The Anthropology of Citizenship: A Reader

Concepts of individual and global citizenship have flourished in recent years and Sian Lazar’s timely reader introduces cutting-edge approaches to citizenship in the contemporary world. This collection brings together twenty-five critical essays that offer crucial insights for students and researchers into the historical developments of citizenship, and contemporary relationships between people, the state, and the law from a cross-cultural perspective. The Anthropology of Citizenship discusses some of the most important pieces in the political philosophy and anthropological theory of the theme, exploring the historical development of understandings of citizenship and its variability across the world.

Lazar offers readings in Part I that highlight contemporary thinking on citizenship through key political and anthropological theorists.  Part II reveals the rich ethnographic record available on political processes and citizenship, illuminating the relationship between citizens and the state, and between citizens, the state and non-citizens. The contributors demonstrate the potential for the anthropology of citizenship to make exciting contributions to anthropology, political economy, sociology and social theory.