Chapter Four:

State, Government and Citizenship

4.3. Understanding State
4.3.1. Defining State
• State: refers to a wide range of tings.
– It could mean:
• a collection of institutions,
• a territorial unit,
• a philosophical idea,
• an instrument of coercion or oppression and so on.
• The meaning of a state is understood in four
different perspectives:
A. Idealist,
B. Functionalist,
C. Organizational and
D. International perspectives
A. Idealist Approach:
• Most clearly reflected in the writings of Hegel;
– he identified three pillars of social existence: family,
civil society and the state.
• In family, altruism operates (people set aside their own
interests for the good of their children or elderly relatives)
• In civil society a sphere of universal egoism operates
(individuals place their own interests before those of others;
• In state (universal altruism operates; where an ethical
community is supported by mutual sympathy)
• Limitations of idealism: defines the state in ethical
terms, thus fails to distinguish between
institutions that are part of the state and those
that are outside of the state.
B. Functionalist approach:
• Focuses on the role/purpose of state institutions
• The main role of the state is “the maintenance of
social order”
• This has been adopted by Neo-Marxists ( these
theorists see the state as a mechanism through
which class conflict is improved to ensure the
long-term survival of the capitalist system)
• Limitations: it tends to associate any institution
that maintains order with the state itself
(institutions like family, mass media, trade
unions, church)
C. The organizational view:
• state is considered as the apparatus of government in its broadest
sense
• a state is seen as a set of institutions that are recognizably ‘public’
and responsible for the collective organization of social existence
and are funded at the public’s expense
• The state comprises various institutions of government: the
bureaucracy, the military, the police, the courts, the social security
system.
• The role of the state may be explained in terms of :
– rolling forward or rolling backward (expanding or contracting the
responsibilities of the state, and enlarging or diminishing its institutional
machinery.)
– This concept reflects the dynamic nature of the state's functions and
structures,
– where it can either increase its involvement in societal affairs or reduce
its role based on various factors and ideologies.
D. The international approach:
• sees state as an actor on the world stage; as
the basic unit of international politics
• Considers the state to have dualistic structure
and two faces:
– Inward looking face: relations of the state with
the individuals and the groups that live within its
borders, its ability to maintain domestic order.
– Outward looking face: its relations with other
states and, the ability to provide protection
against external attack.
 Based on the 1933 Montevideo convention, the
state has four features:
1. Permanent population:
– the number does not matter; could be a
homogenous or heterogeneous population
2. Defined territory:
– includes the and, the air above the land, 20milesin to
the sea
– Also includes ships on high seas under the flag of a
country, its embassies and diplomats’ residences
– Size of the territory is irrelevant
– Boundary may be clearly marked by various ways
3. Effective government and sovereignty
– Government: is the soul of the state, implements the will of the
community; protects the people against insecurities, maintains law and
order to make good life possible, it is a machinery to terminate the
existence of anarchy
• Could be monarchical, aristocratic, oligarchic, democratic or dictatorial
4. Sovereignty:
– this the highest power of the state distinguishing it from all the other
associations of human beings
1. Internal sovereignty: the state is the final source of all laws internally
2. External sovereignty: the state should be free from foreign control of any
kind
5. Recognition:
– a 5th element identified by the contemporary political theorists and the UN.
– Claims that for a political unit to be accepted as a state, it must be
recognized as such by a significant portion of the international community.
– For a state to be legal actor in the international stage, other actors must
recognize it as a state.
4.4. Rival Theories of State
A. The Pluralist State
• Has a liberal lineage
• Stems from the belief that the state acts as a referee/umpire in society
• Origins of the state can be tracked back to the social-contract theories
– (Thomas Hobbes and John Locke): individuals respect and obey the state as a
result of a social contract
• Without state, individuals abuse, exploit and enslave one another; with
a state, order and civilized existence are guaranteed and liberty is
protected
• The state protects each citizen from the encroachments of fellow
citizens; the state is neutral
• This theory calls for a constitutional and representative government:
• Two key assumptions:
1. The state is effectively subordinate to the government (the non-elected state
bodies are strictly subject to the authority of their political masters.)
2. The democratic process is meaningful and effective (party competition
ensures that the government of the day remains sensitive and responsive to
public opinion
B. The Capitalist State
• Contradicts with the image of the liberalist state theory
• According to Marxist theorists, the state cannot be understood separately
from the economic structure of society.
– The state is nothing but an instrument of class oppression
• The state is part of a superstructure that is determined or conditioned by the
economic base which can be seen as the real foundation of social life
 Marx’s writing identifies two theories of the state:
1. The state is clearly dependent on society and entirely dependent on its
economically dominant class, the bourgeoisie
2. The state could enjoy ‘relative autonomy’ from the class system, but this autonomy
is only relative because the state appears to mediate between conflicting classes;
and thus maintains the class system itself in existence.
• Marx claims that the state can be use in the transition from captialism to
communism (the state acting as a ‘’) revolutionary dictatorship of the
proletariat
• As class antagonism fades away, the Marxist theory assumes that the state
would eventually come to an end(a fully communist society would be
stateless)
• Capitalist state: the role of the state here is to serve the long-term interest of
C. The Leviathan State
• Leviathan- a self-serving monster intent on expansion and
aggrandizement/overstatement
• Starts with the belief that the state is a parasitic growth that
threatens both individual liberty and economic security.
• The state is an overbearing caregiver desperate to interfere
or meddle in every aspect of human existence
• New Right thinkers argue:
– the 20th C tendency towards state intervention reflects the
internal dynamics of the state and not the popular pressure for
economic and social security or even the need to stabilize
capitalism
• The New Right portrays the state as an independent or
autonomous entity that pursues its own interests; thus
enlargement of the bureaucracy is expected
D. The Patriarchal State
• Based on feminist theory;
– feminists consider the nature of state power as a reflection of the deeper structure of male
power center on institutions like the family and the economic system
• Liberal feminists: believe that all groups (including women) have potentially equal
access to state power, and this can be used impartially to promote justice and the
common good.
– They view state in a positive way;
• seeing state intervention as a means of redressing gender inequality and enhancing the role of
women
• EG: affirmative action, legalisation of abortion, extension of welfare benefits for women, equal pay
legislation etc.)
• Radical Feminists: chose to see the state as a negative entity.
– Claim that the state power reflects a deeper structure of oppression in the form of patriarchy
– Radical feminists share similar view with Marxists:
• both deny that the state is an autonomous entity built on the purist of its own interests; they
understand state in terms of deep structure of power in society at large.
• Marxists focus on economic context, radical feminists focus on gender inequality and male power.
Claim that the state is run by men and is for men.
• Modern radical feminists: consider the emergence of welfare state as an expression
of a new kind of patriarchal power.
– They claim these states make women to heavily be dependent on the state as a:
• client of the customer of state services and
• employees in ‘caring professions’
4.5. The Role of the State
• Almost all political thinkers have regarded the state, in
some sense as something useful
– (except anarchists- who dismiss the state as fundamentally
evil and unnecessary)
• There is big disagreement about the exact role that
the state should play.
• Different forms of states exist based on this difference
in the expected role of the state.
A. Minimal state
B. Developmental state
C. Social Democratic states
D. Collectivized states
E. Totalitarian states
F. Religious states
A. Minimal State
• Is based on the idea of classical liberals; it is a
view rooted in social contract theory
• It advances an essentially ‘negative’ view of state.
– The state is considered as a merely protective body;
and its core function is to provide a framework of
peace and social order within which citizens can
conduct their lives as they think best.
• Roles of the state:
– The state exists to maintain domestic order;
– It makes sure that the contracts or voluntary
agreements made between private citizens are
enforced;
– It provides protection against external attack.
• The institutional apparatus of a minimal state
is limited to a police force, a court system and
a military of some kind.
• Economic social cultural and moral
responsibilities belong to the individual and
the civil society
• Best examples of minimal states: UK and the
USA during the period of early
industrialization in the 19th C.
B. Developmental States
• In some states the state assumes a more active ‘developmental’
role.
• DS: is a state that intervenes in economic life with the specific
purpose of promoting industrial growth and economic
development.
– The state practices interventionism in order to stimulate economic
progress (but it does not intervene so much, that it lets us say that it
‘commands the economy’ though)
• It is a state concerned with constructing a partnership between
the state and major economic interests.
• EG: Japan, Asian Tigers, until recently Ethiopia
– Partnership sate: a state that puts emphasis on the maintenance of a
close relationship between the state and major economic interest
• EG: Germany; associates ‘economic interest’ with big businesses and organized
labor)
– Competition states: states that recognize the end to strengthen
education and training, as the principal guaranteeing economic
success, in a context of intensifying transnational competition.
• EG: Asian tigers
C. Social Democratic (Welfare) States
• SDSs intervene with a view to bring about broader social
restructuring, usually in accordance with principles like:
– fairness, equality and social justice
• A SDS tries to correct imbalances and injustices of a
market economy;
– it focuses less on generation of wealth and more upon what is
seen as the equitable or just distribution of wealth;
– it attempts to eradicate poverty and reduce social inequality
• Two basic features of SDS:
1. Keynesianism: managing or regulating capitalism to promote
growth and maintain full employment and
2. Social welfare: promotion of social well being among citizens
• SDS is considered as an enabling state- dedicated to the
principle of individual empowerment.
D. Collectivized States
• Bring the entire economic life under the control
of the state.
– EG: orthodox communist countries like USSR
• They try to abolish private enterprises and set up
centrally planned economies administered by a
network of economic ministries and planning
committees (Command Economies)
• The justification for the state collectivization rises
from the socialist preference for common
ownership over private property
E. Totalitarian States
• This is a type of state with the most extreme
and extensive form of interventionism
• It is an all embracing state, it influences every
aspect of human existence
– State controls the economy, education, culture,
religion, family life and so on under direct control.
• EG: Hitler’s Germany
• These states effectively extinguish civil society
and abolish the private sphere of life
altogether.
F. Religious States
• The concept of religion and state is contradictory to each
other (state in the modern sense)
– State sovereignty usually went hand in hand with the forward
march for secularization.
• However since the 1980s, a rise of religious states has been
witnessed.
• Religious fundamentalism started rejecting the
public/private divide and started to view religions as the
basis of politics.
– Using the state as an instrument of moral and spiritual
regeneration
• EG: Islamization in Pakistan; Islamic state in Iran; Sri Lankan state and
Sinhala Buddhism
• Strictly speaking, Religious states are found on the basis of
religious principles.
4.6. Understanding Government
4.6.1. What is Government?

• To govern: to rule or control others

• Government: includes any mechanism through
which ordered rule is maintained;
– the central features are: the ability to make collective
decisions and the capacity to enforce them
• A form of government can be found in almost all
institutions.
 Government:
• Can also refer to political organization comprising
individuals and institutions authorized to formulate
public policies and conduct affairs of state.
• Could also refer to the government of national
states; or the subdivisions of national states
– EG: Federal government and state government.
• Two essential attributes for any government:
1. Authority- used to compel obedience; is a ‘legitimate
power’
2. Legitimacy: refers to rightfulness; it is the popular
acceptance of a governing regime or law as an
authority.
• It is acquired through the taking of power in accordance
with recognized or accepted standards or principles.
4.6.2. Purposes and Functions of Government
• Main purpose of the state is to protect rights and
preserve justice.
• Usually constitutions of states clearly explain the
purposes, powers and forms of the government
for a state.
 The major purposes and functions include:
A. Self-preservation: includes keeping order,
predictability ,internal security and external
defense
B. Distribution and regulation of resources:
government distribute resources in their societies
C. Management of Conflicts:
D. Fulfillment of Social or group aspirations: may include
working for the promotion of human rights, common
good and international peace
E. Protection of Rights of Citizens: the human rights,
political rights, democratic rights political rights, social
economic and cultural rights
F. Protection of Property: the police and the court system
protect the private and public property within the state
G. Implementation of Moral conditions: try to shape the
character of citizens in accordance with some standard
of morality
H. Provision of Goods and Services: providing healthcare,
education, development of public works; might even
include provision of food, shelter, clothing for the public
4.7. Understanding Citizenship
4.7.1. Defining Citizenship
• Citizen: a person who is a legal member of a particular state and one
who owes allegiance to that state; entitled to the privileges and
encumbered with the responsibilities associated to the membership.
• Citizenship: network of relationships b/n person and state
• the means by which we determine whether a person is legal
member of a particular state or not.
– Formal level citizenship: refers to the network of relationships between
the state and the citizens.
• It refers to the rules regulating the legal/formal relations between the state and
the individual with respect to the acquisition and loss of a given country’s
nationality.
– Substantive level citizenship: claim citizenship is beyond legal status
• it is a political and legal creation that creates a condition of civic equality among
those who possess it with regard to the rights and responsibilities it gives and
requires.
• citizenship involves the lived reality of citizenship, including the ability of citizens
to claim and enjoy their rights, participate effectively in political life, and engage
meaningfully in their communities
• Citizenship is a polysemy (is given different meanings
by different scholars and practitioners.)
• Definitions for most countries refer to the term as a
relation between the citizen and the state; there are
different ways
• Citizenship as a concept has a different conception
from society to society depending on the place,
historical moment and political organization.
– But there are common elements that exist in all the
definitions/conceptions of the term:
• rights,
• duties,
• belonging,
• identity
• Participation
1. Citizenship as a status of rights
• Being a citizens makes the person a holder of series
of rights
• Marshall identified three types of rights that have
been established in succession throughout history:
I. Civil Rights- these are rights necessary for the
development of individual liberty;
• mainly exercised in the courts
II. Political Rights- these rights are the right to participate
in the exercise of political power;
• used in voting booths, legislatures and street protests
III. Social Rights- these rights guarantee the right to public
safety, health, the right to education; the right to a
decent life;
• Hohfeld discovered four components of rights known as ‘the
Hohfeldian incidents’. These are liberty (privilege), claim, power
and immunity
A. Liberty Rights:
• freedoms given for the right-holder to do something; there are no obligations
on other parties to do or not to do anything to aid the bearer to enjoy such
rights
– (the right holder/beholder gets benefit from these rights without obliging others).
• No one will have legitimate authority (not even the state) to interfere with
the citizens' freedom except to prevent harm to others.
• EG: the right to movement
B. Claim Rights:
• these are the inverse of liberty rights.
• These rights entail responsibility upon another person or body.
• These are rights that can only be enjoyed by individuals when others
discharge their obligations.

• EG: the right to get public service benefits of a person can only be enjoyed
when taxpayers pay their taxes
• A and B are considered as primary rules (rules requiring that
 C. Power Rights:
• rights regarding the modification of A and B
• These are cooperative controls that are imposed on others.
• The one holding the power (government or citizen) can change or
cancel the entitlements of other people or his/her own.
• EG:
– the right to ownership of private property and to modify, sale, donate or
transfer their property to a third party;
– the right to renounce citizenship; the power of the government to modify legal
rights through imposing to or removing duties from citizens
D. Immunity Rights:
• these rights allow the bearers to escape from controls; are the
opposite of power rights
• These rights entail the absence of a power in other party to alter the
right holder’s normative situation in some way.
– EG: civil servants have the right not to be dismissed from their job after a new
government comes to power. ; a witness in a court has aright not to be ordered
to incriminate himself/herself

• C and D are known as secondary rules; because of how

agents/beholders can introduce, change and alter the
primary rules
2. membership and Identity
• Citizenship is associated with membership of a
political community; this implies integration into
that community with a specific identity that is
common to all members who belongs to it.
– Inline with this, shared territory, common culture,
ethnic characteristics, history and the like are
considered as criteria for membership
• But nowadays, citizenship is not just limited
membership in some group but also includes the
needs to include certain standards of proper
conduct
3. Participation
• This is a key position in citizenship. There are two approaches to
understand participation:
I. Minimalist approach: characterized by a kind of basic passive compliance with
the rules and particular community/state
II. Maximalist approach: active broad participation of citizens engagement in the
state.
• There is a division between passive and active citizenship.
– Unless citizens are active citizens taking active role in exercising their democratic
rights to participate in decision-making, they will not be able to realize their other
rights (social, economic and political rights) Ferguson
4. Inclusion and Exclusion
• The fact that individuals are living in a particular state does not necessarily
mean that they are citizens.
– There are non-citizens (foreigners/aliens);
• these foreigners have some basic rights (human rights similar to that of citizens of that
state); but in the case of political and economic rights, there’s rights are reserved to
citizens alone; and the duty associated to these spheres is also only to be discharged by
citizens only.
– EG:
» any foreigner has the right to life in Ethiopia; has the duty to respect the laws of the country
» No foreigner has the right to participate in votes and elections; has no duty to protect the
 Citizenship is a status
• But it is not a status limited to persons only; organizations
and animals could also be considered as citizens.
– Corporate citizenship: giving citizenship to corporations and
private organizations. Just like private individuals, these
institutions will have rights and duties associated to their
citizenship
• EG: they will have the right to make profits and maximize their benefits;
duty to protect the environment and pay taxes. On top of these formal
duties, they also have ‘corporate social responsibility (CSR) which
requires them to engage in social and development affairs
• As a result of globalization, the term citizen is being used to
indicate membership of a person beyond a particular
state.
– terms like ‘global citizen’/ ‘cosmopolitan citizens’ are words use
to refer to every human living in the earth planet.
4.7.2. Theorizing Citizenship
• The concept of citizenship and the meaning to it changes with
the change in political thoughts, ideologies, policies and
government.
– EG:
• the way citizenship has been framed and defined post 1991 in Ethiopia is
different from the time before; and the list and scope of constitutional rigths
attached to it has changed too
• The duties associated to citizenship are differing from state to
state.
• As a result, there are different citizenship theories due to these
differences that exist in practice.
– The most contemporary works on citizenship talk about four
theories/approaches to citizenship:
A. Liberal Citizenship,
B. Communitarian Citizenship,
C. Republican Citizenship and
A. Citizenship in Liberal Thought
• This theory starts with the assumption that the individual
person (the self) is a calculating holder of preferences and
rights in a liberal society
• A strong emphasis is given to the individual liberty of
citizens
• Argue: individuals should be free to decide on their own
conception of the good life,
– individual citizens act rationally, corresponding to the
constitutions and laws of the state, to advance their own interests.
The individuals conceive of themselves and of one another as
having the moral power to have a conception of the good.
• Ultimate argument: the individual is morally prior to the
community:
• the community matters only because it contributes to the well-being of
the individuals who compose it.
• Liberals consider internal factors as the primary
reasons that determine personal identity;
– they provide little consideration to the
environmental factors in the process of shaping the
self.
• The individual person shapes all other social
aggregations, including the state
• The role of the state is to protect and create a convenient
environment to help citizens enjoy and exercise of their
rights; the state has an instrumental function.
• Individual liberty and state action tend to be opposed to
each other.
– Increasing the power of the state means reducing individual
liberty
• One must be free to do as one pleases without the law’s
interference; individuals have the right to choose their
level of participation in the community
– If they choose not to participate, their citizenship is not
jeopardized
• Where others’ interests are affected, the state will be
justified in regulating the activity; other than this, the state
should just let the individual be free.
– There are three fundamental principles as to how a liberal
government must provide and protect
I. Equality- the government has to treat individuals who are similarly
situated in the same way and give them the same rights
II. Due process- the government is required to treat individuals over
whom it exercises power fairly
III. Mutual consent- membership in the political community rests on the
consensual relationship between the individual and the state
– By protecting these three values, the government ensures that it
 Bedrock principles of liberal theory of citizenship:
• Individuals are free to form their own opinions, pursue
their own projects, and transact their own business
untrammeled by the state’s political agenda and coercive
power except insofar as individual action implicates the
interests of other members of society
• Citizens are left to their own devices without much
guidance from the state.
– they must decide for themselves how to use their
constitutionally secured freedoms and decide what kind of
citizen to be.
• Citizenship cannot be defined based on shared identity or
a common culture;
– Equal rights bind citizens together in a legal community of free
individuals.
– Identity and culture are not a priori foundations for citizenship
 Criticism to the Liberal Theory of Citizenship
1. There is a problem related to advocating
individualism:
2. preferences and insights of autonomous
individuals might originate from impure
processes;
– the information the individuals were provided might
be biased or meaningless, or their preferences might
have arisen from anger.
3. citizens are not obliged to engage in the political affairs of their
country; on top of this, the theory advocates for individuals to
pursue wealth and indulge in material pleasure,
– thus, liberal societies tend to be less egalitarian.
– This leaves less time available for citizens to engage in public
activities; this will diminish social prestige.
– If many citizens are not willing to devote time or give attention to
politics, power will become an instrument of the few rather than
the many, and polity’s very survival in a democratic form will be
endangered.
4. Liberalism may increase economic and other kinds of
inequalities rather than reduce them.
– The private sector in a liberal social system controls most of the
incentive systems that drive and shape individual and group
behaviour;
– these systems are largely immune from state control.
• Liberalism tends to keep the state weak and preamble to private interests,
5. Liberalism posits a state that maintains substantial normative
B. Communitarianism
• Also known as the Nationalist Model
• Is an approach that emphasizes on the importance of society
in articulating ‘the good’
• Claim that identity of citizens cannot be understood outside
the territory in which they live, their culture and traditions,
– The political subject (the individual citizen) belongs to a community
to which he/she owes loyalty and commitment
• Views individuals as the product of social practices
• Privileging individual autonomy is destructive to communities;
the good of the community is much above individual rights and
citizenship comes from the community identity, enabling
people to participate.
• Citizenship is rooted and lies with the people who surround
the individual;
•
There are two defining features of the
communitarian perspective:
– 1st: the citizen and his/her identity is deeply
constructed by the society to which he/she is a
member .
• New comers (Children and immigrants) must assimilate
themselves in order to participate in community activities;
– only when an individual successfully assimilates can the society
achieve its common goals and become effective
– 2nd: as a result of assimilation, a meaningful bond is
created between the individual person and his/her
community.
• The individual understands that what is good for the
community is good for him/her as well. Thus unless the
individual participates in the community, the common
good will be diminished.
 Criticisms on the Communitarian Citizenship:
• It is hostile to wards individual rights and
autonomy; it melts the ‘self’ into society.
C. Citizenship in Republican Thought
• Emphasis on both individual and group rights
• Incorporates the liberal notion of the self-
interested individual within the communitarian
framework of egalitarian and community
belonging
– Like the communitarian thought:
• it emphasizes what binds citizens together into a particular
community.
• Requires citizens to bring together the facets of their individual
lives as best they can and helps them to find unity amid
diversity. But it doesn’t pressure individuals to surrender their
particular identities like the communitarian thought.
– It encourages people to look for the common ground on which they
stand, despite their differences as citizens
– Like liberal Citizenship:
• advocates self-government.
• The republican thought does not agree that all forms of
restrains deprive people’s freedom (unlike liberalism)
liberalists advocate for absolute freedom of individuals and
consider the public virtues that lead people to do their duties
as citizens as something insignificant. Republicans
acknowledge the value of public life;
Two essential elements of republican citizenship:
publicity and self-government
• Publicity: the condition of being open and public;
– the public is a sphere of life where people are joined
by common concerns that take them beyond their
private lives.
• Public affairs like politics must be conducted
openly for the reason of convenience.
• without citizens who are willing to take an active
part in the government a republic state could not
survive.
 Criticisms on the Republican thought:
• It is claimed that republican thought is no longer
realistic.
– It is considered an ideal in this age of globalization.
• To be a citizen in the republican view is to be a partner in a
common enterprise, and people will be likely to put the
common interest ahead of their own.
• The conception poses a threat to an open
egalitarian and pluralistic society.
D. Multi-Cultural Citizenship
• The conception of citizenship in a modern state
should be expanded to include cultural rights
and group rights within a democratic framework.
– Simply viewing citizens as ‘equal individuals’ is not
enough; we need to see them simultaneously as
having equal rights as individuals and different needs
and wants as members of groups with specific
characteristic and social situations.
• The focus of multicultural citizenship discusses four
principles of multi-cultural citizenship:
I. taking equality of citizenship rights as a starting point
• Similar to the liberal perspective, the multicultural citizenship
also concerns with the universal rights of members. All
citizens should enjoy equal rights and equality before the law
II. Recognize that formal equality of rights does not
necessarily lead to equality of respect, resources,
opportunities or welfare
• Formal equality can mask and legitimize disadvantage and
discrimination; it is necessary to recognize group difference
and to understand its causes.
– by just providing universal rights for all citizens, true equality
between citizens may not be achieved.
– Multiculturalists envisage the need for additional rights for
vulnerable minority groups, in order for such groups to sustain
themselves amidst the dominant cultures.
 III. Establishing mechanisms for group representation and
participation
• Despite formal equality, disadvantaged groups are often excluded from
decision making processes. Thus it is necessary to make arrangements to
ensure the participation of people directly affected, wherever important
decisions are made.
IV. Differential treatment for people with different characteristics,
needs and wants
• Treating people equally despite the fact that past actions have made them
unequal, can perpetuate inequality.
• Government should take measures to combat barriers based on gender,
sexual preference, age, disability, location, aboriginality, ethnicity,
religion etc.
• Multicultural citizenship allows for marginalized voices to be
heard.
• Differentiated citizenship: Consider that society is formed of
different groups which are either dominant or oppressed.
Thus it is important to denounce universal rights and provide
special rights for oppressed groups.
 Criticisms on multicultural citizenship approach:
• If groups are encouraged by the very terms of
citizenship to turn inward and focus on their
difference, then the hope of a larger fraternity
will be abandoned.
– Nothing will bind the various groups in society together
and prevent the spread of mutual mistrust or conflict.
• This approach creates a ‘politics of grievance’.
– This approach implies that only oppressed groups are
entitled to differentiated citizenship, this may
encourage group leaders to devote their political
energy to establishing a perception of disadvantage
rather than working to overcome it- in order to secure
their claim to group rights.
4.7.3. Modes/Ways of Acquiring and Losing Citizenship
4.7.3.1. Ways of Acquiring Citizenship
UDHR article 19: ‘Everyone has a right to nationality’….
‘no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality’
 Basically there are two ways of acquiring citizenship:
A. Citizenship from Birth
• This is when citizenship is acquired as a result of either
of the following two ways:
I. Jus Soli (right/law of the soil): the fact that a person is
born in a certain states makes him/her a citizen
• Jus soli cannot apply to children born from diplomats (and in
some cases born from refugees)
• because of two special principles (international diplomatic
immunities): extraterritoriality and inviolability principles.
 I. Jus Sanguinis (right/law of blood): this is when
citizenship is acquired by claiming one’s parents’
citizenship status.
B. Citizenship through Naturalization/law
• Is a legal process by which foreigners become
citizens of another country
• It has common sub-sections:
– political case(succession, merger and subjugation),
– grant on application,
– marriage,
– legitimatization/adoption, and
– reintegration/restoration
4.7.3.2. The Modes of Acquiring Ethiopian Citizenship
• 1st nationality law in Ethiopia came out in 1930
(Ethiopian Nationality Law); replaced by a new law
in 2003 (Ethiopian Nationality Proclamation No.
378/2003)
• Ethiopian citizenship can be acquired in two ways:
1. Acquisition by Descent/ Birth:
• This can happen in two stations:
I. where both or either parent is Ethiopian, a child shall be
deemed Ethiopian
II. Where a child is found abandoned in Ethiopia, and it is
not possible to prove that the child has a foreign
nationality; then the child shall be deemed to have been
born from an Ethiopian, thus becomes an Ethiopian
2. Acquisition by Law (Naturalization):
• According to the FDRE constitution, aliens can get Ethiopian
citizenship.
• There are various ways of acquiring Ethiopian citizenship through
naturalization:
A. Grant application (registration)
– Aliens can request for the nationality of Ethiopia. There are certain
requirements they need to fulfill:
i. must have attained majority (be above the age of 18)
ii. Lived in Ethiopia for a total of at least 4 years
iii. Must have a sufficient and lawful source of income(economically self-reliant)
iv. Should be able to communicate in any of the Ethiopian Languages
v. Must have a good character
vi. Should not have any criminal conviction records
vii. Should be released from previous nationality/ or should have the possibility of
obtaining such release
viii. Takes the oath of allegiance (“I…., solemnly affirm that I will be a loyal national
of the federal democratic republic of Ethiopia and be faithful to its
constitution”)
B. Cases of Marriage
– An alien married to an Ethiopian citizen can be an Ethiopian Citizen
upon application. There are criteria such person should meet:
i. the marriage shall be done in accordance with the laws of Ethiopia or
the state where the marriage is contracted
ii. The marriage shall lapse at least for 2 years
iii. The alien married to the Ethiopian should have lived in Ethiopia for at
least 1 year prior to the application
iv. The alien should be of the age of majority, morally good, and must take
an oath of allegiance
C. Cases of Adoption (Legitimating)
– A child adopted by and grown under the caretaker of an Ethiopian
citizen has the right to acquire Ethiopian citizenship; there are
criteria to be met:
i. The child has not attained the age of majority
ii. The child lives in Ethiopia together with his/her adopting parents
iii. The child is released from his/her previous nationality or the possibility
of obtaining such release, or the child should be a stateless person
IV. If one of the parents is a foreigner, such parent has to express his/her
agreement for the child to gain Ethiopian nationality
D. Citizenship by Special case /honorable citizenship
• A foreigner who has made an outstanding contribution
in the interest of Ethiopia may be conferred with
Ethiopian nationality by law without undergoing the
preconditions of:
– living in Ethiopia for 4 years and
– ability to communicate in any of the Ethiopian languages.
E. Re-admission to Ethiopian nationality
(Reintegration/Restoration)
– A person can acquire his/her lost Ethiopian
citizenship by meeting some criteria:
i. Apply to the Security, Immigration and Refugee
Affairs Authority (SIRAA) for Re—admission;
ii. Has to domicile in Ethiopia
iii. Has to renounce his/her foreign nationality
Examining and Deciding upon an Application to
acquire Ethiopian Citizenship
• Steps:
1. application along with relevant documents should be
submitted to the Security, Immigration and Refugee
Affairs Authority
2. application examine by the National Affairs
Committee
3. committee submits its recommendation to the SIRAA
4. if the recommendation is approved by the SIRAA,
then the applicant takes oath of allegiance in front of
the committee
5. applicant confers with a certificate of naturalization
and becomes legally an Ethiopian national.
4.7.3.3. Dual Citizenship
• Dual citizenship is a condition of being a citizen of two
nations; it arises because of the clash among the Jus soli,
Jus Sanguini and naturalization
• Ethiopia prohibits it citizens from having dual citizenship

• Who will not be allowed to be released of his/her Ethiopian

citizenship even when he/she has another nationality?
– A person who takes another nationality but still has duties
he/she should discharge because of:
• an outstanding national obligation; or
• hasn’t been acquitted or served the penalty for the crime he/she is
accused of or convicted,
– This creates a case of ‘Indelible allegiance’- this is a person who
would remain to have dual/multiple citizenship of Ethiopia and
the other country.
4.7.4. Ways of Loosing Citizenship
• Citizenship can be lost when a state provides for lapse or withdrawal
of citizenship under certain conditions; or wen a citizen voluntarily
renounces it.
 Modes of losing citizenship:
1. Deprivation:
• this is when the government authorities or court takes a decision to
nullify an individual’s citizenship for various reasons
– (EG: uncovering national secrets, flawed acquisition of citizenship, serving in
the armed force of another country, trying to overthrow the government by
force)
• This is not applicable in Ethiopia. Citizenship cannot be lost as a
result of deprivation; it can only be lost voluntarily
2. Lapse/Expiration:
• this is when a person loses his/her citizenship because of his/her
permanent residence or long term residence abroad beyond the
number of years permitted by the country in question
3. Renunciation:
• this is a voluntary way of losing citizenship
• This is applicable in Ethiopia.
– An Ethiopian can renounce his /her Ethiopian citizenship through
renunciation
• But if the citizen trying to renounce his/her Ethiopian nationality is
under some obligation towards the state; or is accused of a crime, then
will not be released of the Ethiopian citizenship-indelible allegiance
4. Substitution:
• This is when the original citizenship is substituted by
another state, where it is acquired through naturalization
or when a particular territory is annexed by another state.

 Generally, Ethiopian nationality can only be lost through

renunciation and upon acquisition of another country’s
nationality.
Statelessness
• A stateless person is a person who is not
considered as a national by any state under
the operation of its law.
– This could happen where:
• State failure leads people to flee
• Some one loses his/her citizenship as a result of
deprivation
• Someone renounces his/her citizenship without gaining
nationality in another state.
• UN has adopted a convention on the
protection and reduction of stateless persons