Most people think of citizenship as a political ideal. To be a citizen is to be a member of a political community, namely the nation-state. With it, of course, come certain legal rights such as the rights of habeas corpus, the rights of free speech, the right to bear arms, and so on as well as political responsibilities such as the duty to participate in elections, to serve as a member of a jury, and the like. On the face of it, citizenship is rather straightforward and uncomplicated. But citizenship is more than a legal designation. It is also a cultural ideal. It is infused with moral meaning, encompassed by normative principles, values, and expectations that all derive from the social, historical, and cultural context of the times. According to Heywood (1994) a “citizen” is a member of a political community, which is defined by a set of rights and obligations. “Citizenship therefore represents a relationship between the individual and the state, in which the two are bound together by reciprocal rights and obligations” Citizenship is a legal status and an identity. Thus, there is an objective dimension of citizenship: specific rights and obligations which a state invests in its members, and a subjective dimension, a sense of loyalty and belonging. However, objective citizenship does not in itself ensure the existence of subjective citizenship, because “members of groups that feel alienated from their state, perhaps because of social disadvantage or racial discrimination, cannot properly be thought of as ‘full citizens’, even though they may enjoy a range of formal entitlements. Hence a citizen is a person who is endowed with legal rights by and duties to the country of which one belongs. When one is a citizen of a country, they are entitled to state and social services. Turner (1993) defines citizenship as a set of legal, economic, and cultural practices which define an individual as a competent member of society. Such practices shape the flow of resources to individuals and social groups. That definition allows one to analyze how individuals and groups have differentiated opportunities of becoming competent members of society. From this point of view, citizenship identity, the sense of belonging and solidarity, is necessarily connected with the problem of unequal distribution of resources in society. Citizenship addresses issues relating to social justice, human rights, community cohesion and global interdependence, and encourages people to challenge injustice, inequalities and discrimination. It helps young people to develop their critical skills, consider a wide range of political, social, ethical and moral problems, and explore opinions and ideas other than their own. They evaluate information, make informed judgments and reflect on the consequences of their actions now and in the future. They learn to argue a case on behalf of others as well as themselves and speak out on issues of concern. There are different kinds of rights, obligations and responsibilities , political, legal, human, social, civic and moral. Hence people should explore contested areas surrounding rights and responsibilities, for instance the checks and balances needed in relation to freedom of speech in the context of threats from extremism and terrorism. According to Zamudio (2004), there are three dimensions of citizenship: status, exercise and conscience. Citizenship status is the set of rights and obligations between individuals and the state. Only those individuals and groups which fulfill all the requirements that define citizenship in a country will have the formal recognition of the state. Citizenship exercise refers to the conditions necessary for the realization of citizenship rights and the incorporation of new rights like the transformation of needs into legitimate rights, redefining and expanding the previous notion of citizenship. Then citizenship conscience makes reference to the conviction of being a citizen, with the recognition of the state expressed in concrete practices that assure citizenship exercise. Citizenship conscience is, in turn, formed by three elements: which is the knowledge of citizenship rights and duties, the identification of the state as responsible of granting those rights and duties by means of laws and policies that guarantee their fulfillment, and lastly the recognition of legitimate means to make demands. The state plays a fundamental role in the creation of citizenship conscience, because it arises from a reflexive process. If the state, its authorities and institutions, do not treat individuals as citizens, but as subjects, then those individuals will not be able to develop a citizenship conscience and consequently, will not be capable of identifying the legitimate procedures for making demands. Citizenship can be described in different ways according to the emphasis that is given to its various elements. As liberals see it, citizenship is a legal status based on nationality that is conferred by a state at birth or through naturalization and which also confers specific rights and responsibilities in relation to that state. In more republican terms, Isin (2008) asserts that citizenship enables opportunities for political participation by means of formal procedures of voting, lobbying and standing for office or in more spontaneous ‘acts of citizenship’ and political mobilizations in civil society , in any case, citizenship also involves identity. Citizens belong to a bounded and exclusive political community with a shared history and prospective future. In Zambia, every person born in the country is a citizen by birth if, the Constitution of Zambia (1991) Article 6 (six) states that, at the date of the persons birth, at least one parent of that person is or was a citizen. Thus such a one is a citizen of Zambia. A child of not more than 8 years of age found in Zambia, whose parents are not known, is presumed to be a citizen of Zambia by birth. However when that person reaches the age of 21 year, he or she may be acquired to apply for citizenship. Another way of becoming a citizen in Zambia is by decent, this means that every person born outside Zambia is a citizen by descent if, at the date of the persons birth, at least one parent of that person is or was a citizen of Zambia.in short, one of the child’s parent has be a citizen of Zambia then that person would have acquired citizenship through that parent. A person may also acquire citizenship in Zambia by means of registration. He or she may apply to the Citizenship Board of Zambia to be registered as a citizen if that person was born in Zambia but neither of the persons parents is or was a citizen. Also woman married to a man who is a citizen, or a man married to a woman who is a citizen, may, upon making an application in the manner prescribed by an Act of Parliament, be registered as a citizen of Zambia and shall apply only if the applicant has been ordinarily resident in the Zambia for a continuous period of not less than ten years immediately preceding that person’s application. As amended by Act.no 18 of 1996 of the laws of Zambia, Zambia constitutes citizenship by means of adoption. A child who is not a citizen and who is adopted by a citizen shall be a citizen on the date of the adoption but the child shall, on attaining the age of twenty-one years, renounce the citizenship of any other country failure to which the child shall cease to be a citizen. Apart from the above mentioned ways of becoming a citizen, Zambia also allows dual citizenship which is only applicable to a child born to Zambian parents who obtains citizenship of the country of birth. However, dual citizenship is only recognized only up to a certain age when such a person has reached maturity, old enough to decide and choose their own nationality. Dual citizenship is also allowed to a Zambian spouse who acquires citizenship through marriage, however the condition attached to this dual type of citizenship is that such a person is given a period of 3months in which they should renounce their foreign citizenship and register their intention concerning residence. In conclusion, citizenship is a thread that connects all citizens to share values of freedom and equality. Citizenship offers one many benefits and equally many responsibilities. By applying or paying allegiance one is simply demonstrating their commitment to the country and the form of government. A citizen must recognize the country he or she belongs as a duty to him and that he has an obligation his duties. Thus the first duty is loyalty to the country then secondly obeying the laws of the land. Therefore a citizen has a responsibility to take keen interest in the happenings of the country so as to exercise their rights. REFERENCE Heywood (1994). Political Ideas and Concepts. An Introduction. New York: St.Martin’s Press. Isin, F. (2008) Recasting the social in citizenship. Toronto ; University of Toronto Press. Turner, B.(1993) Citizenship and Social Theory, London: Sage. Zamudio (2004), Las paradojas de la ciudadanía: una mirada desde la migration international, Mexico: CIESAS-Golfo. The constitution (1996) Act.no 18 of 1996 of the laws of Zambia. The constitution (1991) Article 6 (six) of the laws of Zambia .
Posted on: Wed, 19 Nov 2014 08:43:42 +0000
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