CEU Summer University course: Contestations of Citizenship in Times of Global Democratic Backsliding

Scholarship has long examined the construction of membership in democratic societies, often associating open and expansive citizenship with democracy, inclusion and pluralism. Far less academic energy has been dedicated to the trajectories of citizenship policies in countries, which have become the site of growing illiberalism and democratic decline. The main aim of the summer course "Contestations of citizenship in times of global democratic backsliding" is to examine if, when and how citizenship regimes are used by authoritarian and illiberal governments as a means of weakening the rights of undesired populations and to include targeted groups to strengthening the legitimacy and the power of the government. In addition to exploring citizenship policies at the time of democratic decline, the course will also investigate the micro-politics of citizenship by looking into how individuals use, respond to, hijack or ignore these policies. Throughout the course, cases from developed countries will be discussed along with cases from the Global South including India, the Middle East and South America. 

The course targets advanced MA and PhD students, early career researchers and policy exports with interest in contemporary issues related to democratic backsliding and citizenship policy. The empirical sessions of the summer course are comparative in their scope and multi-disciplinary in their methodology. In-line with CEU’s mission, the course is intended to target participants from a wide spectrum of disciplines including political science, international relations, political theory, sociology, law, and public policy.  

The course is organized by Jelena Dzankic (European University Institute, Florence, Italy) and Szabolcs Pogonyi (Nationalism Studies, CEU, Vienna, Austria). 

More information and application: Contestations of Citizenship in Times of Global Democratic Backsliding | CEU Summer University