Citizenship is membership in a political community (originally a city but now usually a state) and carries with it rights to political participation; a person having such membership is a citizen. It is largely coterminous with nationality, although it is possible to have a nationality without being a citizen (i.e., be legally subject to a state and entitled to its protection without having rights of political participation in it); it is also possible to have political rights without being a national of a state; for example, a citizen of a Commonwealth country resident in the United Kingdom is entitled to full political rights.
See nationality for further discussion of the properties of national citizenship and how it can be acquired.
Citizenship often also implies working towards the betterment of one's community through participation, volunteer work, and efforts to improve life for all citizens. In this vein, schools in England provide lessons in citizenship; in Wales the model used is Personal and Social Education.
Citizenship as explained above is the political rights of an individual within a society. Thus, you can have a citizenship from one country and be a national of another country. One example might be as follows: A Cuban-American might be considered a national of Cuba due to his being born there, but he could also become an American citizen through naturalization. Some countries like Cuba and the United States of America forbid dual citizenship in the other country because of political tensions between the two nations. Nationality most often derives from place of birth (i.e. jus soli) and, in some cases, ethnicity (i.e. jus sanguinis). Citizenship derives from a legal relationship with a state. Nationality can be lost, as in denaturalization, and gained, as in naturalization.
In recent years, some intergovernmental organisations have extended the concept and terminology associated with citizenship to the international level, where it is applied to the totality of the citizens of their constituent countries combined. Two examples are given below, of citizenship in the European Union, and also of citizenship within the Commonwealth of Nations. As of 2005, citizenship at this level is a secondary concept, with a weaker status than national citizenship.
The ultimate version of supranational citizenship would be some sort of global citizenship; the United Nations does not represent this concept directly, however, being more of an international forum than a structure for expressing individual rights and responsibilities.
See nationality for further discussion of the properties of national citizenship and how it can be acquired.
Citizenship often also implies working towards the betterment of one's community through participation, volunteer work, and efforts to improve life for all citizens. In this vein, schools in England provide lessons in citizenship; in Wales the model used is Personal and Social Education.
Citizenship as explained above is the political rights of an individual within a society. Thus, you can have a citizenship from one country and be a national of another country. One example might be as follows: A Cuban-American might be considered a national of Cuba due to his being born there, but he could also become an American citizen through naturalization. Some countries like Cuba and the United States of America forbid dual citizenship in the other country because of political tensions between the two nations. Nationality most often derives from place of birth (i.e. jus soli) and, in some cases, ethnicity (i.e. jus sanguinis). Citizenship derives from a legal relationship with a state. Nationality can be lost, as in denaturalization, and gained, as in naturalization.
In recent years, some intergovernmental organisations have extended the concept and terminology associated with citizenship to the international level, where it is applied to the totality of the citizens of their constituent countries combined. Two examples are given below, of citizenship in the European Union, and also of citizenship within the Commonwealth of Nations. As of 2005, citizenship at this level is a secondary concept, with a weaker status than national citizenship.
The ultimate version of supranational citizenship would be some sort of global citizenship; the United Nations does not represent this concept directly, however, being more of an international forum than a structure for expressing individual rights and responsibilities.



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