GE 3 – GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP
BSA 1 – CONTEMPORARY WORLD WITH IP EDUCATION
GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP
Stromquist (2009)
• writes of how globalization, manifested in the
increasing interconnection between countries, has
led to the recognition of both shared problems and
shared solutions for which citizens’ rights,
obligations, and responsibilities transcend the
traditional nation-state.
Bloemraad, Korteweg & Yurdakul, 2008, in Leek
2016
• At its most basic definition, traditional citizenship is
membership in a political and geographic
community, which provides legal status, rights, and
belonging.
• In addition to having a legal status, Keating (2014, in
Leek 2016) writes that citizenship is also associated
with a set of behavior and skills. Consequently, Leek
(2016) posits that it is within this definition of
possessing skills and behavior, such as participation
and a feeling of belongingness, that the global
element of citizenship is recognized, since perceived
affiliation with a community or locale helps people
make sense of their place in the world and develops
their identity in global issues.
• Thus, as differentiated from citizenship that is
usually wrapped in legal and democratic tones,
associated with right and obligations, and with
notions of allegiance to a sovereign state, according
to Lagos, global citizenship is defined as “having the
ability to see oneself and the world around one
(McIntosh, 2005) and entails a demonstration of
concern for the rights and welfare of others (Ladson-
Billings, 2005)” (in Stromquist, 2009).
There is no general consensus of the definition,
however (Rapoport, 2009), and to some critics the
concept appears to be problematic. Two reasons are
given for this (Mansouri et al, 2017):
- the term appears to be an oxymoron (Davies,
2006), a term contradictory to itself, as citizenship
implies a membership of a territorially defined
nation
state whereas global is perceived to connecting to an
imagined global
community that transcends the notion of the nation-
state;
- it is not a legally binding concept, but seen as an
aspirational ethical framework, an articulation of global
values - social justice, cultural and political rights as well
as political inclusion - that bridge the normative gap
between national and international affiliations
(Habermas 1996; Young 2000 in Mansouri, 2017).
Global citizenship concerns one’s identity as a
social, cultural, and economic being, with rights and
responsibilities to act locally, nationally, and globally
(Lingard and Rizvi 2010; Rhoades and Szelényi 2011).
This finds support in an essay by McIntosh (2005,
in Rapoport, 2009) who relates the idea of global
citizenship to “habits of the mind, heart, body, and soul
that have to do with work for and preserving a network
of relationship and connection across lines of difference
and distinction, while keeping and deepening a sense of
one’s own identity and integrity.”
WHY IS BEING A GLOBAL CITIZEN IMPORTANT?
 With the interconnected and interdependent nature
of our world, the global is not ‘out there’; it is part of
our everyday lives, as we are linked to others on
every continent:
- socially and culturally through the media and
telecommunications, and through travel and
migration
- economically through trade
- environmentally through sharing one planet
- politically through international relations and
systems of regulation
Because of this increasing connectedness, we need to
be able to:
- question one’s own perspective on the world and
topractice tolerance and understanding for other
cultures;
- participate in the improvement of one’s society,
not just the world;
- become problem solvers, capable of tackling the
world’s most pressing issues – environmental
preservation, hunger, and poverty - some goals
from SDG.