or member of a particular political community. In the old times before human governments were established, individuals used to identify themselves by cities more than their nations (Macklin 335). Currently, people gain citizenship through meeting the legal and lawful requirements that characterize the state, national, or local administration. Of note is the point that citizenship does not merely mean staying or living in a particular country. People gain citizenship of distinct nations either by birth, by marriage or by the process of naturalization.
When they gain citizenship, they are accorded with various rights, duties, and privileges that non-citizens lack. Aliens and foreigners are terms that are used in delineating people who are not citizens of a certain country. When a person is considered a non-citizen, he/she does not have the rights and privileges to participate with the full capacity of a citizen. For instance, in the United States, an alien or non-citizen cannot participate in the electoral procedure, let alone hold a public office.
State, Nation and the Citizen
Many people use the terms state and nation interchangeably. As such, attempting to clarify the distinctions amid the two terms becomes a challenge. While the state refers to autonomous political bodies that have clear topographical boundaries, a nation, on the other hand, refers to a large population that shares similar culture, history, and customs, which are essential in giving the nation a unique identity. States, nations, and citizens are interrelated, and none can function without the other (Linda 53). Their relationship can be derived from observing their functionalities and roles. States are a collectivity of establishments that govern and control the interior affairs of a realm that is circumscribed by acknowledged transnational boundaries. The group of people with similar historical backgrounds and culture, living within the state boundaries describes a nation. It is imperative to note that it is possible to have two or more nations within a certain country; for instance, the case of Canada and Belgium. Citizens are people who are vested with the rights and privileges as well as the duties that enable them to function in a state or nation.
Physical, structural, and symbolic violence are instruments used not only in exercising and maintaining power but also a process in which norms, identities, and citizenship is created (McGee and Lopez 1). Indeed, there is a dynamic relationship amid citizenship and physical, structural and symbolic violence, considering the myriad ways in which these vectors organize the socio-political relations. Individuals engage in structural and collective violence in an attempt to respond to the types of symbolic violence that exists in them. Indeed, structural violence is viewed as a necessary course of action that can help citizens to break down the handcuffs of internal oppression (Harvey 53). When citizens assemble to demonstrate, law enforcer will engage in physical violence in their attempt to stop collective structural violence, they are not only trying to maintain order, but they are also trying to exercise symbolic authority.
People tend to react in various ways when engaging in physical, structural and symbolic violence (Haugaard 92). However, when structural violence occurs, the psychological effects on emotions and decisions may make people stick together, in the organizational order they are involved in, which explains how motivations and emotion that arise from violence produces and maintains citizenship (Barter 544).
Conclusion
While the term citizenship is used to define a participant or member of a particular political community, non-citizens are people who are considered as aliens, who cannot participate in various decision-making processes of a state. Understanding the relationship between state, nation, and citizen is critical in producing and maintaining citizenship. As described, the concept of citizenship is not only associated with nations and states, but it is also intertwined with physical, structural, and symbolic violence, which are key elements that help in producing and maintaining citizenship.
Works Cited
Barter, S.J. ‘Unarmed Forces: Civilian Strategies in Violent Conflicts’, Peace and Change. (2012), vol. 37, no. 4, pp. 544–69
Harvey, D. The Right to the City, New Left Review. 2008. P. 53.
Haugaard, M. ‘Reflections on Seven Ways of Creating Power’, European Journal of Social Theory 2007, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 87–113
Linda Bosniak, the Citizen and the Alien: Dilemmas of Contemporary Membership 2 (2006).
Macklin, Audrey. Who is the Citizen’s Other? Considering the Heft of Citizenship. Theoretical Inquiries in Law. 2007, vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 334-343.
McGee, R. and Lopez, F.J. Power, Violence, Citizenship and Agency: A Colombian Case Study. Institute of Development Studies. 2017.
Order an Essay Now & Get These Features For Free:
Turnitin Report
Formatting
Title Page
Citation
Outline
