Citizenship and Belonging: Thin and Thick

Abstract

“Patriotism” involves a sense of belonging to and efficacy in a particular country. Civil, political, social, and cultural rights and responsibilities are part of belonging, of being recognized as a legal member of society and deserving beneficiary of its various resources. But how is this belonging to be demonstrated? Loyalty to a set of constitutional principles has been one measure of belonging and of patriotism – civic nationalism. Another, long recessive in liberal societies has been ethno-cultural belonging. The tensions between the two have long marked American and German immigration, integration, and social welfare policies. Those tensions are examined here.