Author Description

Can we conceptualize a kind of citizenship that need not be of a nation-state, but might be of a variety of political frameworks? Bringing together political theory with debates about European integration, international relations, and the changing nature of citizenship, this book, available at last in paperback, offers a coherent and innovative theorization of a citizenship independent of any specific form of political organization. It relates that conception of citizenship to topical issues of the European Union: democracy and legitimate authority; non-national political community; and the nature of the supranational constitution. The author argues that citizenship should no longer be seen as a status of privileged membership, but instead as an institutional role enabling individuals' capacities to shape the context of their lives and promote the freedom and well-being of others. In doing so, she draws on and develops ideas found in the work of the philosopher Alan Gewirth.