Citizenship ranges from state-granted passivity to movement-driven activism

Evidence

Ideally, citizens are governed at the same time as they govern. In order to perform this double role, the citizen must enjoy some autonomy, some skills, and display loyalty toward the political community. There is nevertheless considerable disagreement between scholars about the degree and the nature of citizens’ participation. It can be captured by the distinction between passive citizenship and active citizenship (Turner, … 1990). Passive citizenship is developed from above by the state, which grants rights to the citizens. The latter are expected merely to exercise their rights. They are, for instance, supposed to cast their vote. On the contrary, active citizenship is developed from below through citizens’ mobilization in various types of social and political movements. The citizens are not simply users of rights but active social and political agents who use their rights to claim new and/or better ones. The quality of democracy seems higher in the second case than in the first. — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 819

Categorization

• DEFINE: The passive versus active citizenship distinction adds a precise lever for analyzing how marginalized groups claim rights.
• XREF: connects to: Active citizenship from below yields higher quality democracy than passive — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 819; Citizenship depends on community recognition, not just legal status; Some social movements aim at ethical self-formation rather than rights and recognition politics — Saba Mahmood, Politics of Piety: The Islamic Revival…, 1283 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Citizenship depends on community recognition, not just legal status #expands (0.78)
• Active citizenship from below yields higher quality democracy than passive #qualifies (0.75) — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 819
• Some social movements aim at ethical self-formation rather than rights and recognition politics #expands (0.75) — Saba Mahmood, Politics of Piety, 1283
• Recognition from peer groups converts a local fight into valued public citizenship #qualifies (0.72) — Nina Eliasoph, Avoiding politics, 1475