Dual Nationality, Social Rights and Federal Citizenship in the U.S. and Europe : The Reinvention of Citizenship

Dual nationality has become one of the most divisive issues linked with the politics of migration in Germany and the US. This volume, the first one in decades to focus on this issue, examines the history, consequences and arguments for and against dual citizenship, and uses dual nationality as the basis of a reflection on important issues closely related to it: social rights, European citizenship and federal citizenship. It pays particular attention to questions such as: What are the major arguments in favor and against dual nationality? Why has dual nationality provoked such contrasting responses, being a non-issue in the UK, for instance, and an extremely controversial one in Germany? How is dual nationality used by states to influence politics and policy in other states? How does it relate to the aim of integrating ethnic migrants and to broader issues in social policy and European integration?

Randall Hansen is Fellow and Tutor in Politics at Merton College, University of Oxford.

Patrick Weil is Director of Research at CNRS in the Centre for Research on the History of Social Movements and Trade Unionism, Paris I - Sorbonne. He is the author of a report for the French Prime Minister on French nationality and immigration law in 1997 and is a member of the French Consultative Commission on Human Rights.