Citizenship

This searing indictment challenges everything you think you knew about citizenship, one of the fundamental ordering principles of the modern world. Drawing on vivid examples from all over the planet, Kochenov shows that behind a façade of equality, citizenship has perpetuated global inequality, racism, and repression of women. I have studied and written about citizenship extensively, but found many challenging new critiques in this fine book. Written in sharp, clear, jargon-free prose, this book will be of vital interest to any citizen of any country.

Eric Lohr, Chair of the History Department, American University

This book is absolutely atypical. Dimitry Kochenov convincingly destroys myths and stereotypes—probes the very fundamentals—doing this without a slightest tint of populism or conspiracy, drawing solely on crystal-clear logical arguments and countless fascinating facts.

Boriss Cilevičs, Chairperson of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe

In his challenging and erudite text about the problems of national citizenship, Kochenov blends real-world insights with scholarly interpretations. The result is a highly engaging book that every citizen—and alien!— should read.

Atossa Araxia Abrahamian, senior editor, The Nation; author of Cosmopolites

Citizenship is an exhilarating read. No book goes further in demolishing the myths and surrounding this status that we all have and are bound by. And no author could do so with as much panache as Kochenov.

Kristin Surak, London School of Economics; author of Citizenship 4 Sale: Millionaires, Microstates, and Mobility

[A] spirited contribution to the MIT Press's Essential Knowledge series. Kochenov sees the institution of citizenship, not its byproduct of statelessness, as the real problem. He does not hold back his disdain, defining citizenship as 'a heritage glorifying servility, racism, sexism, and arbitrary exclusion,' a tool for 'simplifying the world' and 'rendering people governable,' a gateway to complacency, intellectual laziness, and oppressive categorizations. Statelessness is a problem only because of how unequal and arbitrary the institution of citizenship is to begin with: it is assigned at birth and seldom earned, so most people never have a say in it. Further, the 'mythology of the equality of different nationalities' only makes things worse: it leads us to believe that any citizenship should be sufficient for meeting the needs of individuals.

The New York Review of Books

Kochenov's book should be a wake-up call for constitutional and international theorists and practitioners to promote an agenda for redefining citizenship as well as the structures governing it.

International Journal of Constitutional Law