Is it possible not to be a citizen? As part of a round table organized by ICS, Trevor Stack, Director of the Center for Citizenship, Civil Society and Rule of Law and a professor at the University of Aberdeen, and David Thunder, a research fellow within the Religion and Civil Society project of the Institute for Culture and Society (ICS) and a professor of philosophy, discussed this question and analyzed what it means to be a citizen beyond the state.

First, Trevor Stack presented the paper "You can't not be a citizen: Comparing citizen personae in West Mexico and Anglo California" in which he presented the results of research carried out between 2007 and 2010 comparing citizens of Mexico and California.

When Stack posed the question of whether or not it is sometimes easier not to be a citizen, citizens of both regions responded differently. In fact, some Mexicans' responses were surprising and unexpected. They believe it is impossible not to be a citizen because citizenship status is linked to living in society, something inherent to man's nature.

Professor Stack said that, "When they said it was not possible not to be a citizen, they used the word citizen with a meaning that differs from its definition as a legally defined member of nation-state."

Citizen indifference

On the other hand, David Thunder presented the paper, "Between tribe and cosmopolis: Recovering civic spirit form the ashes of the nation-state."

He argued that the practice of citizenship in the modern nation-state is framed by six fundamental ideas, including individualism, democratic representation, national sovereignty, public works financed through debt and taxes, government bureaucracy and rule of law. Thunder delved into some of the harmful effects of this framework on human relations.

In addition, he approached this discussion by highlighting the impoverishment of values ​​such as solidarity, trust and cooperation that can lead to indifference and that, in his opinion, is caused by a set of cultural and social factors, including the widespread acceptance of individualistic attitudes and modern democracies' low rates of participative government. He then suggested reformulating citizenship through local structures capable of regenerating these impoverished values.

For more information, see the following link:

http://www.unav.edu/documents/2832169/3317989/Citizenship+beyond+the+State.pdf