Citizenship: New Trajectories in Law

To what extent can progressive movements become planetary movements? In what ways can discourses of citizenship and rights help imagine transnational solidarities beyond national authorities?

Today, many anti-racist, anti-capitalist, migrant, ecological, feminist, and queer struggles revolve around ‘human rights’. At the same time, and despite intersectional campaigns, they risk staying fragmented and disjointed, locked in a national citizenship regime. Can an imaginary of planetary citizenship, as a transversal movement, coalesce these struggles into an effective force against the right? Can making citizenship rights claims transform progressive movements into planetary movements? The panel will examine these political questions raised by Engin Isin’s book, Citizenship (2024). After the book presentation of Engin Isin, Kristine Krause, Stefania Milan and Darshan Vigneswaran will join in a paneldiscussion. Moderator: Diana Zacca Thomaz.

About the speakers

Engin Isin is a distinguished scholar in political theory and international politics, renowned for his contributions to theorising citizenship as struggle. He writes about how people exercise political agency through acts of citizenship, with a focus on performative practices aimed at countering domination and promoting emancipation. He is a professor emeritus of international politics at Queen Mary University of London.