The Transformation of Citizenship ─ Political Economy

The forms of citizenship that evolved from 1934 to the 1950s as a response to the Great Depression and as a consequence of post-war reconstruction based on Keynesian principles of full employment, state investment in economic growth and social security received a large shock in the 1970s and 1980s by what became to be known as neo-liberalism. These new policies involved the privatization of utilities and services, and an emphasis on individual responsibility for example in health care. Duties rather than rights were promoted by governments. Trade unions organisations challenged and legislation was introduced to control industrial unrest. Citizenship was further transformed after 9/11 as governments became increasingly focused on security rather than on welfare. These trends were reinforced by the 2008 financial crisis and the resulting development of austerity packages for European societies on the periphery. Can social citizenship be refashioned to meet these changed circumstances in the twenty-first century?

Jurgen Mackert is Professor of Sociology at the Faculty of Economics and the Social Sciences, and Co-Director of the Centre for Citizenship, Social Pluralism and Religious Diversity at Potsdam University, Germany.

Bryan S. Turner is the Presidential Professor of Sociology at the Graduate Center The City University of New York; he is the Director of the Institute for Religion Politics and Society the Australian Catholic University Melbourne and the Director of the Centre for Citizenship, Social Pluralism and Religious Diversity at Potsdam University, Germany. He is the Max Planck Research Award Winner of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and the Max Planck Society 2015 – Honorary Professor at Potsdam University, Germany.