CITIZENSHIP IN THE AGE OF GLOBALISATION

Abstract

The mass migration phenomenon calls into question the meaning of citizenship status in contemporary constitutional democracies as it represents a quest for a kind of global solidarity.
This article explores the transformation of the concept of status civitatis from a European comparative perspective. The emerging role of citizenship in today political communities will be examined through the legislations concerning the recognition and protection of social rights of non citizens since: whilst on the one hand they are tied to citizenship through a nexus of principle, on the other hand they entail individual legal rights recognised under case law as having universal status. Relevant provisions of Italian, Spanish, French, Belgian and Dutch laws will be analysed with a view of sketching a map of problems and (possible) solutions. The comparison among European legal systems is, at the end, put to the test of theories that suggest moving beyond the idea of citizenship as a solution to the human rights/universal rights dialectic.